Music and the Law

 Technology has brought new challenges to the music industry. From free downloads on the Internet to music being sold on websites, music is now available to fans in a wide variety of ways. This leaves the artist making sure they protect their rights not only with the record label but also with the fans and how they receive their music. No one wants to work hard on a project and not be paid for it, unless the intention was to give it away freely in the first place.

The first lawsuit is Eminem suing his record label Universal Music Group on the how digital music was classified for the purpose of royalties. “Eminem’s contract stipulates that he gets 50 percent of the royalties for a license but only 12 percent for a sale.” Of course the record label would want the digital music to be labeled as a sale instead of a license because they would earn more of the royalties. Universal won the decision in 2009 but the decision was overturned in 2010 that was a very big thing for artist. Since each digital version of the song would be considered a license and now that digital music is the second highest way of buying music. Artist can now earn more for their work instead of the limited royalties of the past from sales.

The music industry feels that Google is playing a part in music piracy. The industry feels that by Google allowing the links to these various sites to be found in their search results that they are helping people to steal music. They want to make sure that Google ranks legal music sites higher than sites that encourage piracy. Since at this moment Google is the most used search engine and people world wide use the term “Google it” when they want to tell someone to search for information online the industry feels Google has the power to help stop piracy. Can Google really be blamed for piracy sites? Google is just a search engine that provides information on links for the information you put into search that is already on the Internet. This will be an interesting lawsuit if it happens that will change on music and other things are presented on the Internet.

Victor Willis won a victory not just for himself but other artist and writers who want to protect themselves and the rights over their music. This means not only does he take away rights from the music publishers but he increase his royalty amounts from 12% to 50%. Now that he has gained control over his music he can now make deals to earn more royalties by allowing third parties to use his music, before he had no say because the publishers had all the control. This may not seem like a big deal, but think about them using your song in a project that you were against and you had no way to stop them. His victory now allows him this right of full control.

As I have stated above with new technology it can help or hurt an artist. So as an artist you have to make sure you know your rights or surround yourself with people that will help you protect your rights. As the music industry changes and adjusts to the Internet and all the new laws it brings, artist must be extremely carefully with their contracts and the deals that they make.

Music and Politics

Recently everyone was in an uproar when they heard a verse from Nicki Minaj from a mixtape, "I'm a Republican voting for Mitt Romney/You lazy bitches is f---ing up the economy.” Nicki Minaj fans took to Twitter and Facebook to talk about their feelings on the verse. President Obama responded by saying he was sure that she didn’t mean anything by it and was just playing one of her characters. Nicki later went on to say that she appreciated that President Obama understood where she was coming from.

This leads to the question of “How big of an impact does music have in politics?” For years musicians have made music about wars and politics from their points of view. So should artists think about the things they say and how it affects their fans. Nicki Minaj probably thought that no one would take that one line seriously, but it has been the topic of discussion for weeks.

Artists have even supported and made commercials for Rock the Vote to encourage young adults to register to vote. Many celebrities whether Democrat or Republican have used their star power to back their favorite candidate. They know that their fans listen to their music and when they talk about the things they support.

Once you are in the spotlight your words and actions are under a microscope. I think sometimes artist forget this because they are trying to be creative. Their words are powerful especially to their younger fans that look up to them. No matter how much they try not to be, they are role models and need to think about what their music says to their fans.

Remembering Music Mogul Chris Lightly

Last week, Chris Lighty a very influential man in Hip-Hop passed away. He came up in the industry carry music crates for DJ Red Alert then working for Russell Simmons. Chris Lighty turned that hard work into creating a label of his own Violator Records. Violator was the home to such artist as Missy Elliot, 50 Cent, LL Cool J and Busta Rhymes.

Lighty’s passing was felt all across the industry, the various people he worked with or came in contact with. With each message they left on twitter you can tell he was an inspiration to the people he managed, others in the music industry, and close friends and family.

Nick Cannon tweeted, “I'm devastated right now. I can't believe my big brother Chris Lighty is gone... He was a pioneer, a mentor, and a great friend RIP.”

Russell Simmons tweeted, “RIP Chris Lighty. Today, we lost a hip-hop hero and one of its greatest architects...”

Below is a video of Chris Lighty talking about what it took to be in the music industry. He also talked about how persistent he had to be to make it.

Chris Lighty’s presence will truly be missed in the music industry. He was a man that thought outside of the box. Always thinking of ways to make deals work for himself and most importantly his artists. He knew that no matter how high your status became in the industry the work was not over.  I think anyone looking to get into the music industry or become an artist manager needs to look to Chris Lighty as an example of how it should be done. Work hard for your clients and build lasting relationships in the industry, not just business relationship but also personal relationships. My condolences go out to his family and friends for their lost of such a great person.