| In every interview, we watch writers or artists say, 'I've never, ever tried to write a hit. That’s the way to not have hits; you can’t try to write a hit.' Ryan and I are the absolute opposite. We absolutely try to write what we think will be a hit. |
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Songwriter Victoria Monét (left) with her most notable client, Ariana Grande, at the One Love Manchester benefit, Manchester, England, June 4, 2017.
(Dave Hogan/Getty Images)
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“In every interview, we watch writers or artists say, 'I've never, ever tried to write a hit. That’s the way to not have hits; you can’t try to write a hit.' Ryan and I are the absolute opposite. We absolutely try to write what we think will be a hit.”
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All Shook Up
After a few days of Instagram anonymity, a group of songwriters calling themselves THE PACT who want artists to stop demanding songwriting credit and royalties for songs they didn't write have started naming names. Their own names, that is. They include EMILY WARREN, who's provided hits to DUA LIPA and the CHAINSMOKERS among others; TAYLA PARX and VICTORIA MONÉT, who've collaborated on several ARIANA GRANDE hits and worked with numerous pop stars separately; JUSTIN TRANTER (JUSTIN BIEBER, DEMI LOVATO, BRITNEY SPEARS), and several more A-list writers. They haven't publicly named the artists who they say typically ask for 15 percent of a song and sometimes much more. For now, at least, you'll have to guess. But in an open letter Tuesday, the songwriters got louder and clearer. They say they'll no longer give credits to non-writer artists "without a reasonably equivalent/meaningful exchange for all the writers on the song."
Credit grabbing is an old practice that goes back to some of the greatest singers of the 20th century (ELVIS, cough cough), who argued that songs were all but worthless without their imprimatur, and who often had all the leverage. It was the music business version of what the Mafia would call paying tribute. Not coincidentally, the mob had a decent piece of the record business back then. The writers in the Pact say that while the artists themselves aren't always personally to blame, the problem has gotten worse in recent years. "Everybody knows about this: managers, labels, publishers, lawyers, everybody," one writer told Variety's JEM ASWAD, anonymously (though all those writers signed the open letter, there's still a fear of losing work for saying too much in public). Even A-list songwriters continue to be reminded of how small they are. "There’s been some pretty intense bullying about my lack of worth to a project—and how I should feel lucky," Emily Warren, one of the Pact's organizers, told Aswad. Artists' teams also say they deserve a cut because they have to, for example, spend time on the road promoting the songs they record.
But of course part of the reason fans pay hundreds if not thousands of dollars to see those artists in concert is to hear those songs. And that's why they buy, download and stream the albums. Maybe the songwriters should be demanding that the artists fork over a cut of *their* royalties. Maybe the artists are the ones who should feel lucky. Or maybe everyone can simply agree to recognize each other's unique contributions and get together to fight for a cause that should unite them all. "I want to be a part of the Pact," Justin Tranter told Aswad, "so the next generation of songwriters aren’t taken advantage of because they’re desperate to pay their rent." Any artist should be able to identify with that.
Etc Etc Etc
I'm not sure we really need another CLUBHOUSE, but if SPOTIFY can use the LOCKER ROOM technology it just bought to not only put people in a room together but let them hear and play music together in that room, I'm all ears... The slow, tentative return of live music, continued: GUSTAVO DUDAMEL and the BAVARIAN STATE OPERA in a half-roped-off Barcelona opera house. CROWDED HOUSE in a sold-out Auckland arena... Congratulations to my old SONICNET colleague DAWNIE WALTON on the publication of her debut novel, THE FINAL REVIVAL OF OPAL & NEV, which the New York Times describes as "a rockumentary in written form, with bonus commentary."
Rest in Peace
BRIAN ROHAN, the celebrated San Francisco "dope lawyer" who represented the GRATEFUL DEAD in label negotiations *and* in court. His other clients included JEFFERSON AIRPLANE, JANIS JOPLIN, KRIS KRISTOFFERSON, AEROSMITH and BOSTON... Multiple-Grammy-winning producer and engineer MICHAEL BISHOP, best known for his long association with TELARC RECORDS.
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| Matty Karas (@troubledoll), curator |
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DJ Mag |
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| How vinyl has survived during the coronavirus pandemic |
| by Bruce Tantum |
| The Covid-19 crisis has thrown up many problems for the manufacturing and distribution of vinyl. Bruce Tantum speaks to a selection of record shops, labels, cutting houses and distributors and learns that — by adapting — many of those working with vinyl are thriving against the odds. |
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Clean Scene |
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| Last Night a DJ Took Flight |
| by Eilidh McLaughlin, Eva Fineberg and Fallon MacWilliams |
| Exploring the carbon footprint of touring DJs and looking towards alternative futures within the dance music industry. |
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Variety |
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| Who Is the Songwriters’ Group the Pact, and What Do They Want? |
| by Jem Aswad |
| After a few weeks of rumors and a pair of anonymous social-media posts, a group of top-level songwriters calling themselves the Pact went above ground on Tuesday with a letter calling for an end to the one of the longest-running open secrets of the music industry: the practice of artists demanding credit and publishing for songs they did not write. |
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The New York Times |
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| Is the Music Over at Mills College? |
| by Geeta Dayal |
| A hotbed of experimental sound for nearly a century, this school in Oakland, Calif., is preparing to close its doors. |
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Bloomberg |
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| YouTube Refuses to Remove Anti-Asian Song, Drawing Staff Ire |
| by Nico Grant |
| YouTube’s refusal to remove a song some employees find racist to people of Asian origin is the latest clash in a growing national debate about anti-Asian hate. YG's song "Meet the Flockers" includes lyrics that encourage the targeting of neighborhoods where Chinese people live. |
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GQ |
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| Country Singer Margo Price on Sobriety, the 'Most Rebellious Thing I've Ever Done' |
| by Margo Price |
| The songwriter reflects on a year of radical change. |
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Vulture |
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| How AJR’s Broadway-Inspired Banger Took Over the Pop Charts |
| by Charlie Harding and Nate Sloan |
| “We absolutely try to write what we think will be a hit.” |
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Slate |
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| When TikTok Makes You Famous, How Do You Turn That Into IRL Success? |
| by Melinda Fakuade |
| 24kGoldn talks about his Billboard-charting breakout and becoming famous during the pandemic. |
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Los Angeles Times |
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| Dudamel conducts for an audience of 1,000 indoors. What reopening looks like in Spain |
| by James C. Taylor |
| While Disney Hall remains dark in L.A., Gustavo Dudamel conducts the opera 'Otello' in Barcelona, where reopening is not what you might expect. |
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Pollstar |
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| Q1 2021*: The Asterisk Begins To Fade |
| by Andy Gensler |
| Much like 2020, the first quarter of 2021 in live music inevitably will be marked with an asterisk, a stark reminder that this aberration of a year will be eternally qualified as outside the norm. But this time the asterisk is nowhere near as indelible or dreary as it was even a quarter ago. |
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| i wrote the very first song |
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The New York Times |
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| Lil Nas X, Clapback Champ |
| by Jon Caramanica |
| The rapper’s new single, video and sneaker were merely the prelude to a brilliantly orchestrated main event: a virtuosic performance on Twitter. |
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Beatportal |
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| The Next Generation of Dubstep Producers are Diverse, Inclusive, and Pushing Boundaries |
| by Jordan Mafi |
| Meet seven groundbreaking producers who are leading the charge for a more inclusive and musically experimental dubstep scene. |
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The Music Biz Weekly Podcast |
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| Roblox's Global Head of Music Talks About How You Can Be Part of Roblox |
| by Michael Brandvold, Jay Gilbert and Jonathan Vlassopulos |
| Jonathan Vlassopulos, Vice President and Global Head of Music for Roblox, discusses what Roblox is doing to support the music community and how you can, and should, be part of this online community where music tribes are spending their time online. |
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Variety |
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| BTS-Style Fandom Makes Splash in Hong Kong |
| by Vivienne Chow |
| Dedicating her time and energy to strategizing ticket purchases for a young idol was never part of Chung Ling's life plans. |
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Please Kill Me |
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| Vin Diesel, Arthur Russell And Me |
| by Gary Lucas |
| Mixmaster Arthur Russell meets wannabe rapper Mark Sinclair (aka Vin Diesel). What could possibly go wrong? That’s what Gary Lucas thought when he brought these two talents together in a recording studio. |
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NPR |
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| Are You Ready To Rock? Music Festivals Prepare For A 2021 Comeback |
| by Andrew Limbong |
| Some concert organizers are making plans to forge ahead cautiously this festival season, hoping that increased vaccination will make concerts safe and appealing. |
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The Coda Collection |
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| Malcolm Young: AC/DC’s Giant in the Shadows |
| by Greg Kot |
| Malcolm Young stood barely 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighed little more than 100 pounds, but he was a giant figure in rock ‘n’ roll and the driving force of AC/DC. He not only founded the band and recruited his brother Angus Young and vocalist Bon Scott to become its focal points, he cowrote the songs and provided its vision. |
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Billboard |
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| After an Impressive 2020 Run, It's Time to Put Respect on Russ' Name |
| by Carl Lamarre |
| Billboard caught up with Russ to speak about his 2020 run, mastering the art of detachment, handling fear, wanting a Grammy, and more. |
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Aquarium Drunkard |
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| Archie Shepp :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview |
| by Sarah Louise |
| Archie Shepp's latest album, "Let My People Go," a collaboration with pianist Jason Moran, finds the saxophobist engaging deeply with his personal history. |
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Broken Record |
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| Broken Record: Merry Clayton's Redemption |
| by Bruce Headlam and Merry Clayton |
| The legendary backup singer talks about the lasting impression hearing Mahalia Jackson and Aretha Franklin sing in church left on her as a little girl. She recalls how the Rolling Stones convinced her to get out of bed in the middle of the night to sing on “Gimme Shelter” and how Coldplay's Chris Martin was the first person to get her back in the studio after a tragic car accident. |
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| Music of the day |
| "Fixerupper" |
| Tayla Parx |
| Give the songwriter some. |
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YouTube |
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Give the songwriter some.
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| Music | Media | Sports | Fashion | Tech |
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“REDEF is dedicated to my mother, who nurtured and encouraged my interest in
everything and slightly regrets the day she taught me to always ask ‘why?’” |
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| Jason Hirschhorn |
| CEO & Chief Curator |
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