Songwriters, music reps meet with Rep Marsha Blackburn to discuss music rights
October 26th, 2011
Nashville, Tenn. — Songwriters and Music industry representatives are meeting in Washington, D.C., with U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn to discuss protection of intellectual property rights.
The Congressional Songwriters Caucus, which Blackburn chairs and founded in 2003, will have a round table discussion on Wednesday in the Rayburn House Office Building.
via Songwriters, music reps meet with Blackburn to discuss intellectual property rights | The Republic.
ACM Establishes New Songwriter Award
October 20th, 2011
A lot of people realize that songwriters don’t get the recognition they should. We’re always hearing about hit songs being attributed to an artist who recorded the popular version of a song, but rarely do we see songs attributed to the songwriters who created them. Could the ACM awards be about to change that?
According to Music Row.com, The Academy of Country Music is establishing a Songwriter of the Year Award, to be presented in conjunction with next year’s 47th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards. The trophy will be handed out at the ACM Honors in Nashville in fall 2012. Read the rest of this entry »
American Troops in Afghanistan Cool Things Down By Writing and Playing Songs.
October 11th, 2011
By Katherine Haddon (AFP)
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan — Armed with acoustic guitars, US troops in Afghanistan are writing songs about everything from fear of the Taliban to dreams of going home, all in a bid to beat combat stress.
At Bagram airfield, the giant US base north of Kabul, and scores of smaller outposts, soldiers keep a guitar by their bed or at their desk and pick it up at quiet times to play to themselves or perform for a group.
Soldiers sit on the steps of their wooden barracks strumming chords at night, or on the concrete security barriers which dot the base. Chinese-made acoustic guitars are on sale at many of Bagram’s shops.
While their musical genius may not compare to stars like Elvis Presley or Jimi Hendrix, both of whom served in the US army, troops say it is an important way to wind down and taste normal life, albeit briefly.
Nice to know that music has a way of providing some calm in the midst of a storm.
Steve Jobs’ Contribution To Songwriters
October 6th, 2011
By Norm Daniels
We do mostly articles for songwriters here, so we must acknowledge the tremendous contribution of Steve Jobs to the music business from a songwriter’s standpoint. The whole world knows his great influence in the development of the personal computer, and then the groundbreaking developments such as the iPod, iPhone and iPad, and even animated film, through his Pixar Studios. But a lot of articles don’t include what his revolution in music did for songwriter royalties.
Of course songwriters earn their greatest royalties when a single they wrote is broken out from an album and is picked up by radio. From radio play, comes performance royalties, and record sales from that radio play can be generated much more quickly since digital downloads began. It was Jobs whose vision kicked off and largely maintains the millions of digital downloads sold these days, not only via iTunes, a Jobs creation, but through dozens of me-too sites. Example: Rodney Atkins no. 1 hit “Take the Backroad” sold 600,000 downloads before the album was even released.
Loeb & Loeb LLP has added attorney John P. Strohm to its Nashville office as senior counsel in the Music Industry Practice. He has extensive experience negotiating agreements related to music publishing, recording, distribution and emerging media, including numerous transactions with major and independent record labels and music publishers…important news to us, because Loeb & Loeb is the law firm that represents ParamoountSong.com and our affiliated music publisher, ParMusic Group.
Bobby Braddock To Be Honored By BMI As Songwriting Icon
October 3rd, 2011
BMI will honor Bobby Braddock as a BMI songwriting Icon during its 59th annual Country Awards. The private ceremony is slated for Tuesday, Nov. 8 at BMI’s Music Row offices in Nashville, Tenn.
The Icon award is given to BMI songwriters who have had a “unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers.” Braddock, who will be celebrated with a musical tribute that evening, joins a list of past honorees that includes Billy Sherrill, John Fogerty, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Isaac Hayes, Merle Haggard, Brian Wilson, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, the Bee Gees, Ray Davies, James Brown and more.
more via BMI To Honor Braddock As Songwriting Icon : MusicRow.