jason hirschhorn's @MusicREDEF: 12/05/2019 - Lyrical Genius, Vinyl Prices, Billie Eilish, Kurtis Blow, L.A. Songs, Plagiarism Police...

[Finneas] is really good at writing a verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge core, and I've grown up listening to and really liking songs that have, like, no structure, like Frank Ocean or Imogen Heap—songs that kind of don't make sense, but they do.
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H.E.R., aka Gabi Wilson, rocks the B.A.S.S. at the Essence Festival, New Orleans, July 06, 2019.
(Erika Goldring/Getty Images)
Thursday - December 05, 2019 Thu - 12/05/19
rantnrave:// It's easy to make light of GENIUS for suing GOOGLE for allegedly copying/stealing lyrics of songs that neither company wrote and that neither has any copyright claim on. Absent that copyright, Genius is claiming Google and one of its lyric partners, LYRICFIND, violated its terms of service and that Google engaged in anticompetitive behavior. The latter is based on the notion that Google isn't simply a competing lyric site; it's Google. As a number of legal experts quickly noted, the claims will be difficult ones for Genius to make in court, where it's seeking a minimum of $50 million in damages. They may be equally difficult to make in the court of public opinion, where anyone can simply point out that none of the companies involved in the suit owns the lyrics to SELENA GOMEZ's "LOSE YOU TO LOVE ME." Gomez, her co-writers (JULIA MICHAELS, JUSTIN TRANTER and the production team MATTMAN & ROBIN) and their respective publishers own them. Genius and Google both license them from the publishers, who, oddly, don't necessarily provide the lyrics along with the license. The companies often have to source the words themselves. What Genius does own is the rather ingenious bit of hidden Morse code it embedded in the Gomez song and others as a watermark, as well as the considerable labor required to transcribe, verify and organize all those lyrics. If another company scrapes the Genius site to get the lyrics for itself, that's what it's stealing. What protection does that labor deserve? What right does anyone else have to its output? Do songwriters, who are engaged in a daily battle to scrape pennies out of streaming companies who also don't own their work, see that labor as a natural ally or a natural enemy? Does the likelihood that they're seeing even fewer pennies from the Googles and Geniuses of the world change that math? If a music publisher who didn't supply its own lyrics to either Genius or LyricFind copy-pasted one of those companies' transcriptions and delivered them to everyone else, would *that* be a problem? If Genius wins in court, do Gomez, Michaels, Tranter, Mattman and Robin get any of that $50 million? I don't know what questions the court will ask. These are my questions... While APPLE TV+ hasn't said who's the subject of its upcoming OPRAH WINFREY-produced documentary on a sexual assault case in the music industry, the LOS ANGELES TIMES spotted several of RUSSELL SIMMONS' accusers in the official description of the movie by the SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL, where it will premiere in January. The Sundance slate also includes NETFLIX's TAYLOR SWIFT documentary MISS AMERICANA (which apparently has the clearances it needs from BIG MACHINE) as well as docs on ST. VINCENT (co-written and -produced with CARRIE BROWNSTEIN) and the GO-GO'S... Has Apple, meanwhile, paid BILLIE EILISH $25 million for a documentary about her due in 2020?... Speaking of Eilish, JEM ASWAD's deep dive with her and her brother FINNEAS into their songwriting process is fantastic. Also, she's well versed in the BEATLES, who are way older than VAN HALEN... Add WILLIE NELSON himself to the list of people who'll never smoke weed with WILLIE again. But he'll continue to enjoy cannabis in other forms, according to his publicist, who notes there are "numerous ways of consumption," which is a good song title if you're reading, TOBY KEITH... Federal prosecutors speaking highly of TEKASHI69.
- Matty Karas, curator
hoover street
The Guardian
A very Black Friday: how the fetish for vinyl is sending prices soaring
by Daniel Dylan Wray
The popularity of Record Store Day -- and its Black Friday edition -- is turbo-charging the collector mentality at the expense of the average buyer.
Variety
Bright Lines: Musicologists Police the Boundaries of Copyright Law
by Gene Maddaus
A couple of years ago, Todd Decker volunteered his services to Christian rapper Flame as a forensic musicologist — an expert who parses melodies and chord structures to determine if two songs are "substantially similar." In doing so, he found himself thrust into the middle of one of the hottest debates in music.
Smithsonian Magazine
Every Year Just 'Bout This Time, Kurtis Blow Celebrates With a Rhyme
by Bill Adler
In a 40-year salute to "Christmas Rappin," hip-hop chronicler Bill Adler tells the tale of how the famous rap recording came to life.
Los Angeles Times
50 Songs for a New L.A
by Randall Roberts and Priya Krishnakumar
From Ice Cube to Lana Del Rey, from Slauson to Silver Lake, a panoramic playlist for our city.
TechCrunch
Apple Music dives deeper into concert streaming with Billie Eilish
by Josh Constine
As music streaming apps struggle to differentiate, Apple is making concert video a more central part of its strategy with a Billie Eilish show at its HQ's Steve Jobs Theater.
Dazed Digital
Harassment and bias still major issues for women in music, says study
by Julia Czub
As shesaid.so and InChorus release findings on music industry issues, we speak to women who have dealt with comments, encounters, and discrimination firsthand.
The Undefeated
Jay-Z turns 50: Music, money and the legacy of Marcy Houses
by Justin Tinsley
As the rapper and businessman celebrates a big birthday, an examination of his life's work thus far
Variety
Billie Eilish and Her Brother and Co-Writer, Finneas, Get Deep About Their Process and What's Next
by Jem Aswad
While only one person appears on most of the magazine covers, Billie Eilish is actually a duo -- at least, musically speaking. Nearly every song the 17-year-old star has ever released was co-written with and produced by her 22-year-old brother Finneas O'Connell, whom she credits and affectionately introduces to concert audiences as "my big brother and my best friend."
Forbes
30 Under 30 2020: Music
by Zack O'Malley Greenburg and Alexandra Sternlicht
Topping charts and shifting culture.
Billboard
Ramones Heirs Reach Truce in Bitter Trademark Dispute
by Claudia Rosenbaum
The two heirs to The Ramones' legacy appear to have reached a truce in their bitter dispute over treatment of the band's legacy following an arduous and lengthy arbitration.
crenshaw & slauson
Rolling Stone
The 100 Best Songs of the 2010s
by Will Hermes, Brittany Spanos, Christian Hoard...
From Robyn to Taylor to Kendrick to J Balvin to Taylor - here are the greatest songs of the last 10 years.
Ted Gioia
The 100 Best Recordings of 2019
by Ted Gioia
Ted Gioia picks the 100 best albums of 2019, all styles, all genres.
Los Angeles Times
For today's pop drama queens, Jack Antonoff is more than a producer: He's their confessor
by Jenn Pelly
Jack Antonoff's work with Lana Del Rey and Taylor Swift helped make 2019 a banner year, culminating in three Grammy nominations, including record and album.
Vox
How an opera gets made
by Estelle Caswell
Backstage at the Metropolitan Opera.
Penny Fractions
A Correct History of Music Streaming
by David Turner
The internet's earliest days in the context of music lacked centralized, dominant platforms. This allowed for a wide range of experimentation in early digital album sales, releasing songs for free and helping establish online fan communities.
Dallas Observer
After Being Rejected by 'American Idol,' Emma Oliver Finds Her Audience on YouTube
by Malen Blackmon
One young woman from Waxahachie has gained national fame for singing cover songs in a parking garage after becoming an "American Idol" reject. Emma Oliver, 21, now has more clarity than ever before on what she can achieve through her music.
JAZZIZ Magazine
Introducing The Sanborn Sessions -- Episode 1: Kandace Springs
by Brian Zimmerman and Kandace Springs
JAZZIZ is proud to partner with six-time GRAMMY Award-winning saxophonist David Sanborn to present Sanborn Sessions, a gathering of top artists from a variety of genres to explore the essence of music and being a musician through song and conversation.
Mixmag
11 ways dance music became more ethical this decade
by Kamila Rymajdo, Jemima Skala and Andrew Kemp
A decade of growth.
Billboard
10 Things You May Have Forgotten Happened in 2010s Pop Music
by Robbie Daw
With 2020 just around the bend, allow us to jog your memory once more on this decade's least-greatest hits.
The New York Times
Turkey's Psychedelic Rock Star Speaks Her Mind, Ambiguously
by Alex Marshall
Gaye Su Akyol has revived a style of music once thought deeply uncool, and she uses it to comment poetically on her country.
MUSIC OF THE DAY
YouTube
"Come Down to Us"
Burial
Originally released in 2013, to be reissued as part of "Tunes 2011 to 2019," out Friday on Hyperdub.
"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?'"
@JasonHirschhorn


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