"Another lawyer," according to the Wall Street Journal.
May 9 • 17 tweets • 6 min read
As the end of my semester meets the announcement of the new Pope the story of Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel, it’s very relevant.
In his effort to beautify Rome, prolific art patron Pope Julius II wanted the most skilled and renowned artists.
🧵1/17 thecatholicherald.com/the-staggering…
Michelangelo’s statue of David, and other works from Christian history, made him the perfect choice. Rightly, his Pietà is seen as the start of the High Renaissance. The Pope wanted Michelangelo to paint the Sistine, but the artist considered himself a sculptor, not a painter.
Aug 13, 2024 • 14 tweets • 3 min read
HOT OFF THE PRESSES: Judge Orrick declines to dismiss infringement or Lanham Act claims against Stability AI, Runway AI, Midjourney, and DeviantArt.
Andersen v. Stability AI is going forward to discovery.storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
GRANTED: MTD DMCA claims, w/prejudice
GRANTED: MTD unjust enrichment claims, with leave to amend
DENIED: MTD Copyright Act infringement claims
DENIED: MTD Lanham Act claims
GRANTED: MTD breach of contract / implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, w/prejudice
Jul 24, 2024 • 44 tweets • 9 min read
Much ado about Beyoncé permitting the VP to use her hit “Freedom” at campaign events. While not an endorsement, it does signify approval of Harris' candidacy. Bey is known for few clearances of her music, so permission is significant.
But is it necessary? nytimes.com/video/us/polit…
The answer comes down to classic legal canon: it depends. Depends on which rights you're asking about, which use (comp or sound recording?) even the place of the event and possibly the manner of use.
Apr 18, 2023 • 15 tweets • 4 min read
This is a good analysis of the label-side (and underlying pub side) of things but misses the bigger issue to artists in “the web of legal complexities around a given deepfake song”, @cheriehu42, bc it thinks of things in terms of the music ‘industry.’
waterandmusic.com/starter-packs-…
“Do artists get compensated for being included in training datasets? As we covered in previous research, consent, attribution, and compensation for AI model training data are less clear-cut than traditional sampling in the music industry.”
Claiming work is a dense layering of vocals in an acapella gospel track. Defending work has something similar as a vocal bed. Little chance either is original, so the claim is limited to alleged sampling of the SR. How they mean to prove that, I dunno.
businesswire.com/news/home/2022….
“It appears very clear to me that the two songs are very similar” says Pl.’s musicologist, but of course that’s not sufficient. Not only must those portions be substantially similar but also original to the claiming work.
May 7, 2022 • 24 tweets • 6 min read
“Music companies have a duty to stand up for artists and songwriters.” - @BMG
Cc: @BMG_News@BMG_US bmg.com/us/news/bmg-st…
One thing interesting in this is that publishers have long enjoyed a better reputation than labels, but labels big & small, with their trade orgs, have made more news (and more friends) of late.
Apr 10, 2022 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
People still searching for a genre title for what @_love_holly_ has dubbed Black Opry. She gave you one if you need it, but also it’s Americana. It’s country. It’s folk and it’s roots. No one calls Diana Krall “white jazz”, you don’t need to make “African Americana” a thing.
I support Holly G and all she’s doing, it’s a social movement as much as anything. If you want to call it something, call it what the artists doing the work call it. Don’t try to distinguish it for purposes of genre.
Apr 6, 2022 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
le sigh. He wasn’t charged with theft. And this is not a plagiarism case.
This isn’t necessarily an @alexmarshall81 problem, he didn’t write the headline, but there is no claim of theft either. Infringement is its own animal, here and abroad. Conflating with plagiarism confuses the issues and the standards.
Apr 6, 2022 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Encouraged by the attention this issue is now getting. I’m working with very smart people who are working hard to bring this issue to light for the public and lawmakers in several arenas trying to effectuate change. nytimes.com/2022/03/30/opi…
You can bet this is not a problem novel to the US
CRB set to withdraw proposed rule, reject settlement that
would freeze mechanical rates public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2022-06691.pdf
“In the dynamic music industry, there is insufficient reason to conclude that a static musical works rate is reasonable…”
Mar 21, 2022 • 36 tweets • 9 min read
Blurred Lines might’ve been avoided if defense council had moved for directed verdict. So says the appellet Court anyway. Thanks to Bill and Jaffe for highlighting the article, let’s take our own dive, shall we?
As @DanLifschitzEsq pointed out, I’m pleased that the court is recognizing there are musicological components to infringement that need to be addressed differently, or perhaps in a different order of operation, than in other forms of art infringement cases.
Nov 10, 2021 • 26 tweets • 11 min read
A🧵: Happy to be included in a meeting btwn the office of @RepHankJohnson and @jacklerner@Prophet5050 & @dinalapolt something I’ve been writing on and teaching for years now, and thinking about even longer: the criminalization of rap. Cc: @bma_coalition@wearesonaLA
1/24
Rep. Johnson is on the Judiciary Committee, Committee on Oversight & Reform, Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, and Chairs the Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet
2/24 hankjohnson.house.gov/about/house-ca…
