A couple of weeks ago, a federal jury decided that Katy Perry copied the track ‘Joyful Noise’ by Christian rapper Flame when writing her hit ‘Dark Horse.’
The jury assessed damages of $2.78 million to be paid by Perry and ‘Dark Horse’s other songwriters.
Perry will certainly appeal, but the outcome of this lawsuit is scary for anybody who writes and records music for a living.
[Note: No Random Weekend post today… I wanted to get this one out there.]
One of the great benefits of popular music’s streaming revolution is how it has shortened the time and distance between artist and audience.
Rather than jumping through all the hoops (and cost) that come with a physical release, musicians can simply upload a song to social media 20 minutes after completion.
Here’s a track from the 2008 She & Him debut album Volume One. She & Him is a collaboration between actress/musical artist Zooey Deschanel and singer-songwriter M. Ward.
This song is a fine example of the album’s overall sound, indie folk with an old-fashioned sheen courtesy of Deschanel’s distinctive vocals. I liked the album a lot though I certainly don’t revisit it very often.
In 2005, two years after their self-titled album, Hootie & the Blowfish released their fifth — and to date, final — album of original material, Looking For Lucky.
The band returned to producer Don Gehman for this effort, and for the first time brought on additional songwriters for some tracks. Some of these songs hint at Darius Rucker’s move into country music, with a strong bluegrass influence and a number of religious references.
Ever since The Beatles released the white album, it seems every band feels the need to put out a mid-career self-titled record.
For Hootie & the Blowfish, that time came in 2003. Hootie & the Blowfish was the first album of original material by the band in five years, and the first without producer Don Gehman. Instead, Grammy-winning producer Don Was took the reins and brought more of a pop sheen to the music.
Meet Me In Montauk 