The city of Chicago dropped its lawsuit Wednesday against the police union in its fight over city employee COVID-19 vaccine orders, saying the complaint became unnecessary as more officers complied. … Click to Continue »
Spotify hosts a large offering of spoken word content on its platform these days, including comedy, podcasts, and poetry along with the music the platform has always been known for. Last week, however, on Nov. 24, the day before Thanksgiving, the streaming service quietly took down a broad swath of its spoken comedy recordings, including some of major comedy stars like Mike Birbiglia, John Mulaney and Jeff Foxworthy.
Sparking confusion and outrage among these affected comedians and their fans, as of Wednesday (Dec. 1), a full week later, the Spotify takedowns remain in place. So why did this happen in the first place?
Like music, there are two copyrights for a spoken-word comedy routine. First, the copyright for sound recording itself — for which many comedians collect royalties via SoundExchange — and second, its underlying literary work, like the jokes that you write down on the page. But until recently, no one had set up a collection society to earn any performing or mechanical royalties (known as “reproduction” royalties for spoken word) for the underlying literary copyright.
Enter, Spoken Giants and Word Collections. Like music performing rights organizations ASCAP and BMI, these companies organize performing rights licenses — and mechanical (“reproduction”) licenses, unlike music PROs — on behalf of their signed, spoken word talent. Spoken Giants was founded in 2019, after about a year of amassing a star studded membership of over 300 of the top comics and spreading awareness about their purpose. Word Collections was founded in November 2020 by TuneCore and Audium founder Jeff Price. Last spring, Spoken Giants started sending introductory letters and term sheets to streaming platforms and digital and terrestrial radio, stating that they would now like to start negotiating for the rates of acquiring rights to spoken word content.
“This is something that has never been done before,” explains former BMI executive turned Spoken Giants CEO Jim King. “These rights have never been pursued.”
What sets Spoken Giants’ and Word Collections’ efforts apart form ASCAP and BMI, however, in terms of the rates for performing rights, is that they are not dogged by a government consent decree, which forces the music PROs negotiations with DSPs to be settled in court instead of directly between the two parties.
But still, King says the company is “modeling itself after the music industry.” “We don’t want any more or any less than what a songwriter or another type of creator might receive for their royalty. In that way, we are not trying to create something new.”
Spotify, however, according to King, did not want to negotiate, and within the last few months, Spotify mentioned the possibility of taking down content.
Although Spoken Giants negotiators tried to get Spotify to “talk first,” King says, “the next conversation we had, well, it wasn’t really a conversation… It was just an email at 5 o’clock on Thanksgiving Eve, saying they were taking it all down.”
When asked for comment, a Spotify spokesperson said, “Spotify has paid significant amounts of money for the content in question, and would love to continue to do so. However, given that Spoken Giants is disputing what rights various licensors have, it’s imperative that the labels that distribute this content, Spotify and Spoken Giants come together to resolve this issue to ensure this content remains available to fans around the globe.”
Though it remains unclear the full scope of comedians affected by the takedowns, it seems Spotify is focused Spoken Giants. Fans online, however, have speculated other comedians like Robin Williams and Kevin Hart (neither of which currently work with Spoken Giants) have been removed as well.
“Obviously I was pretty shocked that Spotify removed so much stand up comedy from its catalog… It’s really unfortunate for so many comics who build up their target audience off of people finding them on places like Spotify. They’re such a big chunk of the audio marketplace” says comedian Dan Cummins, who had content removed from Spotify.
“I agree with [Spoken Giants about Spotify],” says Price. “They might be a competitor, but we should all be fighting for the same common cause, which is, comedians have been f—ed by these streaming services. It’s not right, and it needs to stop.”
On Wednesday, at 9:15 p.m. EST, Spoken Giants sent the following letter to its membership regarding the ongoing situation with Spotify.
An update on Spotify’s takedown of material from Spoken Giants members and other comedians …
The reasons for Spotify’s decision are not clear and our legal and negotiations teams are working to re-engage with Spotify to establish proper licensing for your underlying literary rights. Spoken Giants has been working in good faith to negotiate a blanket license for your comedy composition rights. In the last couple days we have seen online a report that Spotify indicates they are currently working with us to resolve this situation. We wish this was true and are working to make this true!
Important points for you:
· Spoken Giants represents you, comedians, who should get paid for the comedy content you write, just like songwriters get paid for the songs they write.
· Spoken Giants wants your works that we represent to be available as widely as possible, across as many platforms as possible.
· As we’ve worked to establish fair, equitable licenses with Spotify, Spoken Giants has never requested that Spotify take down comedy content.
· Spotify unilaterally decided to take down content on the night before Thanksgiving, after business hours were over for the day and for the long holiday weekend.
· A broad spectrum of comedians and record labels are being negatively impacted by Spotify’s retaliatory response to our professionally worded, legally sound requests to discuss fair compensation.
· Spotify has not advised us on if, or when, they will restore comedy content on their service. Currently, so much great comedy is unavailable on Spotify because Spotify refuses to discuss paying you for what you write.
· Not only is Spotify trying to punish comedians represented by Spoken Giants for asserting their right to be paid for the content they write but it appears that Spotify is also taking down comedy written by comedians who aren’t affiliated with Spoken Giants.
Our goal is to represent you, the members of Spoken Giants, and to work in a cooperative method with the platforms delivering your comedy content. We have reached out to Spotify to rectify this as quickly as possible, keeping in mind your best interests. I will endeavor to provide regular updates on where things stand and welcome your feedback. Thank you so much for your patience and your continued belief in Spoken Giants.
Programming veteran John Ivey is moving up at iHeartMedia. Effective immediately, Ivey will take on the role of president of CHR (Contemporary Hits Radio) content development and strategy.
In his new role, Ivey will focus on the recruitment, training, deployment and career growth of talent across all of iHeart’s CHR stations. In addition, Ivey will work closely with executive vp of talent development Dennis Clark to coach and develop talent.
Ivey takes on the new role after being named president of CHR programming strategy in 2017. With the new promotion, he’ll be stepping down as program director at powerhouse Los Angeles station KIIS FM, a job he’s held for 20 years, with a successor to be announced tomorrow. Ivey will continue reporting to Tom Poleman, chief programming officer and president of the national programming group for iHeartMedia.
“For over 20 years, John has been a key part of our successful Los Angeles market and our CHR stations across the country,” said Poleman in a release. “Now he will step into another integral role within iHeart – a role which represents that iHeart is a talent-first company dedicated to building the skills, capacity and drive of our nationally-recognized on-air personalities. John’s extensive experience in programming and his credibility within the industry are perfect for leading and elevating this initiative.”
Throughout Ivey’s tenure as KIIS FM program director, the station has maintained large audiences with hit shows including the morning show On Air with Ryan Seacrest. Ivey has also been instrumental in securing top-tier talent for iHeartRadio’s KIIS FM Jingle Ball and Wango Tango, two of the largest live radio events of the year. This year’s Jingle Ball will include performances from Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa, Doja Cat, Lil Nas X and Kane Brown.
“My mother took me to a radio station for the first time on my sixth birthday. The PD of that station, Mrs. Potter was my first mentor. Next was my first PD, Steve Hagen and later the legendary Steve Rivers. Now it’s my turn to focus on talent first at iHeart,” said Ivey in a release. “Thanks to Bob Pittman for always supporting me and allowing me to pitch a dream and turn it into a job. I love supporting talent, watching them grow and achieve their goals. Let’s GO!”
Ivey is a 40-plus year radio veteran and the longest-running program director for KIIS FM. He began his radio career as an on-air personality and music director in his hometown of Owensboro, Kentucky and later led programming efforts for stations in New York, Tennessee and Boston. He joined iHeartMedia Los Angeles in 2001 and throughout his tenure has served in a variety of roles, including vp of programming for the market, program director of KYSR FM and KHHT FM, senior vp of programming and CHR brand manager for iHeartMedia.
Shawn Mendes mends his broken heart following his high-profile breakup with Camila Cabello on his new song “It’ll Be Okay,” which was released Wednesday (Dec. 1).
He first teased the single via Instagram on Tuesday with a 12-second snippet of him singing, “Are we gonna make it?/ Is this gonna hurt?” over swelling, organ-like synths. He continues singing about patching up the wounds of a lost love in the chorus: “If you tell me you’re leaving, I’ll make it easy/ It’ll be okay/ If we can’t stop the bleeding/ We don’t have to fix it/ We don’t have to stay/ I will love you either way/ Ooh-ooh, it’ll be oh, be okay/ Ooh-ooh.”
“It’ll Be Okay” arrives just two weeks after Mendes and Cabello announced their breakup after the all-star couple had been dating for more than two years. The pop stars, who hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 together with “Señorita” in 2019, released a joint statement addressing their split, promising fans that they “started our relationship as best friends and will continue to be best friends.”
The song also marks Mendes’ first solo music release since his fourth studio album Wonder, which he released almost exactly a year ago on Dec. 4, 2020, and topped the Billboard 200. He’ll be taking Wonder all around the world during his 2022 tour, which kicks off its European leg in spring before heading Stateside next summer with openers Dermot Kennedy and Tate McRae.
Listen to “It’ll Be Okay” below.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! No, not the start of the Christmas season — it’s Spotify Wrapped day!
That’s right, it’s what all your listening habits have been leading up to: the day the streaming giant tabulates all your personal data to serve up a custom accounting of your top artists, songs and playlists from the past year. Plus, it’s all presented in a colorfully curated package, perfect for sharing on Instagram. (And while we’re at it, don’t pay any attention to the haters: Only Grinches take time to post about how “no one cares about your Spotify Wrapped.”)
While this year’s feature also comes with personalized audio auras (were you “wistful and focused” or “euphoric and bold”?) and a funky display of your top genres, your Spotify Wrapped can sometimes be hard to find. So if you’re panicking seeing everyone’s posts, don’t worry. We’re here to help.
First of all, unlike some previous years, this year’s Spotify Wrapped is only accessible on the Spotify mobile app. So if you go to spotify.com/wrapped like usual, you’ll be directed to download the app.
Once you’ve done that and logged in, your personalized look back at 2021 should appear right on the home screen with the message “Your 2021 Wrapped is here” beneath your six most recent listens. Note: Some existing users had to update the app before the link to their Wrapped showed up — this writer included!
Click the icon and you’ll be guided through a fun journey revisiting all your favorite music that soundtracked your 2021. You’ll get an opening credits theme, the number of minutes you spent listening throughout the year, the amount of times you streamed your top song and more! As Spotify says in this year’s Wrapped, “Now go forth and proudly share your top-tier taste with the world.”
Don McLean received an unexpected surprise from Taylor Swift in the mail this week, after the younger singer-songwriter broke his decades-long record on the Billboard Hot 100.
On Wednesday (Dec. 1), the “American Pie” singer shared a photo of Swift’s gift of flowers and a sweet note. “What a classy artist!” McLean tweeted, sharing Swift’s handwritten inscription that reads, “Don, I will never forget that I’m standing on the shoulders of giants. Your music has been so important to me. Sending love one writer of LONG SONGS to another. Your fan, Taylor.”
The gracious gesture comes on the heels of “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)” — including Swift’s long-rumored 10-minute take on the Red fan favorite — unseating “American Pie” as the longest No. 1 Hot 100 hit in Billboard history. (At 10 minutes and 13 seconds, “All Too Well” outpaces the former titleholder’s run time of 8:36 by just under two minutes.)
“There is something to be said for a great song that has staying power,” McLean told Billboard after Swift bested his record. “‘American Pie’ remained on top for 50 years and now Taylor Swift has unseated such a historic piece of artistry. Let’s face it, nobody ever wants to lose that #1 spot, but if I had to lose it to somebody, I sure am glad it was another great singer/songwriter such as Taylor.”
After debuting at No. 1, “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)” dropped to the No. 4 spot this week, with Adele’s “Easy on Me” reigns atop the chart for a fifth non-consecutive week.
Check out McLean’s tweet to Swift below.
What a classy artist! Thank you @taylorswift13 for the flowers & note! pic.twitter.com/A0WRxaVEgE
— Don McLean (@donmclean) December 1, 2021
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Japanese movie star and singer Masaki Suda shared the new music video accompanying his latest single called “Last Scene.” The CD for the track written by Huwie Ishizaki, Suda’s collaborator on such hits as “Sayonara Elegy” and “Niji,” was released on Wednesday (Nov. 24).
“Last Scene” is the theme song for the ongoing TBS drama series Japan Sinks: People of Hope, based on the classic 1973 disaster novel by Japanese author Sakyo Komatsu. The track is about finding hope in the midst of an unseen crisis and continuing to believe without giving up.
The video was directed by Kyotaro Hayashi, the visual artist responsible for distinctive music videos by numerous J-pop acts including Suda’s “Machigaisagashi,” Gen Hoshino’s “Fushigi,” and Mr.Children’s “here comes my love.”
The single-toned visuals for “Last Scene” captures Suda performing the track outdoors in what the artist and director both admit were terrible weather conditions, depicting the theme of the song in a pensive deep blue color.
“The song ‘Last Scene’ is about hope and the ideal leader,” shares Suda. “The video is like a photograph, like a painting, like the future, like the past, dreamy, raw, and mysterious.”
Hayashi says that he was inspired by old-fashioned blueprints for the clip. “Masaki said he wanted it to be a beautiful blue fantasy,” the director recalls. “The blueprint is one of the oldest forms of copying and has been used in a variety of situations. I thought that the beautiful texture of the indigo color and the duplicated Masaki Suda looking at us and facing forward would be enough to convey the fantasy he described and the emotion behind the lyrics.”
