Guest post by Monica Corton (@momusing) Via The Guardian: Rock band Queen have lodged the latest protest againstĀ Donald TrumpĀ after the presidential candidate played the bandās famous anthem We Are the Champions at the Republican National Convention. āAn unauthorized use at the Republican Convention against our wishes,ā the British band said in a succinct statement posted on Twitter. Whatās a songwriter to do when a song is used without authorization by a politician who espouses opposite views? This increasingly is becoming…
ASCAP and the Great Pandora Battle Where Artists and Musicians Pay the Price
Guest post by Monica Corton (@momusing), Executive Vice President, Creative Affairs & Licensing Next Decade Entertainment, Inc. I spent many hours fielding questions and having conversations with songwriters about the recent win by Pandora in the ASCAP rate court. Mostly, the songwriters wondered why there was a battle in the first place and why ASCAP lost. Performance rights licensing (the right to publicly play/perform a song on the radio, television, the Internet, large venues etc.) is one of those areas…