Pandora Sued Over Oldies Royalties

Internet music service Pandora may still rule the roost when it comes to online radio, but their use of pre-1972 recordings is getting them in a lot of hot water with the music industry -- Capitol, Universal, Warner, Sony and ABKCO, the world's largest remaining music curators, have joined together and filed suit against Pandora in Manhattan, claiming that while US copyright law on oldies music has expired, New York state law still holds that royalties must be paid to the labels that own it (and, one would hope, the artists who made it in the first place).


Pandora has not officially responded to what the lawsuit calls its "massive and continuing unauthorized commercial exploitation" of these classic songs, which include "some of the most iconic music in the world," but this isn't the first time a streaming service has been called on the carpet to answer for state copyright law, either; SoundExchange, a clearinghouse which works to collect royalties on behalf of oldies musicians, sued satellite radio mainstay Sirius XM last year in much the same way. That case, still working its way through the courts, prompted Pandora to warn regulators that they would be forced to pull all music released before February 15,1972 if forced to pay for it. (Royalties already make up half of Pandora's expenses.) This would mean the removal of the most popular songs by artists such as The Beatles, Bob Dylan, James Brown,The Beach Boys, and Elvis Presley, just for starters.

 

Record Store Day is Here!

Record Store Day -- that special day which celebrates the remaining network of vinyl mom-and-pop music retailers around the world -- is here again, and this April 19th marks the eighth annual worldwide celebration with a long list of special vinyl LPs, EPs, and 12" singles you can only find at participating shops. Here's just a taste of what you can go pick up:

The Animals EP (1964, never released in the US)

Big Mama Thornton'sSassy Mama LP (live, 1975)

A new single by Eric Carmen called "Brand New Year"

Sam Cooke's final album Ain't That Good News

Creedence Clearwater Revival'sThe 1969 singles (eight songs, 10" white vinyl)

The Everly Brothers' Roots and Songs Our Daddy Taught Us LPs

The Zombies'I Love You and Odessey and Oracle LPs

The original soundtracks to The Muppet Movie and The Wizard of Oz

Randy Newman, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, and Otis Redding's debut LPs

A 10" EP of never before released Hank Williams radio shows

Donny Hathaway'sLive at the Bitter End, a live 1971 set never before available on vinyl

Dolly Parton's new single "Blue Smoke"

An EP of four previously unreleased Bruce Springsteen songs'

An exclusive Sun Records collection

Ronnie Spector's 1977 version of Billy Joel's "Say Goodbye to Hollywood," cut with the E Street Band

 

Aretha Franklin and Patti Labelle Fistfight? No

In the latest of a series of fake entertainment news stories just real-sounding enough to attract webpage clicks -- Google the recent urban legend about Bill Murray stopping a burglary in Japan -- an article on a "parody" news site went viral last week with a story about Aretha Franklin being mauled by Patti Labelle backstage at an Atlanta concert. Despite a tiny, hard-to-find disclaimer that the site itself was "purely satirical," thousands of Internet users apparently believed that the Queen of Soul snubbed the "Lady Marmalade" singer, leading to what would have been a truly epic old-school R&B diva battle. Ree Ree did refuse to acknowledge Patti in the crowd, purposefully or not, when both performed at a White House concert last month, but the two brought it in for a hug that very night, leaving no bad blood. To reiterate: Franklin was not rocked by two blows from Labelle in retaliation for the supposed snub, and Patti will not be serving time in Atlanta for any altercation. (The site in question, for comparison's sake, also features headlines about Leonardo DiCaprio being cast as MLK in a new biopic, as well as breaking news about a new religion that worships Beyonce.) 

 

"Shaft," "Cathy's Clown," "Fortunate Son" Honored by Congress 

The Library of Congress has once again released its yearly list of musical recordings inducted into its National Recording Registry, a section of the nation's federal library that aims to forever preserve recordings "that are culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." This year's honorees include Isaac Hayes' epochal "Theme from Shaft" ("A listening experience as innovative and exciting as the film itself"), Creedence Clearwater Revival's antiwar standard "Fortunate Son" ("[it] wasn’t a protest against the war itself but against the system that determined who would fight it"), and the Everly Brothers' "Cathy's Clown" ("The Beatles... cited “Cathy’s Clown” as an inspiration for “Please Please Me”). Also added this year were songs ranging from Bing Crosby's "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime" to Linda Ronstadt'sHeart Like a Wheel album and Jeff Buckley's highly influential cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah." Louis Jordan's "Caledonia," Elmore James' "Dust My Broom" and the U2 album The Joshua Tree were also honored, bringing to 400 the number of recordings inducted since the Registry was created in 2002.