This past week, the New York Times reported on an issue Mountain Dew is having with endorser Lil Wayne, stemming back to a verse he contributed to a totally unrelated song. It seems Jeezy made a reference to Emmett Till, an important figure in the civil rights movement, that Mr. Till’s family found quite insensitive. The Times reports: The family took issue with vulgar lyrics referring to Till that were performed by Lil Wayne on a remix of “Karate Chop,”… Continue reading
Given the ubiquity of the new Daft Punk release lately, we’ve discovered a video that delivers unique take on one of their classic songs. Paired with old film footage, Maxence Cyrin’s piano-only performance of “Around The World” from his 2009 covers album “Novo Piano’ reveals hidden drama behind the repeating loops. The album is available via iTunes. and includes covers of Beyonce’s “Crazy In Love” and Nirvana’s “Lithium” as well.
Licenses aren’t typically all-encompassing or everlasting. When a brand or a filmmaker uses a popular song in a video they want to post or archive online, or a film with uncertain distribution, the license must include specific use terms. It might seem ideal to license a song for an indefinite amount of time or media, but the license needs to be negotiated to include the specific, concrete terms of the project in order for the rights holders to review and… Continue reading
British Soul Musician Michael Kiwanuka appears on the Top Ten with the 3rd single “I’ll Get Along”, from his debut album “Home Again”. Kiwanuka has made a big impression on the music world this past year. His brand of soul, natural and folksy, is reminiscent of the legendary Otis Redding. Along with the successful release of his album, Michael also received the prestigious BBC Sound of 2012, an annual BBC poll of music critics and industry figures to find the… Continue reading
Previously a gospel choir director and secondary school teacher, we are so glad Laura Mvula put her music conservatory education to use as a songwriter and singer. We’re loving the complexities of Mvula’s soulful sound, energy and spunk.
Emily Youssef, Content Licensing (Freelance) Getty Full Name, rank and serial number, please? Emily Youssef, rock god (status pending) What has been your path through the music business? How did you get to where you are? My foray into the business came as a journalist–my first gig was as a hip-hop columnist. My first interview was with a nice lad named Layzie Bone of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, probably a decade after they hit the mainstream. I learned production at recording studios… Continue reading
As we saw in this week’s post about types of licenses, there are a lot of steps needed to legally license a song. While we do our best to negotiate sync licenses as efficiently and inexpensively as possible, there are many factors that may create challenges during the process. Even though every license negotiation is circumstantial, there are many factors that influence how difficult it may be to license a song and whether a use of a song will ultimately… Continue reading
Licensing music can be a long and complicated process. So complex, in fact, that we’ve previously created an entire infographic that lays out the mess. You’ll need entirely differently licenses depending on how you want to use the music. Some will require you to contact Performance Rights Organizations (PROs), publishers, record labels, or some combination thereof. If you’re not clear on how to go about getting a music license or what kind of license you need, you’re not alone. Let’s… Continue reading
The first is from Malaysian singer/songwriter Yuna, who serenades us with her beautiful song “Lullabies.” The track is stripped down, soothing to the ear, and her lovely voice is on full display. It’s also a change of pace from her upbeat indie pop style, featured on most of the album. With the success of her debut self-titled album, Yuna recently signed a deal with Universal sub–label Verve Records. Check out more of Yuna’s music on her artist page at GreenLight… Continue reading
We may not be quite as excited by this video as we were by this crowd-sourced music video, but it’s nice seeing more examples of music videos as interactive media. While you can get the idea from the video above, the live version with the most recent tweets is only available here: http://tweetflight.wearebrightly.com/ And to think people used to say music videos were dying.