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ArtsWatch: N.Y. Court Supports Pre-1972 Performance Right

California's judicial earthquake in pre-1972 music licensing hits New York

GRAMMYs/Dec 3, 2014 - 05:06 am

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Turtles Litigation Notches New York Win
On Nov. 14 the Southern District of New York's U.S. District Court ruled against SiriusXM's motion for summary judgment in the Turtles trial over unpaid pre-1972 royalties, based on New York state law. "Sirius is correct that this holding is unprecedented (aside from the companion California case, which reached the same result), and will have significant economic consequences," wrote District Judge Colleen McMahon. "But in the end, all this case presents me with is a suit between private parties seeking to vindicate private property rights." McMahon gave SiriusXM until Dec. 5 to raise remaining issues about liability, after which she will grant summary judgment to former Turtles members' Flo & Eddie (Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan) and proceed to consider the extent of damages. Three cases were originally brought under state law in California, Florida and New York in 2013 by Flo & Eddie as class actions, claiming unpaid royalties under state law for recordings from before 1972, the year that newly recorded performances became governed by federal copyright. Flo & Eddie notched a California win in September in federal court, followed by a supporting October ruling in California state court on record labels' lawsuit against SiriusXM over the same issue. Similar cases against Pandora are pending, including one in New York brought by the labels and one in California initiated by Flo & Eddie. The list of potential defendants for additional lawsuits stretches beyond Pandora and SiriusXM. In an interview with Communications Daily this week, Recording Academy Chief Advocacy & Industry Relations Officer Daryl P. Friedman said there's a "long legal journey still ahead, but this is trending very well for artists," adding that Congress will likely view the progress and be prompted to draft uniform laws for sound recordings and performance royalties. Separately, on Nov. 20 the federal judge in the California Flo & Eddie action denied a motion from the new SiriusXM legal team to certify an interlocutory appeal. The lawsuit is expected to move forward to deal with class certification and determination of damages, and SiriusXM could appeal despite the ruling.

Congressional Endings, Beginnings And IP
Highlights of this post-election period, for intellectual property in Congress, include Rep. Bob Goodlatte's (R-Va.) selection on Nov. 19 as continuing chairman of the House Judiciary Committee in next year's incoming Congress. Goodlatte addressed the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's 2nd Annual Global IP Summit on Nov. 18 and reflected on his committee's work reviewing copyright. "The copyright review has not yet concluded so it is too early to draw any definitive conclusions about the committee's next steps," said Goodlatte. "However as our formal hearings draw to a close, the committee will be seeking your input on what should, and what should not, be improved within our nation's copyright laws." Separately, on Nov. 17 the Creative Rights Caucus announced that Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) will be joined by Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) in 2015 as co-chair, following current co-chair Howard Coble's (R-N.C.) retirement. The House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet held the last of its copyright review hearings on Nov. 19 on "Copyright Issues In Education And For The Visually Impaired." Both the caucus and the subcommittee, which has been chaired by Coble, expressed effusive thanks for his years of public service. During the hearing, Association of American Publishers General Counsel Allan Adler called on the Copyright Office to provide guidance on fair use as recent court decisions have expanded the defense in unexpected ways. Other witnesses present included representatives from Copyright Clearance Center, National Federation for the Blind and the University of Michigan. There was consensus that a system of guidelines, for fair use in higher education and academic publishing, granting something like safe harbor protection would be useful provided that it was not used to restrict fair use as it works today.

Still On The To-Do List: Passing Felony Streaming Legislation
On Nov. 19 the White House replied to two online petitions by reiterating the administration's support for new statutory copyright language to treat criminal infringement by streaming as a felony similar to criminal infringement by downloading. Describing this effort as a "rational, straightforward update," Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator Chief of Staff Alex Niejelow said, "The law should deter … large-scale willful reproduction, distribution, and streaming ... for profit." Niejelow, who also works as director for cybersecurity policy for the National Security Council, encouraged Congress to take a fresh look at the "harm thresholds" — how many infringements by streaming, worth how much money, over how long a stretch of time — that would define felony streaming, likely hoping that setting these thresholds high enough should reassure opponents of any such legislation that consumers are not its intended target.

The Recording Academy actively represents the music community on such issues as intellectual property rights, music piracy, archiving and preservation, and censorship concerns. In pursuing its commitment to addressing these and other issues, The Recording Academy undertakes a variety of national initiatives. To learn more, visit GRAMMY.org/Advocacy. To get more involved, visit GRAMMY.com/Action.

The GRAMMY Channel Returns To SiriusXM For The 2024 GRAMMYs
The GRAMMY Channel is airing now on SiriusXM channel 107 and on the new SiriusXM app through Feb. 7

Graphic Courtesy of The Recording Academy

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The GRAMMY Channel Returns To SiriusXM For The 2024 GRAMMYs

Now airing on SiriusXM channel 107 and on the new SiriusXM app through Feb. 7, the channel celebrates the artists, albums and songs nominated at the 2024 GRAMMYs, including music from Billie Eilish, Coco Jones, Jelly Roll, SZA, Taylor Swift, and more.

GRAMMYs/Jan 25, 2024 - 10:53 pm

The 2024 GRAMMYs are just a week away, and the anticipation is building to a fever pitch. Now, SiriusXM, the Official US Radio Partner of the GRAMMY Awards, is providing your soundtrack to Music's Biggest Night with the return of The GRAMMY Channel for its fourth year.

Now airing on SiriusXM channel 107 and on the new SiriusXM app through Feb. 7, the pop-up channel will feature a variety of music from the artists, albums and songs currently nominated at the 2024 GRAMMYs, including Billie Eilish, Doja Cat, Foo Fighters, Jelly Roll, Jon Batiste, Miley Cyrus, Olivia Rodrigo, SZA, Taylor Swift, and more. It all leads up to SiriusXM's live red carpet broadcast from the 2024 GRAMMYs on Sunday, Feb. 4.

The GRAMMY Channel offers the quintessential GRAMMY soundtrack with music, stories and insights from the nominees across multiple Categories, including the Lifetime Achievement Award honorees. Fans will also get to relish the excitement on the red carpet with live coverage and interviews throughout GRAMMY Sunday.

2024 GRAMMYs: Explore More & Meet The Nominees

The channel will also spotlight Best New Artist nominees like Coco Jones, who was the inaugural artist for SiriusXM and Pandora's Artist Accelerator Program, which puts a spotlight on emerging artists and aims to remove barriers created by today's song-first-driven culture to help artists grow their listener base and build fandom. SiriusXM was the first radio outlet to support Jones' single, "I.C.U.," from her debut EP What I Didn't Tell You, playing it in accelerated rotation beginning October 2022 on SiriusXM's The Heat and Heart & Soul. The Heat has also named Jones a "Future Fire" artist, while Heart & Soul has named the song a "Platinum Pick." Aligning with SiriusXM, Pandora had advanced support of the song across its platform, including exclusive content via Takeover modes running on Women in R&B and Platinum.

Eligible customers can get their first three months of SiriusXM streaming for free. Sign up here, and get ready for Music's Biggest Night with The GRAMMY Channel.

Hosted by Trevor Noah, the 2024 GRAMMYs will be broadcast live from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles Sunday, Feb. 4, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on the CBS Television Network and will be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.^ Prior to the Telecast, catch the 2024 GRAMMY Awards Premiere Ceremony, which will stream live on Sunday, Feb. 4, at 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT on live.GRAMMY.com and on the Recording Academy's YouTube channel.

2024 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Full Nominees List

GRAMMY Rewind: Kendrick Lamar Honors Hip-Hop's Greats While Accepting Best Rap Album GRAMMY For 'To Pimp a Butterfly' In 2016
Kendrick Lamar

Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

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GRAMMY Rewind: Kendrick Lamar Honors Hip-Hop's Greats While Accepting Best Rap Album GRAMMY For 'To Pimp a Butterfly' In 2016

Upon winning the GRAMMY for Best Rap Album for 'To Pimp a Butterfly,' Kendrick Lamar thanked those that helped him get to the stage, and the artists that blazed the trail for him.

GRAMMYs/Oct 13, 2023 - 06:01 pm

Updated Friday Oct. 13, 2023 to include info about Kendrick Lamar's most recent GRAMMY wins, as of the 2023 GRAMMYs.

A GRAMMY veteran these days, Kendrick Lamar has won 17 GRAMMYs and has received 47 GRAMMY nominations overall. A sizable chunk of his trophies came from the 58th annual GRAMMY Awards in 2016, when he walked away with five — including his first-ever win in the Best Rap Album category.

This installment of GRAMMY Rewind turns back the clock to 2016, revisiting Lamar's acceptance speech upon winning Best Rap Album for To Pimp A Butterfly. Though Lamar was alone on stage, he made it clear that he wouldn't be at the top of his game without the help of a broad support system. 

"First off, all glory to God, that's for sure," he said, kicking off a speech that went on to thank his parents, who he described as his "those who gave me the responsibility of knowing, of accepting the good with the bad."

Looking for more GRAMMYs news? The 2024 GRAMMY nominations are here!

He also extended his love and gratitude to his fiancée, Whitney Alford, and shouted out his Top Dawg Entertainment labelmates. Lamar specifically praised Top Dawg's CEO, Anthony Tiffith, for finding and developing raw talent that might not otherwise get the chance to pursue their musical dreams.

"We'd never forget that: Taking these kids out of the projects, out of Compton, and putting them right here on this stage, to be the best that they can be," Lamar — a Compton native himself — continued, leading into an impassioned conclusion spotlighting some of the cornerstone rap albums that came before To Pimp a Butterfly.

"Hip-hop. Ice Cube. This is for hip-hop," he said. "This is for Snoop Dogg, Doggystyle. This is for Illmatic, this is for Nas. We will live forever. Believe that."

To Pimp a Butterfly singles "Alright" and "These Walls" earned Lamar three more GRAMMYs that night, the former winning Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song and the latter taking Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (the song features Bilal, Anna Wise and Thundercat). He also won Best Music Video for the remix of Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood." 

Lamar has since won Best Rap Album two more times, taking home the golden gramophone in 2018 for his blockbuster LP DAMN., and in 2023 for his bold fifth album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.

Watch Lamar's full acceptance speech above, and check back at GRAMMY.com every Friday for more GRAMMY Rewind episodes. 

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SiriusXM's The GRAMMY Channel Returns For The 2023 GRAMMYs As The Official Audio Experience From The Recording Academy
SiriusXM's The GRAMMY Channel

Graphic: SiriusXM/The Recording Academy

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SiriusXM's The GRAMMY Channel Returns For The 2023 GRAMMYs As The Official Audio Experience From The Recording Academy

To celebrate Music's Biggest Night, the limited-run GRAMMY Channel will feature music and insights from this year's GRAMMY nominees, including Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Harry Styles, Lizzo, Brandi Carlile, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and more.

GRAMMYs/Jan 25, 2023 - 12:13 am

Ahead of the 2023 GRAMMYs, SiriusXM has announced the return of The GRAMMY Channel, in collaboration with the Recording Academy. To celebrate the 65th GRAMMY Awards, the channel will honor the artists, albums and songs nominated this year, including Adele, Beyonce, the Black Keys, Brandi Carlile, Harry Styles, Jack Harlow, Lizzo, Miranda Lambert, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Taylor Swift, and others. The GRAMMY Channel will also feature SiriusXM's live, red-carpet broadcast from Music's Biggest Night, airing live on Sunday, Feb. 5.

Beginning Jan. 24 on SiriusXM channel 105, listeners can hear the ultimate GRAMMY soundtrack featuring music, stories and insights from the 2023 GRAMMY nominees, Special Merit Awards and Lifetime Achievement Award honorees, SiriusXM hosts, and Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. On GRAMMY night, listeners can also hear live coverage and interviews from the GRAMMY red carpet.

The limited-edition channel launches today (Tuesday, Jan. 24) and run through Tuesday, Feb. 7, for SiriusXM subscribers in their car, on their phone, and connected devices at home with the SXM App. Streaming access is included with all of SiriusXM trials and most popular plans.

Where, What Channel & How To Watch The Full 2023 GRAMMYs

A Guide To Modern Funk For The Dance Floor: L'Imperatrice, Shiro Schwarz, Franc Moody, Say She She & Moniquea
Franc Moody

Photo: Rachel Kupfer 

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A Guide To Modern Funk For The Dance Floor: L'Imperatrice, Shiro Schwarz, Franc Moody, Say She She & Moniquea

James Brown changed the sound of popular music when he found the power of the one and unleashed the funk with "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag." Today, funk lives on in many forms, including these exciting bands from across the world.

GRAMMYs/Nov 25, 2022 - 04:23 pm

It's rare that a genre can be traced back to a single artist or group, but for funk, that was James Brown. The Godfather of Soul coined the phrase and style of playing known as "on the one," where the first downbeat is emphasized, instead of the typical second and fourth beats in pop, soul and other styles. As David Cheal eloquently explains, playing on the one "left space for phrases and riffs, often syncopated around the beat, creating an intricate, interlocking grid which could go on and on." You know a funky bassline when you hear it; its fat chords beg your body to get up and groove.

Brown's 1965 classic, "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," became one of the first funk hits, and has been endlessly sampled and covered over the years, along with his other groovy tracks. Of course, many other funk acts followed in the '60s, and the genre thrived in the '70s and '80s as the disco craze came and went, and the originators of hip-hop and house music created new music from funk and disco's strong, flexible bones built for dancing.

Legendary funk bassist Bootsy Collins learned the power of the one from playing in Brown's band, and brought it to George Clinton, who created P-funk, an expansive, Afrofuturistic, psychedelic exploration of funk with his various bands and projects, including Parliament-Funkadelic. Both Collins and Clinton remain active and funkin', and have offered their timeless grooves to collabs with younger artists, including Kali Uchis, Silk Sonic, and Omar Apollo; and Kendrick Lamar, Flying Lotus, and Thundercat, respectively.

In the 1980s, electro-funk was born when artists like Afrika Bambaataa, Man Parrish, and Egyptian Lover began making futuristic beats with the Roland TR-808 drum machine — often with robotic vocals distorted through a talk box. A key distinguishing factor of electro-funk is a de-emphasis on vocals, with more phrases than choruses and verses. The sound influenced contemporaneous hip-hop, funk and electronica, along with acts around the globe, while current acts like Chromeo, DJ Stingray, and even Egyptian Lover himself keep electro-funk alive and well.

Today, funk lives in many places, with its heavy bass and syncopated grooves finding way into many nooks and crannies of music. There's nu-disco and boogie funk, nodding back to disco bands with soaring vocals and dance floor-designed instrumentation. G-funk continues to influence Los Angeles hip-hop, with innovative artists like Dam-Funk and Channel Tres bringing the funk and G-funk, into electro territory. Funk and disco-centered '70s revival is definitely having a moment, with acts like Ghost Funk Orchestra and Parcels, while its sparkly sprinklings can be heard in pop from Dua Lipa, Doja Cat, and, in full "Soul Train" character, Silk Sonic. There are also acts making dreamy, atmospheric music with a solid dose of funk, such as Khruangbin’s global sonic collage.

There are many bands that play heavily with funk, creating lush grooves designed to get you moving. Read on for a taste of five current modern funk and nu-disco artists making band-led uptempo funk built for the dance floor. Be sure to press play on the Spotify playlist above, and check out GRAMMY.com's playlist on Apple Music, Amazon Music and Pandora.

Say She She

Aptly self-described as "discodelic soul," Brooklyn-based seven-piece Say She She make dreamy, operatic funk, led by singer-songwriters Nya Gazelle Brown, Piya Malik and Sabrina Mileo Cunningham. Their '70s girl group-inspired vocal harmonies echo, sooth and enchant as they cover poignant topics with feminist flair.

While they’ve been active in the New York scene for a few years, they’ve gained wider acclaim for the irresistible music they began releasing this year, including their debut album, Prism. Their 2022 debut single "Forget Me Not" is an ode to ground-breaking New York art collective Guerilla Girls, and "Norma" is their protest anthem in response to the news that Roe vs. Wade could be (and was) overturned. The band name is a nod to funk legend Nile Rodgers, from the "Le freak, c'est chi" exclamation in Chic's legendary tune "Le Freak."

Moniquea

Moniquea's unique voice oozes confidence, yet invites you in to dance with her to the super funky boogie rhythms. The Pasadena, California artist was raised on funk music; her mom was in a cover band that would play classics like Aretha Franklin’s "Get It Right" and Gladys Knight’s "Love Overboard." Moniquea released her first boogie funk track at 20 and, in 2011, met local producer XL Middelton — a bonafide purveyor of funk. She's been a star artist on his MoFunk Records ever since, and they've collabed on countless tracks, channeling West Coast energy with a heavy dose of G-funk, sunny lyrics and upbeat, roller disco-ready rhythms.

Her latest release is an upbeat nod to classic West Coast funk, produced by Middleton, and follows her February 2022 groovy, collab-filled album, On Repeat.

Shiro Schwarz

Shiro Schwarz is a Mexico City-based duo, consisting of Pammela Rojas and Rafael Marfil, who helped establish a modern funk scene in the richly creative Mexican metropolis. On "Electrify" — originally released in 2016 on Fat Beats Records and reissued in 2021 by MoFunk — Shiro Schwarz's vocals playfully contrast each other, floating over an insistent, upbeat bassline and an '80s throwback electro-funk rhythm with synth flourishes.

Their music manages to be both nostalgic and futuristic — and impossible to sit still to. 2021 single "Be Kind" is sweet, mellow and groovy, perfect chic lounge funk. Shiro Schwarz’s latest track, the joyfully nostalgic "Hey DJ," is a collab with funkstress Saucy Lady and U-Key.

L'Impératrice

L'Impératrice (the empress in French) are a six-piece Parisian group serving an infectiously joyful blend of French pop, nu-disco, funk and psychedelia. Flore Benguigui's vocals are light and dreamy, yet commanding of your attention, while lyrics have a feminist touch.

During their energetic live sets, L'Impératrice members Charles de Boisseguin and Hagni Gwon (keys), David Gaugué (bass), Achille Trocellier (guitar), and Tom Daveau (drums) deliver extended instrumental jam sessions to expand and connect their music. Gaugué emphasizes the thick funky bass, and Benguigui jumps around the stage while sounding like an angel. L’Impératrice’s latest album, 2021’s Tako Tsubo, is a sunny, playful French disco journey.

Franc Moody

Franc Moody's bio fittingly describes their music as "a soul funk and cosmic disco sound." The London outfit was birthed by friends Ned Franc and Jon Moody in the early 2010s, when they were living together and throwing parties in North London's warehouse scene. In 2017, the group grew to six members, including singer and multi-instrumentalist Amber-Simone.

Their music feels at home with other electro-pop bands like fellow Londoners Jungle and Aussie act Parcels. While much of it is upbeat and euphoric, Franc Moody also dips into the more chilled, dreamy realm, such as the vibey, sultry title track from their recently released Into the Ether.

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