And the Grammy Goes to.......................

So, last night was the Grammy awards. Yeah, I'm more than a bit disappointed that Coldplay walked away with the "Song of the Year" award, and I'm still laughing over NARAS president, Neil Portnow, standing up on that stage and blithering on about how NARAS will continue to fight copyright infringement, but on reflection of the situation as a whole I'm disappointed by other things as well.

I understand Satch's lawsuit, I really do, but in the grand scheme of things how much does he really stand to make following that course of action. Don't get me wrong, I'm in no way saying that Coldplay should be able to get away with stealing someone else's work, but are there other ways that Satriani could make even more off of this situation than a lump sum settlement from a long drawn out, and expensive lawsuit. I mean, I can assure you that Coldplay and EMI are going to use all their power to fight this (for right or wrong).

This is the age of the Internet. Information, placed in the right place, at the right time, can travel the world in a matter of hours, and with viral marketing being what it is, with little effort Satch could reach millions of people with his message. What message? Well that depends on how he really wants to play it.

Remember the Dani California situation that the Red Hot Chili Peppers ran into a while back? By Tom Petty making a simple statement about it being the best version of Last Dance with Mary Jane he'd ever heard, he saw a spike in his own sales and public awareness. I'm just saying that I think Satriani has a rare opportunity to really bump up his following and, in the long run, could benefit far more than just a lump sum from litigation. Instead of butt heads with Coldplay fans, court them, friend them, convert them.

The fact is that, in this day and age, the Court of Public Opinion is much more powerful than any other court in the land. Sometimes you can use that fact to make more of an impact than all the money in the world could achieve.

Just a thought.

Later,

You got Served! Hopefully.

Let me ask you this. Should it really have to get to this point? The latest on the Joe Satriani v. Coldplay copyright infringement case is that apparently Coldplay has been slinking around trying to avoid being served papers, but good ol'Joe isn't going to let it slide.

He's made it very clear that he's hired an "Army" of process servers to work the Grammy's, with the intent of finally getting those papers in the hands of his adversaries.

You have to admit that it would be awfully sweet if they waited till Chris Martin and the boys were on the podium to accept "Song of the Year" and then rushed the stage in mass. Harsh you say? Not hardly.

I have to say that, as Indie musicians, I feel that our intellectual property is our single greatest product that we offer. It is the foundation of our business plan. It is the flagship of our merch table. It is what makes us who we are, and to have someone else steal your hard work and parade it around the world as their own, and more sickeningly, be nominated for a Grammy for it is just the height of disrespect and elitism.

Coldplay, I'm sure, is just following the advice and direction of their label, EMI, but what does that say about the practices of Major Labels if they are openly advocating the theft of other peoples music. Is it really any wonder that EMI is losing money?

Anyway, I hope that the whole thing erupts into such a big deal that everyone in America sits up and takes notice. We can't make it OK for people to walk all over the Copyright Laws, they're one of the few guarantees we have.

http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/coldplay%20to%20get%20served%20at%20the%20grammys_1093915

Later,

Perfect Example Of How The Majors Just Don't Get It.

So, even more on the whole Coldplay plagiarism deal. Apparently, EMI has had some of the comparison videos pulled from YouTube because of copyright infringement. Uh, hello, it's your artist that did the infringing!

That, of course, doesn't stop the arguments from running rampant through the comment sections of videos that have found their way back up. Coldplay fans versus Satriani fans, ripping each other apart as if they're mortal enemies. Stupid really.

The fact of the matter is that the songs are similar enough that you can actually overlay the recording and it's like they're part of the same song.

It's going to be interesting to see how this pans out. What is at stake is the value of Intellectual Property. If EMI pulls this out and wins this law suit then it basically says that Major Label artists can steal any of our music and get away with it, and the legal precedent will have been set.

I saw an ad earlier saying that Coldplay was re-releasing the album with new mixes and new tracks. Twice the insult eh? It will be a sad day when Joe Satriani has to watch Coldplay win a Grammy for a song he wrote.

A couple of posts back I said that there have been times that I've realized that some of my stuff was similar to other artists material. I, of course, wouldn't release something like that intentionally, but if I missed something and wound up involved in a situation like this, I wouldn't hesitate to make it right with the other person. At the very least, Coldplay should give him co-writing credits on future pressings, and cut him in on the publishing so that he can make some money off of the deal.

It's these kinds of dealings that make me glad I'm an Indie.

http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/stories/121608coldplay

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLE5t1cl7sw

Have a good one!

Way to go Coldplay!!

Best selling Pop act of the year and it seems you couldn't do it without Joe Satriani!?!

You know, I've had moments when I've played something that I found running through my head only to be reminded later by way of the background music at the mall that, oops, that was just a Hall and Oates line that I picked up subconsiously. Stuff like that happens. I mean, maybe ol' Chris Martin was just standing at the Jewlry counter tapping his toes to the background music while he shopped for a new pair of earrings for the misses. It's plausable. But check out the similarities.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ofFw9DKu_I

Now, Coldplay has made their official response to the allegation of plagiariasm.

"If there are any similarities between our two pieces of music, they are entirely coincidental, and just as surprising to us as to him," "Joe Satriani is a great musician, but he did not write or have any influence on the song 'Viva la Vida'. We respectfully ask him to accept our assurances of this and wish him well with all future endeavors."

Wow, I guess that's one way to handle it.

Let's look at the track record of people who blatently rip off another artist. My personal favorite is how the Rolling Stones all but destroyed the Verve for Bittersweet Symphony. Does the Verve even get any of the royalties for that now?

When was the last time you heard Duran Duran's Do You Believe In Shame on the radio, or at one of thier shows for that matter? I bet John Fogherty wishes you would.

Who knows, maybe Mr. Satriani will play it like Tom Petty who called The Red Hot Chili Peppers Dani California one of the best covers of Last Dance with Mary Jane he'd heard, but left it at that. Maybe?

Oh, he's suing? Good luck guys.

The fact is that a really great, catchy, earworm kind of melody can really make a band, but make sure it's your own.

http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/stories/120908coldplay