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,

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