Showbiz Sandbox 458: The Number of Music Copyright Lawsuits Is Sure To Increase
August 12, 2019
Are musicians ripping each other off more than ever? Accusations of plagiarism have been around a long time, but they exploded after musician Robin Thicke was successfully sued over lifting his song “Blurred Lines” from Marvin Gaye’s “Got To Give It Up.” Just ask Katy Perry who recently lost a similar lawsuit over her hit single “Dark Horse.”
Before that case, most legal experts said you needed specific lyrics or main melodies to constitute stealing. Now the courts have decided that beats and even the vague “feel” or “vibe” of a song can be copyrightable.
Meanwhile, Netflix lost subscribers for the first time since 2011 and you’d think the sky was falling. What with new competition from Disney, Warner Bros. and Apple about to launch, there are plenty of doomsayers prognosticating the demise of the streaming giant.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including “Doctor Who” heads to HBO Max, why Chinese studios are boycotting Asia’s most important movie awards show and two of Hollywood’s biggest public relations firm announced a merger.
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Lil Nas X’s ‘Old Town Road’ Leads Billboard Hot 100 for 19th Week
https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/8527171/lil-nas-x-old-town-road-number-one-hot-100-19-weeks
Laemmle Theaters Up For Sale
https://deadline.com/2019/08/laemmle-theaters-up-for-sale-los-angeles-movie-chain-1202660336/
Luxury Cinema Chain iPic Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Eyes Sale
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/luxury-cinema-chain-ipic-files-chapter-11-bankruptcy-eyes-sale-1229148
Taiwan Golden Horse Awards In Turmoil
http://chinafilminsider.com/headlines-from-china-hong-kong-film-studios-cancels-participation-in-golden-horse-awards/
WGA Election: Shawn Ryan Questions Phyllis Nagy & Her Slate’s Goals & Strategies; Nagy & Craig Mazin Respond
https://deadline.com/2019/07/wga-election-shawn-ryan-questions-phyllis-nagy-her-slates-goals-strategies-craig-mazin-responds-1202656298/
Endeavor Delays IPO
https://variety.com/2019/film/news/endeavor-ipo-september-later-1203290163/
Netflix Reports First Drop in U.S. Users in Nearly a Decade
https://www.wsj.com/articles/netflixs-new-subscriptions-fall-short-in-latest-quarter-11563395753
How Bad Will It Get for Netflix?
https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-bad-will-it-get-for-netflix-11565385271
‘Game of Thrones’ Creators Close $200M Netflix Overall Deal
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/game-thrones-creators-close-200m-netflix-deal-1230119
BAFTA Adds Casting Category
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/bafta-adding-casting-category-2020-film-tv-awards-1229913
Casting Director to Head Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/new-academy-president-david-rubin-first-casting-director-openly-gay-man-elected-challenges-q-a-1230095
Rogers & Cowan and PMK*BNC PR Firms Merge
https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/8524496/rogers-cowan-pmkbnc-merger-combined-agency-leadership
Nancy O’Dell Leaves ET
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/nancy-odell-leaves-entertainment-tonight-1229020
Top High School Musicals and Plays
http://www.playbill.com/article/the-10-most-produced-high-school-plays-and-musicals-of-20182019
J.D. Salinger, E-Book Holdout, Joins the Digital Revolution
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/11/books/jd-salinger-ebooks.html
Disney Announces Streaming Bundle of Disney+ Hulu and ESPN for $13 a Month
https://deadline.com/2019/08/disney-confirms-disney-plus-hulu-espn-plus-bundle-for-12-99-a-month-1202662794/
Ninja, a Fortnite Star, Leaps From Twitch to Mixer
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/01/business/mixer-ninja-twitch-fortnite.html
Trump’s Blame Game Leads To Backlash From Gamers, Gun-Law Reformists
https://deadline.com/2019/08/video-game-violence-trumps-blame-game-leads-to-backlash-from-gamers-gun-law-reformists-1202661958/
Esports Viewers Online Approach 1B
https://www.rapidtvnews.com/2019080356868/esports-viewership-approaches-1-billion-viewers.html
HBO Max Exclusive Streaming Home For Doctor Who
https://www.rapidtvnews.com/2019080356870/hbo-max-to-be-exclusive-streaming-home-for-doctor-who.html
Spotify Hits 108M Worldwide Paid Subscribers
https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/spotifys-paying-subscriber-base-grows-to-108m-as-total-monthly-active-user-count-hits-232m/
The Major Labels Are Close to Generating $1M From Streaming Every Hour – but Global Growth Is Actually Slowing Down
https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/the-major-labels-are-now-close-to-generating-1m-from-streaming-every-hour-but-global-growth-is-actually-slowing-down/
Why All Your Favorite Songs Are Suddenly Being Sued
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/katy-perry-led-zeppelin-ed-sheeran-music-lawsuits-865952/
Katy Perry vs. Flame Lawsuit: Let’s Compare!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4MuhPqfIk4
Why The Katy Perry/Flame Lawsuit Makes No Sense
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ytoUuO-qvg
Hal Prince, King of the Broadway Musical, Dies at 91
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/harold-prince-dead-king-broadway-musical-was-91-1115559
Toni Morrison Dies At 88
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/06/books/toni-morrison-dead.html
Doc Filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker Dies At 94
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/da-pennebaker-dead-documentary-legend-was-94-817392
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