Alexandra Patsavas, probably the most influential music supervisor working today, took some time to answer questions at the Billboard/Hollywood Reporter Film & TV Music Conference, along with estate manager Jeffrey Jampol. It’s interesting to see how that discussion played out. Jampol, whose job is to protect the heritage of his legacy rock estates, cautioned acts […]
Songwriting
What does the American Idol Songwriter contest winner tell us about professional songwriting?
USAToday profiles Regie Hamm, the winner of the second American Idol Songwriter competition. Last year, our boards were pretty heated up, with folks so excited about the opportunity to get their songs discovered. Unfortunately, nothing in the rules specifically stated that an amateur songwriter would win the contest — just that they couldn’t submit a […]
Bebo Sale Spotlights Online Music Licensing Controversy
Two years ago, as Billy Bragg tells it, the founder of British social networking site Bebo came to him for advice about avoiding the same music licensing pitfalls that Bragg had railed about during the evolution of MySpace. As I wrote previously, Bragg’s lobbying resulted in MySpace clarifying its terms of service so artists could […]
American Idol Songwriting Competition Back for 2008
This week’s sponsor: With not a whole lot of rumor or speculation, the fate of the American Idol Songwriter contest for 2008 was up in the air until this week, when officials reopened the contest site to the public. By all accounts, this year’s contest is just like last year’s contest. Key points: You have […]
Songwriting Contest Secrets: Who’s Really Judging? (Part 2)
Earlier today, I asked if it was “fair” that many songwriting contests use interns to screen entries. It all comes down to what is promised in a contest’s terms and conditions. Unfortunately, many songwriting contests use vague terminology in their terms and conditions that often allows them to screen entries any way they want. On […]
