Former CNN host Piers Morgan became a trending topic on Twitter -- in part because of the anger he incited for belittling Beyoncé's latest album, which features the mothers of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown.
Morgan reacted to the release of Lemonadein his Daily Mail column by bemoaning what he described as the loss of the person he interviewed five years ago
"I have to be honest, I preferred the old Beyoncé," he wrote. "The less inflammatory, agitating one. The one who didn’t use grieving mothers to shift records and further fill her already massively enriched purse. The one who didn’t play the race card so deliberately and to my mind, unnecessarily."
Morgan's column was immediately panned by othernews outlets, and that criticism extended to Twitter, as seen below:
For his part, Morgan claims to enjoy the attention:
Opponents of a North Carolina law that restricts bathroom choices for transgender people said they have nearly 180,000 signatures on petitions demanding its repeal as lawmakers return on Monday for a legislative session receiving national scrutiny.
The law's critics said North Carolina's reputation and economy have taken a major hit in the past month after it became the first state to require transgender people to use public restrooms that match the sex on their birth certificate rather than their gender identity.
"Our state is a state of crisis," Chris Sgro, executive director of the Equality North Carolina advocacy group, said at a news conference in Raleigh ahead of the petitions being delivered to Republican Governor Pat McCrory's office.
Groups opposing the law argue it infringes on the rights of the transgender community and limits government protections against discrimination for gays and lesbians.
Democratic President Barack Obama, business leaders and entertainers including Bruce Springsteen also have called for the measure to be overturned.
Due to the controversy, companies and associations have relocated conventions and halted job-creating investment projects initially slated for North Carolina.
There is a also growing list of performers who have canceled concerts, including the Blue Man Group which on Friday announced it would cancel its shows in Charlotte in June in protest against the law.
Republican lawmakers in the state so far have shown little willingness to back down.
Supporters of the law, which was passed by the Republican-controlled legislature during a one-day special session in March, said they expected a large turnout at their own rally scheduled for noon in Raleigh.
The law is needed, they say, to guard privacy rights and keep women and children safe from sexual predators in bathrooms.
"Our goal is to show the nation what it looks like to see churches, families and people from all political parties, in unity, praying for our leaders and asking them to continue to protect our families," said a statement from the NC Values Coalition.
Legendary music icon Prince Rogers Nelson died unexpectedly on April 21, 2016, sending shock waves through the lives of many music lovers. With a career spanning nearly 40 years and even more albums, Prince was one of the most prolific musicians of this generation.
Naturally, as Prince fans process his death, they will also search for his music online to purchase and play while they mourn the loss of a music titan. But most of these searches will be futile because American law provides strict protections to copyright owners, and Prince was a pioneering advocate when it came to asserting copyright protections for his creative works.
As an intellectual property and entertainment law professor (and avid Prince fan), I believe Prince’s legacy as a musician must include the mark he made on the American copyright law landscape.
Songs as intellectual property
Prince was fiercely protective of his music and rejected most online dissemination of his copyright-protected work.
Copyright law is meant to protect original, tangible works like music and videos. It gives the original creators the right to copy, distribute and remix that work. And it prohibits others from doing any of these things without the creator’s permission.
Prince was never shy about expressing how he felt the record company was treating him.
Kieran Doherty/Reuters
Prince famously feuded with Warner Bros. Records over ownership of his music because his early contracts signed over much of his music’s ownership rights to the record company. After a nearly 25-year feud, which included a name change and regular uses of the word “slave” to describe his perceived role in the relationship, Prince received ownership of his catalog back from the company and the legal rights stemming from that ownership.
And Prince wasn’t shy about asserting his rights against others online. He felt that only large corporations such as Apple and Google, and not artists, made money from online music sales. He battled with YouTube in 2007, which resulted in more than 2,000 videos being removed from the website.
Beyond his business beef with the online side of the music industry, Prince had artistic aversions to some of the technology as well. He often expressed a view that digitization negatively affected music, stating in one interview:
I personally can’t stand digital music… You’re getting sound in bits. It affects a different place in your brain. When you play it back, you can’t feel anything. We’re analogue people, not digital.
Such views even led Prince to file a short-lived lawsuit against 22 fans who posted links to bootlegged copies of his music on Facebook. He was, by all accounts, staunchly opposed to online uses that he felt marred his work.
So, you won’t find most of Prince’s catalog on popular services Apple Music, Google Play, Spotify or the like as you seek to reminisce over your favorite Prince tracks. Subscribers to rapper and businessman Jay Z’s streaming serviceTidal, however, can stream everything from 1984’s iconic Purple Rain album through to HITNRUN Phase Two, an album released in December of last year. In 2015, Tidal was spared Prince’s treatment of every other streaming platform, apparently because he felt it had a friendlier model for artists that gave him much more control over his music and paid better.
Signing away copyright to score a deal
Control over music, based on copyright ownership, is a huge part of the entertainment industry. And the deck is stacked against new artists seeking a traditional record deal. A record label holds all of the cards: money, access to production, manufacturing, distribution and marketing channels, and legal expertise.
If an artist wants to sign with the label, he typically enters into notoriously one-sided contracts which sign away all of his rights and control over the music he ultimately creates. It has happened to the best of them, from the Beatles to TLC and Michael Jackson to Prince himself.
Congress had the potential for exploitation in mind when it updated the copyright law in 1976 to include something called termination rights. Now Section 203 of the Copyright Act allows artists to terminate contracts made after January 1, 1978 if certain requirements are met after 35 years.
These rights recognize that an artist has almost no bargaining power at the outset of his or her career and also that the value of a piece of music is hard to predict before it is created. Artists who successfully assert their termination rights will no longer be limited to the bad deal they signed before they achieved fame and commercial success. They can either buy back the rights to the music 100 percent to take advantage of new opportunities and technologies, or negotiate a much better deal based on past successes.
Termination rights formed the basis for Prince’s legendary reclamation of his music catalog. Other artists, including Paul McCartney and Survivor, have also used the law to regain ownership of their own music.
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis win the award for Best New Artist at the 56th annual Grammy Awards, without major label support.
Mario Anzuoni/Reuters
Musicians wresting back control
Newer artists have learned from the mistakes of these pioneering legends.
Prince often encouraged younger artists to resist the Draconian restrictions set up by record labels, and many took heed. For example, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis famously won four Grammys in 2014, including the highly coveted best rap album award, for “The Heist,” which was made without traditional record label support.
Other artists have taken a page from Prince’s songbook and openly criticized and shunned traditional music-streaming services. Taylor Swift wrote a letter to Apple explaining she would hold back her blockbuster “1989” album because Apple Music would not pay artists during an initial three month trial of the new music-streaming service. In addition, Swift and others, including Adele, David Byrne and The Black Keys, do not allow their music to be streamed on Spotify based on what they perceive to be an unfair revenue model for artists.
These efforts have, in many ways, shifted the music industry in a different direction. The success of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis encouraged artists to remain independent and grow success online organically. Apple responded to Swift’s letter by quickly announcing it would pay artists during the trial period, and thousands of independent artists then allowed Apple Music to stream their music after initial staunch resistance. Though Tidal has had its challenges, it has garnered an impressive 2.5 million subscribers since Jay Z’s purchase and relaunch in 2015. Prince’s early efforts, while often viewed as restrictive and resistant, have encouraged today’s artists to recognize and protect the value of their work.
Even though fans will jump through some hoops in the short term to find Prince’s work online, his legacy of artist vigilance will continue to influence the music industry for years to come.
Investigators found no sign of trauma or indication of suicide in the death of U.S. music superstar Prince, but results of an autopsy could take weeks to be made public, authorities said on Friday.
The intensely private musician, whose hits included "Purple Rain" and "When Doves Cry," was found dead in an elevator at his home in suburban Minneapolis on Thursday at the age of 57, shocking millions of fans around the world and prompting glowing tributes by fellow musicians.
Carver County Sheriff Jim Olson, whose office is investigating the circumstances of his death, said Prince was last seen alive by an acquaintance who dropped him off at his home at about 8 p.m. on Wednesday night.
"There were no obvious signs of trauma on the body," Olson told a news conference. "We have no reason to believe at this point that this was a suicide. The rest is under investigation."
The influential star, born Prince Rogers Nelson, was found unresponsive in an elevator at the Paisley Park Studios complex where he lived in the suburb of Chanhassen, authorities said.
The local medical examiner's office conducted a post-mortem examination on Friday morning for four hours but said its results could be some time coming. Prince's body was released to his family on Friday afternoon, the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office added in a statement.
"As part of a complete exam, relevant information regarding Mr. Nelson's medical and social history will be gathered. Anything which could be relevant to the investigation will be taken into consideration," the statement said.
No information will be released until all results have been obtained, it added. "Gathering the results will take several days and the results of a full toxicology scan could likely take weeks," the medical examiner's office said.
(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy and Jill Serjeant; Additional reporting by Jane Ross in Minneapolis, Alex Dobuzinskis, Dan Whitcomb and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles, and Suzannah Gonzales in Chicago; Writing by Daniel Wallis; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
An autopsy on U.S. music superstar Prince on Friday sought to determine why the innovative performer died, but authorities cautioned it could take weeks before the results are made public.
The intensely private musician, whose hits included "Purple Rain" and "When Doves Cry," was found dead at his home in suburban Minneapolis on Thursday at the age of 57, shocking millions of fans around the world and prompting glowing tributes by fellow musicians.
The local Carver County Sheriff's Office is investigating the circumstances of his death, and Sheriff Jim Olson was due to hold a news conference at 3 p.m. (4 p.m. ET, 2000 GMT).
Olson's spokesman cautioned, however, that the investigation was ongoing and that the sheriff may be unable to answer the most pressing questions.
The influential star, born Prince Rogers Nelson, was found unresponsive in an elevator at the Paisley Park Studios complex where he lived in the suburb of Chanhassen, authorities said.
The local medical examiner's office conducted a post-mortem examination on Friday morning for four hours, but said its results could be some time coming.
The body will be released to the family later on Friday, the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office added in a statement.
"As part of a complete exam, relevant information regarding Mr. Nelson's medical and social history will be gathered. Anything which could be relevant to the investigation will be taken into consideration," the statement said.
No information will be released until all results have been obtained, it added. "Gathering the results will take several days and the results of a full toxicology scan could likely take weeks," the medical examiner's office said.
Prince's music blended styles including rock, jazz, funk, disco and R&B, and it won him seven Grammy Awards as well as an Oscar. He had been on a U.S. tour as recently as last week.
But he was briefly hospitalized a week ago after his plane made an emergency landing in Moline, Illinois, suffering from what his representative told celebrity news website TMZ was flu.
Nevertheless, the star hosted a party at Paisley Park last Saturday night at which one attendee said Prince played two tunes on a piano and then introduced fans to his doctor.
'REMARKABLE LOSS'
Prince first found fame in the late 1970s before becoming one of the most inventive forces in American pop music.
On a trip to London, U.S. President Barack Obama said he listened to "Purple Rain" and "Delirious" on Friday morning at the U.S. ambassador's residence to get "warmed up" for his meetings.
"I loved Prince ... It's a remarkable loss," Obama told a news conference.
As well as singing and songwriting, Prince played multiple instruments including guitar, keyboards and drums. A Jehovah's Witness and a strict vegan, he sold more than 100 million records and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.
Record producer L.A. Reid told NBC's "Today" show on Friday that he was perplexed by the death of his friend.
"The Prince I know was super-healthy, vegan, wasn't an abuser of drugs, wasn't an abuser of alcohol," Reid said. "He was clean and he looked young and he looked really healthy and vibrant, so the whole thing is really mysterious to me."
During his life, Prince was known as fiercely determined to protect his intellectual property.
How others might profit from his legacy hinges on how astute he was about arranging for control of his music after death. Twice divorced with no surviving children, he apparently lacked any immediately identifiable heirs.
Ex-wife Manuela Testolini said that as well as being a husband and friend, Prince had been a "fierce philanthropist" who encouraged her to set up her own charity. She had contacted him only a few days ago, she added, to tell him she was building a school in his honor.
"I am heartbroken beyond words," Testolini said in a statement on Friday.
(Additional reporting by Jane Ross in Minneapolis, Alex Dobuzinskis, Dan Whitcomb and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles, and Suzannah Gonzales in Chicago; Writing by Daniel Wallis; Editing by Frances Kerry and Cynthia Osterman)
Music superstar Prince died on Thursday at the complex that housed his recording studio and home in a Minneapolis suburb at the age 57. His death stunned a music world heavily influenced by his string of top-selling hits, gifted songwriting and dynamic stage performances.
Here is a look at his legacy:
'PURPLE RAIN'
Prince's best-selling album was released in 1984 to accompany the semi-autobiographical film of the same name, which starred him as an up-and-coming singer known as "The Kid" trying to make his mark in the Minneapolis music scene. He earned an Academy Award for best original song score.
The album of the same name spent a total of 24 straight weeks atop the Billboard chart and ranks as one of the top 40 albums of all time in U.S. sales, with sales of 13 million units, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.
In addition to the title track, which reached No. 2 on the U.S. charts, the album spun off other hit singles: "When Doves Cry," which went to No. 1 in the United States, "Let's Go Crazy" and "I Would Die 4 U".
Prince, who wrote or co-wrote every song on the album, won two Grammy Awards for the release.
'1999'
Released two years before "Purple Rain," "1999" was Prince's breakthrough album and the first to feature his backing band at the time, the Revolution. Also considered deeply influential, "1999" sold more than 4 million copies in the United States and spawned the hit singles "Little Red Corvette" and the title track.
'PARADE'
The final album Prince made with the Revolution served as the soundtrack to the 1986 film "Under the Cherry Moon" - which Prince directed and acted in - and was hailed by critics as one of the best releases of that year. It featured one of his biggest hits, "Kiss".
SALES
Prince has sold more than 36 million albums in the United States during his career, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.
AWARDS
Prince won seven Grammy Awards and was nominated 37 times. His wins included best soundtrack album for his 1984 "Purple Rain" and best R&B vocal performance by a man for the song "Future Baby Mama" from his 2007 album "Planet Earth."
The movie "Purple Rain" also won an Oscar for Best Original Song Score.
(Refiled to remove extraneous words in first paragraph)
(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis and Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
New York City was the site of several tributes to Prince on Thursday night, with the Prince Street subway station getting a makeover in the singer's honor, and filmmaker Spike Lee throwing an impromptu block party in Brooklyn, which quickly became a packed gathering of fans paying their respects.
Broadway was also the scene of a pair of musical tributes during the evening, with the casts of both The Color Purple and Hamilton closing their performances on Thursday with homages to Prince, as seen below:
Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda later revealed that he spent the day putting together his cast's performance.
The Who singer says his band will play the Coachella-produced event in October
It seems the baby boomers are going to be treated to the greatest celebration of their musical heroes ever seen in one spot. Last weekend, the organisers of the Coachella festival in California announced plans to put on a three-day mega-festival with just two acts per night: Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney on the first, the Rolling Stones and Neil Young on the second, and the Who and Roger Waters on the third.
Now the Who’s Roger Daltrey appears to have confirmed the story . “I think it’s us and Roger Waters on the same day,” he told the Canadian media company Postmedia Network. “It’s a fantastic idea for a festival. It’s the greatest remains of our era.”
Neil Young’s manager Elliot Roberts had spoken to the Los Angeles Times, sounding as if he was sure the show was going ahead: “You won’t get a chance to see a bill like this, perhaps ever again. It’s a show I look forward to more than any show in a long time,” Roberts said. But Daltrey is the first performer to have broken his silence about the event.
The show is believed to be taking place at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California – the Coachella site – from 7-9 October. However, Daltrey sounded a note of caution about the possibility of tickets not reaching the artists’ hardcore fans – such a lineup would be popular with both touts and with corporate entertainment departments. “I hope a lot of normal fans can get tickets before they get snatched up,” he said.
According to the early reports, each of the acts will play a typical headline set, not a truncated festival show, with their full stage production. In fact, the production logistics should not be troublesome: of those six artists, only the Stones and Waters are famed for their lavish productions.
What might be more troublesome would be the cost of the tickets. These are all acts accustomed to good pay for their appearances, and the more money needs to be paid out, the more tickets will have to cost. When the Stones played four shows in November 2012 to mark their 50th anniversary, Keith Richards remarked that a sum of “£16m sounds about right to us” as payment to perform.
Given the level of financial comfort of the likely audience for these shows, however, it’s possible prices may not be a problem.
Students in Munich have crunched data on every Game of Thrones character to predict their likelihood of death – turns out Jon Snow’s was a statistical shocker
Spoiler alert! This story about people being killed off in Game of Thrones
It is 2016, and so nothing can escape data analysis. Not even Game of Thrones.
Students at the Technical University of Munich have applied their skills to helping us understand the likelihood of a character’s death over the course of Game of Thrones, the sixth series of which begins on 24 April.
Their project A Song of Ice and Data analyses as much online data as it can find about both the book and the TV series, regularly scraping and updating information from the vast, fan-based Wiki of Ice and Fire , the Game of Thrones wiki , Wikipedia and Twitter. The algorithm categorized each character by more than 20 features including age, title, gender, number of dead relations and their popularity according to incoming and outgoing links on the Wiki of Ice and Fire.
There are 2,028 characters in the full Game of Thrones world, with typically more than 30 characters in each episode of the TV show and more than twice the number of male to female characters.
Men are more likely to play noble characters, whereas women are more likely to play peasants – but are are also less likely to be killed off. The Munich team said they developed a machine-learning algorithm to predict the likelihood of death for characters, and found it is 33% for men and 23% for women.
They extended the analysis to the age of characters killed, which only really tails off at the age of 70 and is most likely between 31 and 40. Identifying various other predictors of risks, the tool could then predict which characters are most likely to be, quite literally, axed. And some have already been axed, not least the beautiful Jon Snow who - and perhaps we didn’t need data to tell us this - was an unexpected death. He didn’t deserve to die!
Tommen Baratheon - 97%
The boy king currently sitting on the Iron Throne looking slightly vulnerable and very easy to kill.
Stannis Baratheon - 96%
The wannabe king who murdered his own daughter in his desperation to make it to the throne. Not a very nice man, and actually already dead. And deservedly so.
Daenerys Targaryen - 95%
Queen of the Andals and the Rhoynar and the First Men, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Breaker of Shackles/Chains, Queen of Meereen, Lady Regnant of the Seven Kingdoms, Mother of Dragons. (Friends call her Dany .)
Davos Seaworth - 91%
Former smuggler and Stannis’ right hand man, it might be a shame to kill off Davos as he’s been doing so well with his reading homework.
Petyr Baelish - 91%
Snakey Petyr Bealish is a master spy whose ruthless ambition has earned him many enemies. Also his accent has changed quite a lot, so maybe kill him off for that?
And as for Jon Snow?
Please oh please Lord of Light – could Jon Snow be, like, not dead? Let’s cling to the hope that producers may have acknowledged his popularity on Twitter, which showed a huge spike of outrage on the night his death was broadcast.
And there is computer-determined reason why, it says here, because their system has determined he only had an 11% likelihood of death. What were they thinking?!
World press freedom deteriorated in 2015, especially in the Americas, advocacy group Reporters Without Borders said today as it released its annual rankings, warning of “a new era of propaganda”.
The World Press Freedom Index ranks 180 countries on indicators such as media independence, self-censorship, the rule of law, transparency and abuses.
This year’s index saw a decline in all parts of the world, Christophe Deloire, secretary general of the Paris-based group told AFP, with Latin America of particular concern.
“All of the indicators show a deterioration.
“Numerous authorities are trying to regain control of their countries, fearing overly open public debate,” he said.
“Today, it is increasingly easy for powers to appeal directly to the public through new technologies, and so there is a greater degree of violence against those who represent independent information,” he added.
“We are entering a new era of propaganda where new technologies allow the low-cost dissemination of their own communication, their information, as dictated.
“On the other side, journalists are the ones who get in the way.”
The situation was particularly grave in Latin America, the report said, highlighting “institutional violence” in Venezuela and Ecuador, organised crime in Honduras, impunity in Colombia, corruption in Brazil and media concentration in Argentina as the main obstacles to press freedom.
Among the lowest ranked countries were Syria, at 177th place out of 180, just below China (176th) but above North Korea (179th) and last placed Eritrea.
Japan slumped to 72nd due to what the watchdog identified as self-censorship towards Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, while Finland retained its top spot for the sixth consecutive year, followed by the Netherlands and Norway.
Bill Cosby's wife on Tuesday underwent a second day of questioning by lawyers for seven women who have sued the comedian for defamation for denying their claims that he sexually assaulted them.
Camille Cosby, 72, cooperated to the best of her abilities while being questioned under oath for more than five hours, attorneys for her and her husband said in a joint statement.
The deposition showed that "Mrs. Cosby has no relevant non-privileged information to offer in this case," it said. "... We are thankful for this distraction to now be over."
Her lawyers had asked a federal magistrate judge last week to spare her a second day of questioning at a Boston hotel. They contended an earlier deposition was mainly aimed at embarrassing her by delving into her sexual past and matters she is not obligated to testify about due to her marriage with the accused actor.
U.S. Magistrate Judge David Hennessy rejected that request but admonished lawyers for both sides to be better behaved during the second round of questioning.
He noted that marital privilege allows Camille Cosby to decline to answer questions about matters discussed privately with her husband.
More than 50 women have accused Cosby, 78, of sexual assault, often after plying them with drugs and alcohol. The allegations, many dating back decades, have toppled the actor best known for his role as the father in the 1980s television hit "The Cosby Show" from his position as one of the United States' best-loved entertainers.
Most of the alleged crimes are too old to be criminally prosecuted. Authorities in Pennsylvania charged Cosby with sexually assaulting a woman in 2005.
Cosby, who is out on bail, has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.
Tamara Green filed the Massachusetts lawsuit in December 2014. She was later joined by six other women who say Cosby sexually assaulted them and defamed them by calling them liars.
Cosby has counter sued, accusing the women of defaming him.
(Reporting by Tim McLaughlin; Writing by Scott Malone; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Cynthia Osterman)
Tributes poured in for Emmy-winning actress Doris Roberts, the star of US sitcom "Everybody Loves Raymond," who has died aged 90.
Roberts picked up best supporting actress four times in the early 2000s for her portrayal of Marie Barone, the mother of Ray Romano's sportswriter character in the show, which ran for nine seasons.
"Truly the end of an era," said Patricia Heaton, who played Roberts' TV daughter-in-law.
Roberts died of natural causes on Sunday in her hometown of Los Angeles.
"My wonderful TV mother-in-law and ELR ("Everbody Loves Raymond") nemesis Doris Roberts was a consummate professional from whom I learned so much. She was funny and tough and loved life, living it to the fullest."
Roberts joined the CBS show in 1995, having carved a niche in matriarchal roles in the 1980s, including as Donna Pescow's mother on the 1979-80 ABC series "Angie" and as receptionist Mildred Krebs on NBC detective series "Remington Steele."
She won her first of five Emmys in 1983 for a one-season guest role on medical drama "St. Elsewhere."
Raised by her single mother in the Bronx, Roberts got her break on Broadway in the play "The Time of Your Life" in 1955. She moved to California to appear in ABC's "The Lily Tomlin Comedy Hour" in 1975.
She appeared in 34 films over more than half a century, including 1961's "Something Wild," "The Honeymoon Killers" in 1969 and "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three" in 1974.
She also had guest roles later in her career in "Law and Order: Criminal Intent", "Grey's Anatomy" and "Desperate Housewives".
But she was best known for her role as Marie, the interfering, manipulative mother of Long Island-based Italian American sportswriter Raymond Barone, played by Romano, in "Everybody Loves Raymond".
"We loved our mom, the great #DorisRoberts. A wonderful, funny, indelible actress and friend," tweeted Phil Rosenthal, a producer on the series, which ran from 1996 until 2005.
Roberts was married to the novelist William Goyen for 22 years, until his death from leukemia in 1983. She had one son and three grandchildren from a previous marriage.
"Doris Roberts had an energy and a spirit that amazed me," Romano said in a statement.
"She never stopped. Whether working professionally or with her many charities, or just nurturing and mentoring a green young comic trying to make it as an actor, she did everything with such a grand love for life and people."
Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant and Jimmy Page will soon face a jury trial in order to determine whether they copied the opening chords for their 1971 classic Stairway to Heaven from the song Taurus, recorded by the little-known band Spirit in 1968. At a hearing in California last week the presiding judge, Gary Klausner, ruled that the songs were sufficiently similar to warrant further investigation.
The court was convinced that the famed British rock band would have had the chance to listen to Spirit’s song (it seems the two bands toured together in America in the late 1960s) and that the two tunes could have relevant similarities in the first two minutes, arguably the most important and recognisable segments of any piece. Access and substantial similarity between the works are the requirements for a successful copyright case.
The main defence raised by the British band was that the descending chromatic four-chord progression in Taurus is commonplace and not original – and so not protectable by copyright. The court found this unconvincing. In copyright infringement proceedings this kind of defence (based on the so-called scènes à faire doctrine) is frequent. While it is true that that chromatic progression is a common convention which abounds in music – said the judge – the several similarities between the two songs here transcend this main structure.
It is therefore now for the jury in the upcoming trial to decide whether, having in mind the ordinary and reasonable listener, Stairway to Heaven has taken Taurus’ “concept” and “feel”. In copyright jargon this is known as the intrinsic test.
This standard was used by the same court last year in the famous Blurred Lines case, when it was found that pop stars Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams had copied the Marvin Gaye song Got to Give it up. Gaye’s children were awarded $7.4m – although the award was subsequently reduced, and the decision is currently under appeal.
But I’m not a big fan of this test, especially when it comes to music. It’s not always easy to compare the total “concept” and “feel” of a song without mistakenly also taking into account its unprotectable elements. I’m concerned that a blind reliance in the Stairway to Heaven case on this standard – one that is not accepted by all courts – may again end up in a finding of copyright infringement. And this would have the perverse effect of discouraging, rather than stimulating, music creativity.
Need for reform
I don’t think that it is appropriate to consider the act of devising a tune that simply has the same “feel” and “groove” as another as copyright infringement. This is how music creativity often works. Musicians frequently build upon earlier arrangements and styles, and so the increasing occurrence of cases such as these should give us pause.
Copyright laws and principles should take these features of music production into due account. They should be based on a careful balance between creators’ proprietary rights and areas of freedom that permit later musicians to use the building blocks of a particular genre for creating new pieces.
Borrowing from earlier pieces is a structural element of music creation in many genres (a tune cannot always be created from scratch by just improvising). Classical music composers such as Handel, Beethoven, Shubert, Mozart, Bach and Puccini all significantly borrowed from earlier colleagues. The same holds true for jazz (which has built upon popular music and opera), rockabilly (influenced by country), rhythm and blues (which derives from boogie-woogie and gospel) and the Jamaican music scene (where traditionally covering and arranging each others' tunes was widespread and largely accepted).
I wonder what would have happened if the strong copyright protection of present times – which tends to prevent and thus discourage any creation of songs derived from others – had been around since the era of the first copyright statutes. It’s probable that composers and musicians wouldn’t have created many masterpieces because of the fear of violating some legal provisions and suffering negative consequences. Much of the music we now love would just not exist.
The importance of borrowing music has become even more pressing with the boom of digital technologies. Sampling – taking a portion, or “sample”, of a sound recording and reusing it as an instrument in a different song – is the most striking example. This technique of music creation is the backbone of highly popular genres such as hip-hop and rap.
It is time the copyright system started to reflect and take in due consideration the relevance of musical borrowing for creative purposes. Last year’s decision in Blurred Lines already sent a bad signal. I sincerely hope the jury in the Stairway to Heaven case won’t follow that path. Should Led Zeppelin be found liable for copyright infringement, we would have yet another blow to hopes of preserving a creative environment capable of ensuring the advancement of musical arts.
