The Digital Music News Podcast

James Sammataro is one of the top music industry attorneys. And like many music biz barristers, he's witnessing an alarming swell in copyright infringement lawsuits -- some of which are pretty questionable.

But even if a claim is flimsy, that doesn't mean an ill-educated jury won't award a multi-million dollar award to the litigating troll. Just ask Katy Perry or Pharrell.

"Certainly, we're in the age of copyright trolling," Sammataro flatly said.

So what's the solution?

In this edition of the Digital Music News Podcast, we set out to create a survival list for protecting yourself against an oncoming wave of copyright trolls. Because unfortunately, if you score a smash hit, you may also attract some serious litigation. There's even an old saying in the music industry: 'where there's a hit, there's a writ.'

But that doesn't mean you can't be prepared for a possible attack. "Part of the problem is that you don't have the lawyer sitting in the studio," Sammataro said.

But what if your lawyer was sitting next to you in the studio?

Lucidious was a talented musician with a growing fanbase and a well-paying day job. But he also couldn't get onto a Spotify playlist to save his life.

Now, he's making $250,000 a year with a rabid and growing fanbase. And he's still not getting any Spotify playlist love. So how is that even possible?

Ari Herstand, author of How to Make It In the New Music Business, explained that getting included on massive playlists can actually be damaging to an artist's long-term career. He's seen it firsthand - and in this podcast, he breaks down why.

Strangely, getting shut out of Spotify playlists actually forced Lucidious to earn fans in a more meaningful way. "While everyone was going towards playlists, and he went the other way," Ari explained. "And, he ignored playlists because playlists ignored him. So instead of beating down the door of every playlist editor and begging to get included on a playlist like every other person in the music industry was doing — and is still doing — he asked himself, ‘what is my ultimate goal here? — my ultimate goal is not to get on playlists. My ultimate goal is to get fans, and to make money from my music.'"

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Phil May from the band, The Pretty Things. One of the most influential people in rock history, and you’ve probably never heard of him.

Phil May founded The Pretty Things with Dick Taylor in 1963. He founded the group with Dick Taylor who had previously been in Little Boy Blue And The Blue Boys with Mick Jagger. That group would eventually become The Rolling Stones and the group that Taylor and May started, The Pretty Things.

The Pretty Things were born in an era in which rock music was still something risqué. This would pose a problem for the band as they became the first British band to get busted for drug possession. In an era in which parents were already weary about letting their kids listen to The Beatles, The Pretty Things were something parents definitely didn’t want their kids to listen to.

The band would undergo numerous changes throughout their history. They had 33 members over the years and the band went through numerous artistic changes as rock music evolved between 1963 and 2019. They evolved from rhythm-and-blues to psychedelic to a more traditional ‘classic rock’. Interestingly, the band was banned from New Zealand for their corrupting influence on youths, according to May.

Their first foray into psychedelic was with the world's first rock opera, S. F. Sorrow. An album that clearly influenced The Who's Pete Townsend, although he will refute that, there is a clear influence if you listen to both albums. I often remark on their influence as even superstars such as David Bowie was a huge Pretty Things fan, covering two of their songs on his album Pin Ups.

When you look at The Pretty Things' catalog of work, you may start to wonder why you haven’t heard of them — especially if you're savvy in classic rock. There are a few reasons why, and we delve into those in this podcast, but it boils down to the industry focusing on commerce over innovation. This is a natural byproduct of business as it intersects with art.

The band wanted to try new things, make great music, and not be confined to making albums that sounded like their previous releases. This presented a problem for labels, who were focused intently on their ROI.

The band remained strong and continued to release albums, even despite this. The band did recently put on a farewell show, The Final Bow, with special guests like David Gilmour and Van Morrison. You can purchase the vinyl and DVD combo from Burning Shed.

Check out the podcast to learn more about the band and one of rock-and-roll’s most interesting stories!

This week, we talk to the world's foremost experts in guitar effects pedals. After spending decades in music production, live tech, and pedal development, these four guys decided to help break the world's record for the largest guitar effects pedalboard ever created.

Some may ask, why? These guys asked why not?

In coordination with Sweetwater Sound, the record-setting team included Josh Scott (JHS Pedals), Robert Keeley (Keeley Electronics), Brian Wampler (Wampler Pedals), and Ryan Dyck (Temple Audio), with guitar player and YouTube celeb Rob Scallon spearheading the effort alongside Sweetwater.

On July 9th, at Sweetwater's Clyde Theatre in Fort Wayne, Indiana strung together 319 pedals on 34 dedicated pedalboards, featuring 34 different pedal manufacturers.

What could possibly go wrong!?

Emily White is one of the foremost experts in the music industry and an authority on how musicians can maximize the earnings from their music. She's worked at the largest companies in the business, managed top indie artists, and teaches music business ins-and-outs at New York University. She's also the author of the book, How to Build a Sustainable Music Career and Collect All Revenue Streams.