Blog 3

     For the album review, I decided on 'Genesis' by former Odd Future rapper, Domo Genesis (pronounced Dom-o). The reason being that it's only been out a month, it's Domo's first solo studio album (March 25th), and it's proved that Domo is talented and here to stay. When I found out the album was coming out from Tyler, the Creator's instagram (Tyler is the "leader" of OFWGKTA, and was the first amongst the group to get recognition) I pre-ordered it, not really expecting what to get. When I first listen to it, I was blown away by how good it was. I was slightly surprised by the lyrical content of Domo's, because listening to some of his verses on other songs (see 'Oldie') all he ever really talked about was smoking weed and how his group was the best, like about 90% of all other rappers, and when you compare that to some of the more "graphic" verses that Tyler has made (see 'Tron Cat' and 'Yonkers') this album shows there's more to his life. One song that stuck out was the 2nd song on the album was 'One Below', the reason being that Domo got his mother to do a monologue about how she thought how amazing she thought her child was, and then to sing choruses back-up on the rest of the album. I was also surprised to see the parallels that he and I have, growing up with an autistic older brother, living in a place so easy to get drugs and not taking those paths (him more-so than I), and not really finding a place for yourself, so you made one. Of course not all of the album is introspective and reflexive on the artist, every album needs a single or two to get people to listen. For this, it's 'Dapper' featuring Anderson.Paak and 'Go Gas' featuring Wiz Khalifa, Juicy J, and Tyler, the Creator (Tyler also produced this and a fair amount of other tracks). 'Dapper' is a very laid back track with a 70's Disco/swinger feel to it, very well written and a song you can dance  to. This album is a prime example to what aspiring rappers should want to make and the direction the genre needs to take to start to be taken seriously. 'Go Gas' can be summarized in one word BARS (that's a good thing). It's a simple beat, so it lets the artist really make the song something to listen to. It's a song you'll see other rappers "freestyle" over (I put freestyle in quotes because they're not really free anymore). If you like Rap music, you need to hear this album. If you hate Rap music, you still need to hear this album, I'm not saying it's the best record ever made, but it's gonna be one that nobody hates. Rating: 9/10            

Blog 2

Current copyright issue. Current copyright issue. Current copyright issue. Welp, here goes. You remember that song written by Robin Thicke? You know, the one that sounds like a Marvin Gaye song? (that's right i'm writing about Blurred Lines. You brought this on yourself.) 'Blurred Lines', written by Thicke, featuring Pharrel and T.I. apparently sounds a little (or a lot if you're Marvin Gaye's estates people) like the Marvin Gaye song: 'Gotta Give It Up'. Now I've never heard the song 'Gotta Give It Up', but I did hear 'Blurred Lines'. On the radio. Everyday. For an entire year. Maybe even longer. The song was the "summer hit" when it came out in 2013. But that's not how Gaye's people felt. But there was a loophole. According to an article on the internet, (real specific I know, but links will be included down below), it stated: "Coincidentally, it was a legal loophole from the 1976 Act, the cultural expansion of what constitutes “intellectual property,” and the limitations of our current copyright system that set the stage for how the “Blurred Lines” case was argued and adjudicated in the US District Court of California." Gaye's people didn't want to leave empty handed, so they prompted Thicke and his featured artists for "some sort of recompense". The trio responded with a “Complaint for Declamatory Relief”, that "Being reminiscent of a ‘sound’ is not copyright infringement", and that Gaye's people were "claiming ownership of an entire genre, as opposed to a specific work". It was found by jurors that 'Blurred Lines' was, in some part, derived from Gaye’s work. All in all, the song was okay and the video was one to remember.

Blog 1

                                                                                                                                                       2/12/16



When we look at anything, we are bound to find problems. Problems are a subjective thing. Looking at the idea of streaming music is problematic depending on what side of the streaming you are doing. For the consumer using the service and the company providing the service, we see it as the new wave of the future; being able to listen to your favorite thousand songs for a modest monthly subscription. Easy. Convenient. Cheaper than buying the full album. Even the record labels don't have a problem with streaming music because they get paid with a percentage of media sales among other methods of collecting royalties. So than where is the problem? The problem lies with the people "making" the music (I use quotes because the person singing isn't necessarily the biggest part of the creation of a song). These streaming services don't pay the artist very well, it's estimated that Spotify pays a label between six and eighty-four cents, that's not a lot. But the amount going toward the artist is about one-tenth of a penny, mainly due to the fact that Spotify doesn't even pay the artist, it's made the label's responsibility and they don't always do; either because the artist is unrecouped, or they're just signed to a shitty label that doesn't treat its artists right. It's also what drove Taylor Swift to the conclusion of removing her music from Spotify, claiming they don't pay enough and "my music is art, and you should pay for art" (or something along those lines). While I disagree with having to pay for art, she is right about about only getting a tenth of a penny for every listen, especially when someone puts up as many as she could/does/will. And that is for a big-named mega star, imagine what it would be for a small artist that only just got his or her career to the level of having their music be popular enough to warrant streaming. 



I know I'm about 70 words short, but I feel I've made my point and I don't want to ramble






http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2014/09/02/music-industry-99-problems/
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/apr/03/how-much-musicians-make-spotify-itunes-youtube

New Blog for class