More than 50 news outlets have devoted space to covering a press conference (and its aftermath) co-hosted by Terry faculty member and musician David Lowery.
Speaking alongside Lowery at the Nov. 11 conference, National Music Publishing Association President David Israelite announced that his organization is pursuing legal action against websites that post song lyrics without compensating the lyrics’ writers.
The legal moves stem from Lowery’s research into unlicensed lyrics sites, which culminates in a list of the Top 50 worst offenders. Topped by Rap Genius, a heavily trafficked and well-financed website that offers lyrics and user-generated song interpretations, Lowery’s list is available here.
“As a songwriter I value the fact that some people are good enough to ask permission of me or my representatives if they can host my lyrics on their sites, just as your average consumer might liked be asked permission if somebody commercially uses their Instagram photos or their Facebook photos,” Lowery said at the press conference.
Coverage includes:
- In Music Piracy Battles, Lyrics Demand Respect Too — NYTimes
- Websites That Post Song Lyrics May Have to Face the Music — WSJ
- Music Publishers Crack Down on Sites Featuring Song Lyrics — Variety
- NMPA Targets Unlicensed Lyric Sites, Rap Genius Among 50 Sent Takedown Notices — Billboard
- Rap Genius unveils licensing deal with music publisher Sony/ATV — LA Times
- Music publishers fire DMCA take-down notices at top lyrics sites — CNET
- Songwriters target lyrics websites — The Wrap
- Cracker Frontman Spearheads Takedown of Lyric Sites — Rolling Stone
- The music industry is going after RapGenius — and the law is on its side – Washington Post
- Music Publishers Target Unlicensed Sites — Forbes
- Music Publishers Take Action Against Lyrics Sites — The Atlantic Wire
- Publisher’s Association Says Rap Genius is ‘Blatantly Illegal’ — Spin
- Rap Genius Named the Most ‘Blatantly Illegal’ Lyric Site by Music Publishers — Digital Music News
- National Music Publishers Association Issue Take-Down Notice to RapGenius.com — Hip Hop Wired
- NMPA requests takedown of 50 ‘unlicensed’ lyric sites — MusicWeek
- Rap Genius Among the 50 Lyric Sites Targeted by Publishers’ Association — Fader
- US publishers plan crackdown on unlicensed lyric sites — Complete Music Update
- Lyric Sites Leveled With Take-Down Notices by Publishers Association — MusicFeeds
- NMPA Puts Lyric Sites on Notice — BET
- NMPA Issues Take-Down Notice to 50 Lyrics Sites — Vibe
- Rap Genius faces cease-and-desist from National Music Publishers Association — Music Times
- Music Publishers’ Association issues takedown notices to 50 lyrics websites — Wired (UK)
- Rap Genius Among 50 Sites Targeted for Takedown by Music Publishers Assoc — Hypebot
- Rap Genius and other lyric websites hit with copyright infringement notices — Consequence of Sound
- National Music Publishers’ Association to take down multiple lyrics sites including RapGenius — The Four Oh Five
- Forget War Over Downloading Music, the Fight Over Reading It Has Begun and Rap Genius Is In Trouble — Digital Trends
- Songwriter ask unauthorized lyric sites to go legit — Copyright Alliance
- New Study Leads NMPA to File Shut Down of 50 Lyric Websites – Complex.com
- Publishers want sites to pay for song lyrics, and they have a point — GigaOM
- RapGenius Responds to Claims of Copyright Infringement From Songwriters — The Wrap
- Study by Camper Van Beethoven’s David Lowery Prompts NMPA to File Take-Down Notices Against 50 Lyric Websites — Pitchfork Media
- Rap Genius Among Sites NMPA is Targeting to Remove Copyrighted Lyrics – Urban Daily
- Music Publishers are trying to shut down 50 different sites because, again, posting lyrics online is illegal — A.V. Club
- Rap Genius and Other Lyric Sites May Get Shut Down — MTV.com (blog)
- Why Does the Music Industry Want to Shut Down Lyric Sites? – BuzzFeed
- Music publishers seek payment for online lyric views — AlJazeera (blog)
- Is Rap Genius Counting Down Its Last Days? — MTV News
- Is Rap Genius Illegal? – Slate
- Rap lyrics websites taken down in NMPA licensing swoop — The Inquirer (UK blog)
- How a Rock Star Helped the Music Industry Take on Rap Genius — Associations Now
- NMPA Delivers Take-Down Notices to Fifty Unlicensed Lyric Sites — Jambands.com
- Bad Words: Lyrics Sites Threatened by Music Publishers — Technology Tell
- Rap Genius signs licensing deal with Sony — NME
- Rap Genius announces licensing deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing — AllHipHop.com