Comment Piece 2-The Sore Point of Original Music Gone Commercial

Arguably, being able to write one’s own songs and create one’s own music is one of the best ways to express emotions, chronicle one’s journey, create new experiences, and even discuss critical issues.

But some may wonder if songwriting will pay what it’s really worth now, when there is the ever-present possibility that the labour of a songwriter can literally go unnoticed, particularly when the song is taken and becomes a hit for an already established artist?

The struggle is even greater if you feel that within yourself you don’t have what it takes to deliver your own song, whether it be the voice, stage presence, or star appeal.

This is the open wound of original music going commercial, that never seems to heal. You do want to share your heart with the world through your songs and music, and while you may personally appreciate hearing it through another artist’s interpretation and style, you certainly don’t appreciate not being credited and rewarded for it.

Although more social media and digital platforms such as SoundCloud, Bandcamp, Myspace, Instagram and others are now available to ‘help’ budding songwriters introduce themselves and work to the music industry, their desire to earn what they consider to be a fairer and worthy share for their work has drawn them into a bitter tussle with major labels, and streaming platforms.

In the open vacuum that is the music industry, these major players look to walk the tightrope of further boosting the success profiles of their current artists, while promoting their selected new talent, leaving other DIY artists adrift.

A legal case that highlights the same problem was Spotify’s, Amazon’s, Pandora’s and Google’s appeal of a ruling by the Copyright Royalty Board in early 2019, who voted to increase the royalties made by songwriters from interactive streaming by more than 40 percent over five years.

Court cases have also been also brought against stars like Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa, Katy Perry, Led Zeppelin, Robin Thicke, and Pharrell Williams, around this controversial issue.

As someone who writes songs, I too have lingering questions.

Though it is widely said that ‘imitation is the best form of flattery’ and if someone samples or interpolates on, and releases another’s original song, it is assumed that they love and hopefully appreciate the fruit of the original artist’s work, at what point can an established artist be accused of theft, if an original song is already ‘in circulation,’ and all the artist needs to do is just ‘sample and mix’ without acknowledging the writer?

Is it really okay to only share credit by sharing royalties, while remaining faceless and nameless, or stay quiet in the face of potentially losing both?

That could depend on personal choice, or things may just work out that way due to the competitive nature of the industry.

But, are we songwriters just overreacting? That’s a question that will never die from the public square, as long we keep making music.