The MusicAnswers Podcast

On this week's episode of The MusicAnswers Podcast, Derek and guest co-host (and MusicAnswers Co-Founder) David Wolfert chat with Billboard's Kristin Robinson who is laser-focused on the myriad of goings-on in American music publishing.

In this week's bonus episode of The MusicAnswers Podcast, we introduce Madison LaRae, Victoria Princi, and Nick Reichheld: Our new team members. We discuss the UMG/TikTok kerfuffle, the Grammy Awards, and why they're joining us to advocate for the rights of music creators.

This week's episode of The MusicAnswers Podcast is an interview with Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Cody Fry, recorded live at a session during the Association for Popular Music Education Conference in New Orleans. Derek & Cody discuss his path to success in the music industry, which is as signature and distinctive as his soaring, orchestra-forward recordings and performances.

On this week's episode of The MusicAnswers Podcast, Derek is joined by guest co-host Ellie Trainor for a conversation with independent music publisher Abby North about advocating for songwriters of the 1950s and 60s in the ever-changing digital and political landscape of the 2020s, including her recent testimony before The United States Congress.

On this week's episode of The MusicAnswers Podcast, Derek is joined by guest co-host Nate "Suave" Cameron Jr. for a conversation with two music creator advocates at The United States Copyright Office about all of the ways they support music creators, and the challenges we face together.

Continuing where we left off with Dr. David Lowery, we discuss his activism on behalf of music creators, the power that the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) wields when it comes to what songwriters get paid, and what the frontman for Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven (alongside a fruitful solo career) thinks the resurgence of vinyl means in today's music industry.

On this week's episode of The MusicAnswers Podcast, we speak with chart-topping singer/songwriter, music rights crusader, and University of Georgia college professor Dr. David Lowery. In Part 1 of our interview with Dr. Lowery, we talk about how he became an activist, the costs of being a music creator, and the value of collective bargaining.

On this week's episode of the MusicAnswers Podcast, Derek and Matt are joined by Variety's Senior Music Editor Jem Aswad to discuss the importance of journalism in music creator rights advocacy and his recent article "The Ineffable Tone-Deafness of Spotify's Daniel Ek." 

On this week's episode of the MusicAnswers Podcast, we speak with former Executive Vice President at Sony-ATV Music Publishing Jody Dunitz about her recent article in Digital Music News on the true allegiances of the National Music Publishers Association and their lack of protection for songwriters, the unfrozen mechanical royalty rate, and more. 

On this week's episode of the MusicAnswers Podcast, we're speaking to Chris Castle, an attorney working at the nexus of music, technology, and policy; and a frequent contributor at The Trichordist, which advocates for a Sustainable and Ethical Internet for the protection of artist's rights in the digital age. We'll be speaking with Chris about Spotify: evaluating it through Environmental, Social, and Governance factors to determine if it is a socially conscious company, the "jumping ship paradox," and new technologies that may be able to supplant music creator incomes that have been lost due to Spotify's practices. 

Continuing where we left off with Maria Schneider, we start to get into the thick of some of the biggest issues facing music creators today. Maria explains her stance on streaming, gives advice to up-and-coming music creators, identifies who she believes the three main culprits are that have put the power of music in jeopardy, and breaks down the 10 "plagues" that are afflicting music creators today. This is a conversation you do not want to miss! 

This week, we've got a very special two-part episode of The MusicAnswers Podcast featuring none other than 7-time Grammy Award winning composer, bandleader, NEA Jazz Master, and music-creator activist Maria Schneider. On part 1 of our interview with Maria, we chat about her upbringing and the origins of her career. 

On this very special episode of The MusicAnswers Podcast, taped live for The Association of Popular Music Education Conference, we're joined by: Grammy nominated songwriter and Director of the NYU songwriting program Phil Galdston; Grammy and Emmy nominated songwriter and NYU songwriting professor David Wolfert; composer and 20+ year member of the ASCAP Board of Director Doug Wood; and students Mia Vasquez and Tommy Kim. We'll be talking about the importance of teaching music creator rights to students (young and old) and the way some of our student guests learned about these complex topics. 

We're back with a new slate of episodes! On this week's episode of the MusicAnswers Podcast, we're sitting down with Caleb Shreve from Killphonic, a rights collection company with a particular focus on transparency for artists in the digital age, to talk about Neighboring Rights and the rapidly changing digital and international music industry.  

On a very special episode, Derek and Matt are celebrating the new year by taking a moment to introduce listeners to the MusicAnswers team, Phil Galdston, David Wolfert, Ajay Raghuraman, Elizabeth Croteau, and Andrea de Varona. We're talking everything from music to quintessential New York moments of 2021. 

On this episode, we'll be chatting with music creator and advocate Eddie Schwartz. Eddie has written for artists such as Donna Summer, Joe Cocker, America, Meatloaf, the Doobie Brothers, and Paul Carrack. He also wrote the hit song, "Hit Me With Your Best Shot," for Pat Benatar. Eddie has served as President of the Songwriters Association of Canada, Co-Chair of Music Creators North America, Chair of Fair Trade Music International, Vice President of the International Council of Music Creators, and was elected to six consecutive terms on the SOCAN Board and Executive Committee.

On this week's episode of the MusicAnswers Podcasts, we're discussing performing rights organizations (PROs) with ASCAP Board of Directors member, composer, and MusicAnswers co-founder Doug Wood. 

On this week's episode of the MusicAnswers Podcast, we'll be chatting about royalty streams in music with Mandy Aubry, Director of Business Development for EMEA and APAC at Songtrust, and Kyle Thiede, Director of Partner Relations at Songtrust.  00:00 - What is Songtrust?  14:20 - What were your professional paths?  22:32 - What are the different types of royalties and licenses?  25:30 - What is the mechanical royalty flow for a song? 39:24 - How do mechanical royalties touch all corners of music composition? 

On this week's episode of the MusicAnswers Podcast, we'll be tackling questions about music copyright with Charles Sanders. Charles is an international music and entertainment attorney who over the years has worked with the Songwriters Guild of America, Music Creators of North America (MCNA), Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the National Music Council, and The Native American Music Association. 8:00 - What is a copyright?  14:30 - What are the common mistakes music creators make with copyright?  23:30 - At what point should you register your songs with the copyright office?  26:00 - What constitutes a similarity in music according to copyright law?  39:20 - What are some of the cases you've worked on that you think would be interesting to our listeners?  43:10 - What changes have you seen in the music copyright landscape? 53:00 - What glimmers are hope are this for music creators out there looking to protect their rights? 

Hello and welcome to the MusicAnswers Podcast hosted by Derek Fawcett and Matt Rose. The MusicAnswers podcast is the official podcast of MusicAnswers, a rapidly growing organization of 4,000 songwriters, composers, performers, and producers seeking to reclaim and protect our rights for the digital age. Throughout this podcast series, we'll chat with experts and luminaries from around the industry with the goal to educate, inform, and entertain. Send your questions to @MusicAnswers on Instagram or to our website www.musicanswers.org and we'll answer them on the show!