To celebrate what would be John Lennon’s 80th birthday, on Friday, October 9th, Blurred Vision lead singer Sepp Osley has organized a tribute live stream concert which will be available to watch on YouTube at 3:00p.m. ET.
This show will be hosted at the famous Hard Rock Hotel in London and will feature some big name artists such as Peter Gabriel, KT Tunstall, Larkin Poe, John Ilsley of Dire Straits, Lawrence Gowan of Styx, Maxi Jazz of Faithless, Lindsey Ell, PP Arnold, Andy Fairweather Low, Graham Gouldman of 10cc, Nick Van Eede of Cutting Crew, Blurred Vision, Mollie Marriott and Laura Jean Anderson to name a few. Each artist/band will perform covers of various songs written by Lennon.
This virtual concert will raise money for the War Child UK charity, which helps provide support for impoverished families across the globe’s war zones.
John Lennon is one of the most influential people in the history of music. A founding member of The Beatles, his partnership with Paul McCartney remains the most successful songwriting partnership in history. Lennon inspired generations of musicians and non-musicians alike. His songs focused on global issues as well as personal issues in hopes that it might help move the world in a direction of peace and love rather than war and hate. His impact on our culture, both individually and as part of The Beatles, cannot be overstated.
The Beatles became global superstars after their performance on the American television show, The Ed Sullivan Show, in 1964. Their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show sparked a worldwide phenomenon known as Beatlemania. A wave of British rock bands began to take the world by storm known as the British Invasion, which was started by The Beatles. The band would perform for 6 years together touring all over the world. The Beatles would go on to release 12 studio albums, selling over 600 million albums, winning 8 Grammy Awards and 1 Academy Award for their music.
In 1970 The Beatles decided to call it quits as tension rose amongst the bandmates. Each member decided to go their own way and start solo careers. During this time, Lennon wrote the famous song, “Imagine,” which challenged all listeners to love one another no matter their differences. In 1980 John Lennon was shot and murdered outside of his Manhattan apartment building, The Dakota, in New York City. His music carries on.
This virtual benefit concert in honor of John Lennon’s birthday will not only raise money for a very good cause but it will also celebrate the life and music of a man that inspired generations of musicians all around the world. I couldn’t think of a better way to honor John Lennon.
So you have a new song releasing soon. You’ve submitted your single to be released on all streaming platforms. Now what? What else can you do now while you wait? Well, once you sign up for Spotify for Artists, you have the ability to pitch your upcoming release to the Spotify team and have the chance to be featured on their playlists!
Go to the “Music” tab and next to the release you want to pitch, click “Pitch a Song.”
Describe your song SPECIFICALLY. Be accurate about the “moods” your song invokes and the “cultures” your song best fits into. If you are too broad, Spotify playlist curators will have a hard time knowing exactly where to place it!
Click next to “Tell us More” and describe your song with as much detail as you can. Include any relevant links (articles written about you, song reviews, etc.) that will make you a more appealing candidate for curators to select.
And that’s it! You could be missing out on a critical opportunity if you are not pitching to Spotify’s playlist curators. If your song is added to a Spotify playlist, there is a chance it can be put on Release Radar. If you’re a Spotify user, you know exactly what this is and what this can do for your music.
IMPORTANT: Make sure to pitch your song at least 7 days ahead of the release date, as this will give the curators time to review your release! Only new songs are eligible to be submitted for playlisting!
WHY FACEBOOK’S POLICY ON USING MUSIC IN VIDEO HASN’T CHANGED BUT YOUR LIVESTREAM STRATEGY MIGHT NEED TO.
Countless articles have been published across the web leading us to believe that Facebook has “new” music guidelines going into effect on Oct. 1st. These reports claim that — among other things — Facebook will start “banning music in livestreams.”
As someone who’s seen and personally visited Facebook jail before, let me assure you – these updates are. not. new.
Facebook music guidelines have not changed; nor will they on October 1st.
This article will take a deep dive into the updates and help you determine if your content strategy may need to change.
Here’s a timeline of Facebook’s Music Guidelines and what you need to know.
2018 – United States legislation signed into law The Music Modernization Act aimed to modernize copyright-related issues for music and audio recordings due to new forms of technology like digital streaming.
2018 – Facebook publishes its Music Guidelines in an effort to balance its commitment to supporting musical expression also ensuring they stick to their agreements with rights holders.
2020 (March) – The pandemic shuts down entire industries, including the music business, forcing artists and musicians to turn to livestreaming and online concerts for connection and income.
“We also can remove or restrict access to your content, services or information if we determine that doing so is reasonably necessary to avoid or mitigate adverse legal or regulatory impacts to Facebook.”
This is the only sentence that will be different come October 1st, but it happened to be the first time a lot of musicians saw the 2018 guidelines.
In the 2018 guidelines, it has some very ambiguous threatening phrases that, if read the correct way (or the wrong way), sound very ominous for independent musicians.
For example:
“Use of music for commercial or non-personal purposes, in particular, is prohibited unless you have obtained appropriate licenses.”
In plain English, it sounds like, “don’t use other people’s pre-recorded music,” but it’s never spelled out like that. And by the way, this is not legal advice (I’m required to say that, correct?)
The very next section though is what’s been quoted in many articles…
You may not use videos on our Products to create a music listening experience
We want you to be able to enjoy videos posted by family and friends. However, if you use videos on our Products to create a music listening experience for yourself or for others, your videos will be blocked and your page, profile or group may be deleted. This includes Live.
Understandably, that whole section sounds very restricting. Especially not being able to use videos to “create music listening experiences” and “this includes Live.”
But it’s actually not all that confusing once you consider the timeline.
The reason we didn’t get all shaken up about the guidelines in 2018 is twofold — (1) we didn’t (as a whole) actually see them and (2) we still had venues, clubs, and festivals and weren’t depending solely on livestreams.
May 2020 Clarification
Facebook’s clarification in May 2020 was the very plain language explanation we needed and came on the heels of 2 months of 1000’s of livestream concerts, festivals, and events.
In this post, what we can and cannot do is spelled out a little more clearly…
While the specifics of our licensing agreements are confidential, today we’re sharing some general guidelines to help you plan your videos better:
Music in stories and traditional live music performances (e.g., filming an artist or band performing live) are permitted.
The greater the number of full-length recorded tracks in a video, the more likely it may be limited (more below on what we mean by “limited”).
Shorter clips of music are recommended.
There should always be a visual component to your video; recorded audio should not be the primary purpose of the video.
So for the most part, Facebook isn’t going to ban your livestreams but you still might have some desicions to make. Here’s the bottom line for using music in video…
Using anyone else’s PRE-RECORDED MUSIC in your video or livestream is prohibited. This is one of the main reasons the Music Modernization Act exists.
However, according to Facebook music streaming guidelines (which are somewhat in line with sites like Twitch and YouTube)…
PERFORMING A COVER of someone else’s music is permitted as long as you or someone is playing the instrument.
What Does That Mean for Your Streams?
Anyone using pre-recorded tracks or songs in their recordings or livestreams are running the risk of being muted (in whole or in part) or possibly having the content deleted.
Here’s an example of a message on a livestream that was broadcast in April.
The notification which appeared after the livestream had ended goes on to provide two options:
Post partially muted – This is the option you’d choose if you do not have permission to use the music. The video will remain published but will be muted during any segments that contain the song in question.
Restore audio – Choose this option if this was truly a mistake and you have permission to use the music. Your video will be posted without anything muted.
This has probably impacted you in some way if you are in any of the following categories…
DJs streaming their live sets from various artists
Singers performing to recorded tracks to cover songs
Note – purchasing karaoke or instrumental tracks will not protect you from these guidelines.
Musicians playing along to instrumental tracks of cover songs is still pre-recorded music and not allowed.
Facebook is also taking strides to notify artists during a broadcast if a livestream will be removed.
This will allow musicians time to adjust or end their livestreams. Plus, Facebook also claims they’ll make it more clear what actions you can take to prevent the interruption.
Live video is still the BEST way to reach your fans, regardless of how your livestreaming or content plans are affected.
Here are a few reasons why:
82% of people prefer live video from a brand over standard social media posts. (Livestream)
70% of consumers who live stream do so at least once per day. (IAB)
Going live is only one type of content, but it will help you connect with your fans the quickest. Don’t get caught thinking that 2020 is a wash. Obviously a LOT is going on, but this is just the beginning…
By the end of 2020, live streaming is expected to account for 82% of all internet traffic. (Go-Global)
With the launch of new features like charging for livestreams via paid online events, the ability to stream up to 50-person messenger rooms, and a wider rollout of Twitch-like monetization with Facebook Stars, it’s obvious to me they are well aware of the need for musicians to express themselves and make a living in the process.
If you’re just getting started with your livestreams or want to get creative with your current process, grab my free Livestream Checklist.
It is a step-by-step guide that walks you through what to do before, during, and after your livestreams. Head over to ArtistCollect.com/GoLive and download yours today.
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Leonard Patterson is a former front-man for a 6-figure party band, a booking agent with 1000’s of shows under his belt, and a certified digital marketer. As the Head of Content Marketing at The Artist Collective, his mission is to help indie artists and bands create, curate, and automate their social success.
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