Decoder with Nilay Patel

It's brutal out here: Olivia Rodrigo and how the music business makes songwriters fight over credits

Sep 15, 2021

Charlie Harding, co-host of Switched on Pop and music industry aficionado, dives into the complexities of songwriting credits in the modern music world. He discusses Olivia Rodrigo’s debut album 'Sour' and her ongoing adjustments to songwriting credits, shedding light on the struggles of new artists navigating copyright laws. The conversation also explores the nuances of musical borrowing, the implications of historical legal battles, and how these issues shape the creative landscape for songwriters today.

01:05:49

Creator website

Episode guests

Charlie Harding

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Episode notes

Intro

2min

Controversies in Songwriting: The Olivia Rodrigo Debate

16min

Exploring Musical Parallels: Heartbreak Through Sound

3min

Navigating Songwriting Credits and Copyright

14min

Navigating Ownership and Innovation in the Arts Post-Blurred Lines

2min

The Legal Landscape of Music Copyright

10min

Navigating Thin Copyright in Music

3min

The Complex Web of Song Sampling and Credits

11min

Celebrating Connections and Great Deals

2min

This week on Decoder we are doing something a little different. We're talking with Charlie Harding, co-host of the podcast Switched on Pop a podcast about pop music, about the state of the music industry particularly as it relates to copyright. The conversation is framed around Olivia Rodrigo's debut album Sour and why she keeps handing out songwriting credits months after the album was released. This is kind of a hybrid between an episode of Decoder and an episode of Switched on Pop. We play a lot of music throughout the episode and in case you want to go back and listen to full songs we've made playlists for both Spotify and Apple Music.

Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3nuMTt7

Apple Music - https://apple.co/3986hUw

Links

Olivia Rodrigo Studied All the Right Moves

https://www.vulture.com/2021/05/olivia-rodrigo-sour-album-review

Why Taylor Swift is rerecording all her old songs https://www.vox.com/culture/22278732/taylor-swift-re-recording-fearless-love-story-master-rights-scooter-braun

Olivia Rodrigo Gives Taylor Swift Songwriting Credit on Second ‘Sour’ Song, ‘Deja Vu’ https://variety.com/2021/music/news/olivia-rodrigo-taylor-swift-songwriting-credit-deja-vu-1235015769/

Olivia Rodrigo Adds Paramore to Songwriting Credits on ‘Good 4 U’

https://variety.com/2021/music/news/olivia-rodrigo-paramore-good-4-u-misery-business-1235048791/

‘Blurred Lines’ Copyright Suit Against Robin Thicke, Pharrell Ends in $5M Judgment https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/robin-thicke-pharrell-williams-blurred-lines-copyright-suit-final-5-million-dollar-judgment-768508/

Katy Perry Wins Appeal in ‘Dark Horse’ Infringement Case https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/katy-perry-dark-horse-copyright-win-appeal-969009/

Led Zeppelin Wins Long ‘Stairway to Heaven’ Copyright Case https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/05/arts/music/stairway-to-heaven-led-zeppelin-lawsuit.html

Isley Feels Vindicated In Bolton Case https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/78775/isley-feels-vindicated-in-bolton-case

Transcript - https://www.theverge.com/e/22436745

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This episode was produced by Creighton DeSimone, Alexander Charles Adams, and Andrew Marino. We were edited by Callie Wright. And our music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

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