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Alabama vs The Prisoner

5/15/2012

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From Billboard.biz:

Australian singer-songwriter Allan Caswell is alleging in a lawsuit that the band Alabama stole its 1982 chart-topping hit, "Christmas in Dixie," from the song he penned as the theme for the 1980s Australian television soap, "The Prisoner."

What makes the case peculiar, besides litigation over songs created more than three decades ago, is that in Caswell's new lawsuit, he isn't suing Alabama, but rather his own music publisher, Sony ATV Music Publishing Australia, for failing to collect royalties from the alleged lift. Both Caswell and Alabama are signed to different divisions of Sony Music.

The dispute is being fought at the Supreme Court of New South Wales. 

"It's not a plagiarism lawsuit," Caswell told The Telegraph. "it's about getting my publishing company (Sony) to do their job." 

The fact that the songs were created so long ago might not matter in Australia, where a court two years ago determined Men at Work's 1980s megahit, "Down Under," illicitly incorporated a copyrighted children's song from the 1930s. 

According to the latest lawsuit, Sony had a musicologist examine the two songs in 2004 and concluded that the works "shared a level of similarity that went beyond what he would consider to be a random occurrence of sheer coincidence."

But this isn't a case alleging copyright infringement. Here's the twist: Both have Sony connections. 

"That's the problem," Caswell told a local TV station in Australia. "I'm signed to Sony ATV. Alabama is signed to Sony Music. So it's all in-house. There's no incentive for them to take action. They basically can't take action because they'd be suing themselves."

You can read the article in its entirety over at Billboard.biz

If you're curious about the two songs, give them a listen and see what you think.

Here's Alabama's :"Christmas In Dixie"...



And here's the theme to the Australian TV show "The Prisoner" (music starts about a minute in)...

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Rumors

5/11/2012

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It’s still pretty early, but there are already some rumors and rumblings about new Christmas music for 2012!

Here’s what I’ve heard so far…

Pat Benatar is planning a Christmas album for this year.  She mentioned this last summer, and hopes to finish it this year after her summer tour.  She says she’s planning some classics and some originals, including her 9/11 charity single “Christmas In America”.
Rod Stewart is rumored to be in the studio this month finishing up his first-ever Christmas album.  Rod has a pretty full schedule on the way, including a tour this summer, and a stint in Las Vegas this fall.  Previously, Rod has recorded versions of a few seasonal songs – “My Favorite Things”, “I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm” and a duet with Dolly Parton on “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”.

Meat Loaf has also indicated that he has a Christmas release on the way.  His is to be called “Hot Holidays”, and he teased it on the radio this past December with a Children’s Hospital performance including “Silent Night”, “Run Rudolph Run” and “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer”.
R&B legends Eddie Floyd and Percy Sledge are both planning their own Christmas releases, each of which were teased last December with singles.  Eddie released “I’ll Be Your Santa Claus” and “I Wish To All (A Merry Christmas)”, and Percy offered up a new version of his classic “My Christmas Wish For You” as well as a duet with Alabama’s Randy Owen on their song “Christmas In Dixie”.

Grammy-nominated Judy Pancoast has a new set on the way, a follow-up to her phenomenal “House On Christmas Street” album.  We were treated to “Mrs. Claus” from Judy last year, an exclusive that will be featured on the new album.

Jimmie Van Zandt, John Legend, Kelly Clarkson, Colbie Caillat and Ozzy Osbourne are also rumored to be working on new holiday releases, and Maria Carey is expected to release an expanded edition of her recent album “Merry Christmas II You”.

There are no definite dates for any of these, so it’s all just a best guess of what’s to come.  Hopefully, there will be some real news soon!  Really looking forward to this coming season!

May you always believe in Santa Claus!

Ken

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