And The Writer Is...with Ross Golan - Ep. 193: Ross Golan SONA Speech

Episode Date: October 24, 2024

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Hey guys. Last week, I received the Sona Warrior Award, which is Songwriters of North America's award that they give to people who are advocates for the songwriting community. It was also given to Ray and Prophet and Thomas Sher and Andrea Martin, so it was amazing to be, to receive the award along with them. Anyway, so the event was at Skirball Center in Los Angeles, California, the people at Sona and the writers felt like it would be a good thing to show you all the acceptance speech because we discuss things in it that the songwriting community and the music industry as a whole should discuss loudly. So hopefully you enjoy it for a little context. Benny Blanco had just done an intro and given me the award. So that's the Benny I think in the

beginning. And if you feel like donating to Sona, I think you should because they're the closest thing to a union we got. All right, without further ado, here's the acceptance speech. Thanks. Thank you. Thank you, Benny. Thank you, Sona. Wow, that's so going. Okay, welcome to the Warrior Awards. I am your recipient, Ross Golan. If you know that tone, you know, and the writer is. It's a little podcast, my friend Joe London and I started 200 episodes ago to highlight the most creative humans who've ever existed on Earth, literally. And my My friend Benny Blanco was the very first guest.

I remember going to his apartment in New York where he had only one platinum record on his wall. It wasn't Kesha, Katie Perry, Maroon 5, Ed Shearin, it was made for him by a children's hospital. That is class. Anyway, a little tidbit. I met Benny in 2010 at a Grammy party during his long hair phase. I was in a band and probably had just straightened my faux hawk. Benny was already a future Hall of Famer and he gave me his email, his real email. He didn't reply, but I know it was his real email because a few years later,

we met again after his brother Jeremy and David Silberstein reintroduced me. Those gentlemen opened the door and my first country number one and pop number one songs came shortly after. David and Jera are now partners in the podcast along with Casey Robison, who lived on my dorm room floor at USC 26 years ago. Benny, David, and Casey are all here tonight. Nobody got in this room by themselves. So I want everybody here to take 10 seconds, spot someone in this room who opened a door for you and say thank you.

Okay, perfect. Stay loyal, be patient, and stay loyal. Now, here's the speech part. How cool is this? When an artist wins, we celebrate the individual. When an advocate wins, we celebrate the community. So to be celebrated as an individual in this way truly means the world. Because as many people here can attest, it's lonely and vulnerable when you risk your name and livelihood for the good of the whole.

So why do we do it? I mean, why not just do more sessions? Why fight for the passage of the Music Modernization Act or for songwriters to be added to album of the year or sit on the board of the National Music Publishers Association? Why not just do more sessions? Why mentor writers? Why help them navigate the industry when it's hard enough for us to navigate the industry?

Why not just do more and more sessions? Because there's a thought that you should make yourself indispensable at work. So what can I do that makes me indispensable at mine? More lyrics, melodies, beats, add to my catalog, my ego. In 200 interviews I've done, I've learned one hard truth. Nobody cares about what songs you've written or how many records you've sold.

Those are unpredictable and unrepeatable results from factors far out of our control. What makes us indispensable to our peers? It's the way we treat our community and help sustain an ecosystem for future generations. That makes us indispensable. How we help our co-writers, our artists, our fans, our teams,

the way we help them pursue their dreams, that matters. How do you make your co-writer's best songs? How do you make your fans' favorite show? It's not about you, it's about them. To me, that's what a songwriter does. So let's talk about what a songwriter is. For nearly 90 years of the music industry, only songwriters were listed as songwriters.

Let me reread that. For nearly 90 years of the music industry, only songwriters were listed as songwriters because everyone in this room knows what a songwriter is. So why are we so? afraid to call out what it isn't. Now, if your name is on a song, that in and of itself does not make you a songwriter. If an artist who doesn't write sells their catalog for a couple hundred million dollars, why doesn't the headline read? Artist sells $200 million of extorted publishing

from working songwriters. That is called coercion. That is not songwriting. If an artist has been showered with awards even though they've stolen songwriting credit and publishing for decades, that is called vanity. That is not songwriting. If you're a manager or an A&R guy or an engineer with access and therefore feel entitled to songwriting, credit, and publishing, that is called greed. That is not songwriting. If you're a producer who wasn't in the room when the song was written, you are a producer, not a songwriter. Now, this can get complicated because at least you're contributing to the music. But let's be clear, Quincy didn't ask for publishing, not because he couldn't, but because he was not a songwriter. If you're going to take credit for something you didn't do,

give some of your fee or points, because we don't owe you our publishing. Oh, and the reason you don't have to give us credit as a producer if we didn't produce it is because we are the songwriters, and everyone here knows what a songwriter is. These are not co-writers, these are thieves. It's time we call it what it is. My point is, we're in an infantile industry. We can claw back some of this. Or maybe the cat's out of the bag, I don't know,

but it's never too late to make it right. I interviewed an artist who took the lion's share of a hit early on in his career from his co-writer because he could. His conscience ate away at him, and later he made it right. He's now in a band with that writer because it's never too late to make it right. I also interviewed a producer who was never credited on dozens of smashes. The producer who took the credit gave him a check a decade later that gave this man generational wealth

because it's never too late to make it right. So here's initiative number one. Return the song. Return the publishing, return the credit, return the cash, return the song. Do the right thing and sleep easy. Now, if you are a record label or you are an artist, here's another way you can support your songwriters. Give them participation on the Masters, aka Sound Recordings.

Before we hear, we can't do that. Let's call out what we already know. Many songwriters are already getting points. Many songwriters have been for years. When I first started advocating for writers, I proposed advancing a first use fee, $5,000 to non-performing writers. If labels gave a couple points, labels then would have a mechanism from which to recoup that advance.

Wait, that's too radical. That can't be done. It's already being done. It's done all through Asia with the same majors that exist in the United States. It's not altruistic. There's not an A-list songwriter that wouldn't send a record first to a label that advances mechanicals over a label that does not. I also think that publishers could collect this advance and help recoup their writers' deals. It's a win, win, win. Remember, every label that pays will get plays. I'll repeat that too because it's very Johnny Cochran. Every label that pays will get plays. Remember, before the 1960s, no producer ever got a point.

It took Phil Spector, a future convicted murderer to do it. No label wanted to give a point, but they did. and now they do. It wasn't until the 1980s that a mixing engineer received points. It took the late great Bruce Swayden who worked on McCartney and MJ. No label wanted to give a point, but they did and now they do. The first artist ever signed was Victor Caruso in 1904. For more than 60 years precedent prevented labels from sharing sound recording royalties with producers, 80 years for mixers. Well, it's 120 years later. It's 20 years later. It's a It's time to include the songwriter.

Don't let the word press it and scare you. It's used to control you as much as it is to protect you. So here's initiative number two. Match my point. Artists, start posting that you'll give a point to your writers if your label matches. It's that simple. Match my point. One thing you notice when you advocate for a cause is that causes evolve.

It's a perpetual whack-a-mole. of problem solving. If we're not too scared, this room full of advocates can protect the future of our industry from the inside out. The passage of the Music Modernization Act passed because we all added to the chorus. When Spotify is spotifying, add to the chorus. Don't just rely on NMPA and David Israelite. If we add to the chorus, maybe we can tackle health care for songwriters. By the way, PROs, where are you at? Add to the chorus, voluntarily returning copyrights to creatives and their estates before their 35-year reversion window closes?

Publishers, where are you at? Add to the chorus and say it loud. It's never too late to make it right. Now, we think we're here tonight because we have mutual respect for the people who create the music, but we're actually here for the fans of music. Those are our real bosses. They're the ones who really determine our future. Well, in November 15, 2015 at the Bata Clown in Paris,

91 people were slaughtered at a concert. The music industry united in condemning the terrorist attack. Because if our industry knows one thing, it's that music heals. On May 22, 2017, in Manchester, England, 22 concert goers were killed in a terrorist attack at Ariana Grande's Dangerous Woman tour. As a writer of the song that named the tour, I felt a profound connection, but I wasn't alone. The industry united because music heals.

Three months later, 60 people were killed at a country concert in Las Vegas when a man opened fired on a crowd of fans. The music industry united in condemning the terrorist attack. Why? Because music heals. One year ago tonight, 364 music fans, mostly kids, under 30 were calling their friends, picking out their outfits, and making sure they had transportation and parking for a festival on October 7th.

They and 40 hostages were murdered and taken by terrorists the next day at the Nova Festival in southern Israel. This industry inexplicably did not unite in condemning these terrorists. Maybe it's because of who these victims were. I don't know, but many in this industry felt and still feel the pain from this particular event every single day. So tomorrow, on the one-year anniversary, send love to your peers who are still hurting, because music heals.

May all the people of the region know peace. Back to the Sona Warrior Awards. I'm standing here because I have a list of partners in crime. The and the writer is crew, past and present. Without you, there is no podcast. is no podcast. Busby, my dear friend, I miss you. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have ever been on that NPA board. David is your life for bridging the gap. Evan Bogart, you navigated the Grammys from the inside. My attorney John Frankenheimer, the greatest mentor of all time.

My publishers of 14 years, Warner Chapel. Welcome Larry Connor Allison to the team. The Unknown Music Publishing Writers, you all make me a better writer. Also, I didn't start getting cuts till I was 30-ish, so y'all are fine, relax. Dina LaPolt, obviously, Angie for putting this together. Of course, Michelle Lewis, this whole room should wake up and thank this woman daily for her selflessness. To my parents who made the trip out for this, you encourage me to be me, and here we are. And again, thank you to all those who contributed to this video. As I said, advocates risk their livelihoods for their community. Therefore, our families risk their livelihoods too. Before you thank me for anything I've done, thank my wife Jacqueline. She encourages me to

fight for you. She rereads my posts and emails and op-eds. She's the fearless one. She's my warrior and our kids are lucky to have a mom like you. Now, I'd like to sing a song I wrote with my work husband and dear friend Johann Carlson. But first, I'll conclude with this. I believe in a better future for songwriters because in many, many ways, the landscape has improved. And we are not done yet. As I said my first day on the board of NMPA, in Nashville, all the songwriters have children, and in L.A., all the songwriters are children. It's our duty to protect them like they're ours.

Lead by example. In your session, in your meeting, in your business, in your meetings, in your boardroom. Lead, lead, lead. You have the power. Just because we can't unionize doesn't mean we can't unite. Thank you.