Drake beats sampling lawsuit with ‘fair use’ argument

Drake, along with various associated record labels and music publishers, pulled off an impressive achievement by convincing a judge that his song "Pound Cake/Paris Morton Music 2," off the 2013 album Nothing Was the Same, fairly sampled a 1982 spoken-word recording, "Jimmy Smith Rap," and that there is no liability for copyright infringement — Hollywood Reporter

Arts & Crafts’ Field Trip festival is a ‘love letter to Toronto’

“Kevin and I, we’ve spent the last 10 to 15 years going around the world, hanging out backstage, touring world-class music festivals,” Jeffrey Remedios explains, of his and label co-founder/Broken Social Scene frontman Kevin Drew’s experience with attending and performing other festivals. “We used to say to each other, ‘Gosh, if we had a festival, we would change this or we would change that; Toronto needs this,’ and we just felt like now is the time to put the money where our mouth is and actually try to deliver that.” — Melody Lau, National Post

In the Hot Seat with Larry LeBlanc: Marsha Vlasic, president, Artist Group International

At AGI, Vlasic represents Neil Young, Elvis Costello, the Strokes, Cyndi Lauper, PJ Harvey, Imelda May, Moby, Band of Horses, Cage The Elephant, Sheppard, the Heavy, Silversun Pickups, Regina Spektor, Moby, Iggy Pop, Romes, Devendra Barnhart, the Breeders, Mariachi el Bronx, and Butch Walker — CelebrityAccess

Giles Martin talks like a Valley Girl about Sgt. Pepper

We got in the suits and we took LSD, and we - you know, it was - you know what? I think that there's a lot written about that. I think it just blew people's minds. I think it blew some sober as well as, you know - I don't think the album was designed for drugs, and it wasn't really designed on drugs either, you know. I don't - I just don't think it was. They were certainly - they're certainly fairly lucid in the studio when they're recording it. So I think they were experimenting with everything. And music was one of those experimentations — NPR

Toronto lands 46K square-foot soundstage

The new studio is expected to be a game changer for the Toronto market since it will feature a unique, technologically advanced special effects stage ­— Tony Wong, Star Touch

Strombo’s conversation with Kevin Drew

BSS co-founder visits George to share stories, talk about the future and reflect on the past — The Strombo Show

Tupac imagery heads to court

Urban Outfitters and Forever 21 have been slapped with a US$1M copyright infringement lawsuit by a photographer who claims the retailers are selling t-shirts bearing photos he took of late rapper Tupac Shakur — The Fashion Law

Canadian IP lawyer Barry Sookman’s computer & Internet weekly updates

Indie artist Miranda Mulholland on redefining success in the digital marketplace

Canadian artist Miranda Mulholland weighs in at the Economic Club of Canada about how to redefine success in the digital marketplace, looking at issues surrounding accountability and getting musicians the kind of payments they deserve from digital distribution services (with video) — Hypebot

How to balance showbiz and parenting: Weikle

Stars singer Torq Campbell and actor wife Maya O'Connell manage the feat  —  Brandie Weikle, Toronto Star

No strings attached

Calgarians get Alberta's first instrument lending library —  Calgary Herald

SKIO Music is leveling the playing field for producers and remixers

The Vancouver-based startup has streamlined licensing, giving rising and established producers easier access to tracks — Georgia Straight

Chris Buck's best photograph: Billy Joel in the dark with an Applause sign

‘Billy said, “I’ll do this – but I’m not one who performs because of an urgent need for approval”’ — The Guardian

Women of the Week: Patti-Anne Tarlton

A profile of the  COO, Canada for Ticketmaster North America —  Kaeleigh Phillips, Women's Post

Born to do it? Why pop's pregnant pause could be coming to an end

As musicians from Rebekka Karijord to Tori Amos begin to explore birth, perhaps pregnancy in music could become less taboo — The Guardian

Thom Yorke Breaks Silence on Israel Controversy

"It's really upsetting that artists I respect think we are not capable of making a moral decision ourselves after all these years," says the Radiohead singer — Rolling Stone

Def Leppard led a good old-fashioned rock party

Saddledome triple bill was a big, dumb rock show, and man … it sure felt good! — Gerry Krochak, Calgary Herald

Documentary on Grateful Dead was a hard sell

Q&A with director Amir Bar-Lev on Long Strange Trip — Peter Howell, Toronto Star