

Rap Genius doesn’t only compile pages full of words written by songwriters. (Also, licensed lyrics sites pay music labels, not musicians, and if Lowery really wants to get artists a fairer shake he may be better off targeting the NMPA for giving musicians an unfair slice of their “legitimate” cut).

But when it comes to Rap Genius, this is a case of mistaken identity: it’s not just a lyrics website. His cause - to help musicians earn a living - is obviously noble. Lowery is vehemently opposed to streaming music services for their inability to properly compensate artists, so it’s not surprising that he’s now zeroing in on another area where artists are losing potential revenue. The NMPA decided on the list of problem websites based on the research of David Lowery, a musician and University of Georgia researcher who ranked Rap Genius as the worst offender. NMPA is targeting fifty sites that engage in blatant illegal behavior, which significantly impacts songwriters’ ability to make a living.” “This is not a campaign against personal blogs, fan sites, or the many websites that provide lyrics legally. The press release explained the issue in more detail: “These lyric sites have ignored the law and profited off the songwriters’ creative works, and NMPA will not allow this to continue,” said NMPA president and CEO David Israelite. Some lyrics websites are licensed, which means they share their profits with music labels. In a press release, the NMPA made their intentions clear, calling the spree of notices an “unprecedented anti-piracy effort.” This is because the songwriters who wrote the lyrics do not earn money from revenue generated by these unlicensed websites. The NMPA sent Digital Millennium Copyright Act notices to a list of 50 lyrics websites - and the NMPA plans to sue for copyright infringement if these websites don’t pull their lyrics. There are hundreds of websites devoted to archiving song lyrics (some more accurate than others) and the most extensive and beloved of these sites is Rap Genius, a relatively new entry that allows for in-depth annotations and fosters an enthusiastic community of music fans.īut an industry lobbying group called the National Music Publishers Association has declared war on lyrics websites, and Rap Genius is one of its targets. A Google search can confirm that Kanye said “damn croissants” not “damp, cross aunts,” and that’s a beautiful thing. Years ago, the Internet killed lyrics confusion.
