Brunel Law School’s Dr Hayleigh Bosher has teamed-up with superstar DJ Judge Jules to launch a new podcast that explores the world of music copyright.
‘Whose song is it anyway?’ is a new weekly podcast that explores intellectual property in music by talking to the artists, songwriters, musicians and industry insiders whose livelihoods rely on it.
“Copyright has a bad reputation for being complicated and boring, but I wanted to make it accessible and fun!” said Dr Bosher, a senior lecturer in Intellectual Property Law at Brunel and author of the upcoming book Copyright in the Music Industry. “It is really important for creators to understand their rights – it impacts how they can be rewarded for their work and controls how it is used. I thought a podcast would be a fun way to have these important conversations.”
Available as a 40-minute audio podcast or shorter YouTube video, each episode Dr Bosher and her co-host Jules O’Riordan, who practices entertainment law when not pleasing dance crowds around the world as Judge Jules, tackle copyright from a new angle, with guests from PRS for Music, Featured Artists Coalition, UK Music, Sony and Google all lined up to appear in the opening season.
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“We have an amazing line up of guests and it has been a real joy for me to chat with them!” said Dr Bosher, who first met O’Riordan at his legal practice, Sound Advice, when she was working on her book.
“The guests are from all areas of the industry so they each bring a different perspective on the discussions. We chat about music creativity, song writing, the difference between taking inspiration and copying, if music can ever be original and the copyright implications of these distinctions, such as how not to infringe!
“We also cover other topics that bridge the music industry and copyright, such as artificial intelligence and diversity and equality. So, even though it is all about copyright and music, each episode brings to light a new aspect.”
O’Riordhan added: "It’s been both exciting and enlightening to look at the issue of copyright from almost every angle conceivable, both from a conventional legal perspective and from the coalface of its application to the music industry, via the conduit of some very interesting and well-informed interviewees."
Episodes including interviews with Chair of the Ivors Academy, Crispin Hunt and PRS for Music’s Ali Condon are currently available online, with future episodes featuring the likes of Gomez’s Tom Gray, Entertainment Mogul Munya Chanesta and singer Imogen Heap dropping every Monday for the next ten weeks
Dr Hayleigh Bosher (right) and Jules O’Riordan (bottom) were joined by songwriter Crispin Hunt in the opening episode
Reported by:
Tim Pilgrim,
Media Relations
+44 (0)1895 268965
tim.pilgrim@brunel.ac.uk