Music News 5/13/2010

Hal David, Chairman/CEO of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, has announced that Taylor Swift will be the recipient of the prestigious Hal David Starlight Award, to be presented at the 2010 Songwriters Hall of Fame Awards dinner on Thursday June 17 at the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel.

At the young age of 14, Swift signed a publishing deal with Sony/ATV Music and in 2006 she released her self-titled debut CD on Big Machine Records. At the age of 17, with “Our Song,” she became the youngest person to ever single-handedly write and sing a No. 1 country single entirely on her own. With her debut, she also became the first female solo artist in country music history to write or co-write every song on a platinum-selling debut CD. In addition, Swift wrote or co-wrote every song on her blockbuster Fearless album, released in 2008. Fearless has sold more than 5 million copies, fueled by the multi-genre domestic and international success of chart-topping singles including “Love Story” and “You Belong With Me.”

Swift has sold more than 13 million albums and has numerous awards and accolades to add to her long list of accomplishments, including being the top-selling digital artist in music history, receiving the Artist of the Year Award at the American Music Awards, having the No. 1 best-selling album in any genre of music in both 2009 and 2008, and to be the first female solo country artist to ever win the all-genre Grammy award for Album of the Year. This year alone she took home four Grammy awards. In addition to Album of the Year, she was honored for Country Album of the Year, Best Country Song and Best Country Female Vocal Performance.

“Taylor Swift is one of the brightest musical talents to emerge in recent years, and represents the true epitome of the Starlight Award,” said David. “She possesses an undeniable talent as a songwriter, expressive singer and performer, and we are proud to present her with this well-deserved honor.”

The Hal David Starlight Award, created in 2004, was renamed in honor of the SHOF Chairman for his longtime support of young songwriters. Award recipients are gifted songwriters who are at an apex in their careers and are making a significant impact in the music industry via their original songs. Swift joins the prestigious company of Rob Thomas, Alicia Keys, John Mayer, John Legend, John Rzeznik, and Jason Mraz – the past recipients of the Hal David Starlight Award.

Inductees at this year’s event include Leonard Cohen, Jackie DeShannon, David Foster, Johnny Mandel and Earth, Wind & Fire’s Maurice White, Philip Bailey, Verdine White, Larry Dunn and Al McKay. The prestigious Johnny Mercer Award will be presented to Phil Collins and the Howie Richmond Hitmaker Award will be presented to Phil Ramone.

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Here are some shots depicting the recent Nashville flood tragedy.
For complete coverage of Flood 2010 click the banner

Country Music Hall of Fame, Photo by Jude Ferrara for The City Paper

Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Photo by Chris Ferrell for The City Paper

Soundcheck Nashville, the music rehearsal, storage and rental facility located on Cowan St. near the Cumberland River, was badly flooded.

Soundcheck from the river looking towards I-24. Photo by Amanda DeAngelis

Online news network CNET is reporting that a federal court has found the company that operates file-sharing service LimeWire liable for copyright infringement.

On Tuesday (5/11), U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood granted summary judgment in favor of the RIAA’s claims that Lime Group, parent of LimeWire software maker Lime Wire, and founder Mark Gorton committed copyright infringement, engaged in unfair competition, and induced copyright infringement.

The court decision could represent the biggest threat to online file sharing in years. According to a survey by the NPD Group, Limewire users account for 58 percent of the people who said they downloaded music from a peer-to-peer service last year. In the last week alone, the software was downloaded nearly 340,000 times.
The next step by the RIAA is to get a preliminary injunction and force Lime Wire to cease LimeWire’s file-sharing functionality.

The RIAA has said it is entitled to the maximum statutory damages, which is likely in the millions.