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The generosity of many music-lovers has recently saved Melbourne-based record store, Basement Discs. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Basement Discs co-owners Suzanne Bennett and Rod Jacobs struggled to pay rent. The Block Arcade store co-owners said that the store had faced a decrease in sales by approximately 80% because of the pandemic. To add to the difficulties, Jacobs also has been fighting cancer for many years now. The co-owners noted the store’s landlord was ’very supportive’ throughout the lockdowns, offering fina...

On April 6, pop-sensation Ed Sheeran and his co-writers, John McDaid and Steven McCutcheon won their legal battle against Sami Chokri, who performs under the name of Sami Switch. The victory comes after arduous litigation where Sami Chokri accused Sheeran of copying the chorus in Chokri’s song “Oh Why”. The copyright claims waged against Sheeran, McDavid and McCutcheon were in relation to the “Oh I” hook in Sheeran’s 2017 hit, ‘Shape of You’. Chokri claimed the hook was ‘strikingly similar’ to the “Oh Why” refr...

Industry professionals have been accustomed to warning songwriters of the potential legal battles they can face as a result of copyright breaches. However, with the growth of streaming services and multiple teams of writers behind the chart-toppers, copyright infringements are on the rise. Recently, Ed Sheeran has faced the music, accused of copying the chorus of the song ‘Oh Why’ by Sami Switch in his hit song of ‘Shape of You’. Hayley Bosher, Associate Dean of intellectual property law at Brunel University, commented on the ...

Daniel Taylor, the son of John Ibrahim, recently lost his defamation case against The Sunday Telegraph after the presiding Justice Anna Katzmann found that the Sydney newspaper did not insinuate Taylor was a ‘mobster’. Mr Taylor, who has taken his mother’s surname, sued the newspaper and the journalist responsible for writing a 24-page spread some 4 years ago. The spread titled ‘Inside the House of Ibrahim: Unauthorised’, he claimed, incorrectly suggested he was involved in the Mafia and affiliated organised crime. In the j...

The prolific reach of Instagram influencers is undeniable – it’s in the name. However, when it comes to your content centring around commentary on individuals and commercial entities, where is the line drawn between freedom of speech and character assassination? As a direct result of contemporary ‘call-out culture’ phenomenon, various local social media creators and similar overseas accounts are coming under fire. For example, the heralded Diet Prada is the latest high-profile victim of the phenomenon. The renowned call-out ac...