by Joe Bennett | May 14, 2022 | Eurovision, musicology
A better result than last year with the predictions – I got a home run on the top 3, and only missed one outsider – Serbia, for which I guess I misread the lyric theme. Looks like Europe got the same joy as I did out of the sillier ones (Moldova and Norway), so... by Joe Bennett | May 13, 2022 | Eurovision, Forensic Musicology, Popular Music, Songwriting
As regular readers will know, I have been live-blogging the ESC since 2011, and in 2020 undertook a larger-scale song analysis for Netflix, where we looked at the meta-characteristics of 259 finalists 2010-2019. To get you in the zone (I’m typing this on... 
by Joe Bennett | Apr 12, 2022 | Copyright, Forensic Musicology, musicology, Plagiarism, Popular Music, Songwriting
Watch on YouTube Interview with Professor Joe Bennett (Forensic Musicologist / Berklee College Of Music) discussing the Ed Sheeran “Shape Of You” verdict in the UK high court. Interview date: April 10, 2022 BBC World Service: World Business Report... 
by admin | Apr 7, 2022 | Copyright, Forensic Musicology, musicology, Popular Music, Songwriting
Analysis: plagiarism row between Ed Sheeran and Sami Chokri is latest in surge of lawsuits against musicians [JB comment – I was interviewed by The Guardian regarding the (IMO appropriate) outcome of the Ed Sheeran ‘Shape Of You’ 2022 case. Here’s an excerpt from... 
by Joe Bennett | Mar 31, 2022 | Education, media, musicology, Popular Music, Songwriting
I was recently asked by WWE to analyse and transcribe five of their top ‘walk-on’ wrestler themes, and to comment on how WWE music themes are designed to reflect to the personas and character roles of each performer. Some consistent musical characteristics... ![Did Dua Lipa copy from Artikal Sound System? [no]](https://joebennett.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/735A653E-3FE6-448D-A477-3C80E3DA92C5.jpeg)
by Joe Bennett | Mar 5, 2022 | Copyright, Forensic Musicology, musicology, Plagiarism, Popular Music, Songwriting
I was interviewed by Rolling Stone this week about the Dua Lipa complaint that was filed in LA on Wednesday. Yes I *know* these 6-beat fragments are incredibly similar, but similarity is not the same as copying. I maintain that this is probably a coincidence (whatever... by Joe Bennett | Feb 7, 2022 | musicology, Popular Music, Research, Songwriting
Earlier this year, I was commissioned to research the history of the BRIT Awards’ Song Of The Year, to celebrate 40 years from the first award (Tainted Love, Soft Cell, 1982) to the most recent (Watermelon Sugar, Harry Styles, 2021). We did a similar thing back in... 
by Joe Bennett | Oct 4, 2021 | fm, Forensic Musicology, musicology, Popular Music, Songwriting
As you might imagine, most of the work of a forensic musicologist takes place behind necessarily closed doors due to commercial sensitivities. Once in a while a project I’m working on makes it to a courtroom, and if the media writes about it, my involvement is... 
by Will Bennett | Sep 22, 2021 | Copyright, Forensic Musicology, musicology, Plagiarism, Popular Music, Songwriting
[JB note: I’m pleased to welcome my friend and colleague Will Bennett as a guest blogger. Will (no relation) is a PhD musicology researcher at Harvard, and also a valued member of the JBMS consultancy team. I asked him a couple of weeks ago what he thought of... ![Have you been hearing Bohemian Rhapsody ‘wrong’ all these years? [answer: probably]](https://joebennett.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-24-at-11.49.50-AM-1080x402.png)
by Joe Bennett | Jul 24, 2021 | Forensic Musicology, musicology, Popular Music, Research, Songwriting
You know that feeling when a song's intro seems to trip up your ear, so that when the band comes in it sounds like the timing's out? There are a few rock classics that play with our rhythmic ears in this way. When I first heard Led Zeppelin's Rock And Roll I thought... 
Recent Comments