I fail to see ANY upside to clinging to a name no one heard of before anyway. Lady Antebellum decided to change their name in June after the death of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests (the word antebellum is used to refer to the period and architecture in the US . Sports leagues like NASCAR are banning the Confederate flag at its events. But we are regretful and embarrassed to say that we did not take into account the associations that weigh down this word referring to the period of history before the civil war, which includes slavery., The group, which is made up of musicians Hillary Scott, Dave Haywood and Charles Kelley, added that they are, are deeply sorry for the hurt this has caused and for anyone who has felt unsafe, unseen or unvalued., Causing pain was never our hearts intention, but it doesnt change the fact that indeed, it did just that, they wrote. True. July 9, 2020 @ Want to know what everyone in the music business is talking about. A copyright is for a written work, a photo, an idea, a song, a movie. Especially given that the Dixie Chicks are all in their late 40s or older by now, the word comes off as an ironic or humorous assertion that theyre still young and sexy. The group announced on Thursday that it will drop the word Antebellum from the name it has used since its formation in 2006 and go by Lady A, a nickname it says fans have long used. I havent gone on Spotify or iTunes, but do their old albums still have Antebellum on them or have they been redone with the shortened name? Luckyoldsun 6:13 pm, You are correct. Copyright 2023 RedState.com/Salem Media. So today, we speak up and make a change., NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - OCTOBER 16: (L-R) Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood of Lady [+] Antebellum perform onstage during the 2019 CMT Artists of the Year at Schermerhorn Symphony Center on October 16, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. Our prayer is that if we lead by examplewith humility, love, empathy and actionwe can be better allies to those suffering from spoken and unspoken injustices, while influencing our children and generations to come.. July 11, 2020 @ September 13, 2020 @ Country group the Dixie Chicks announced that they would henceforth be known as the Chicks. It could even make it worse. This is the signal being sent to all bands and brands with names some may deem problematic at the moment. Lady Antebellum announced it had changed its name to Lady A on June 11 as part of its commitment to "examining our individual and collective impact and marking the necessary changes to practice antiracism." Antebellum refers to an era in the American south before the civil war when black people were held as slaves. 8:55 am. Two months later, Lady A the singer countersued for trademark-infringement, seeking damages and use of the name; the suit says she has "accrued common law rights in the Lady A trademark" by . It doesnt make you too PC. Problem solved. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. This is a good point. Somebody, somewhere screwed up. Sereng3ti Or in my case, I wasnt into country except for Johnny Cash, until one of my all time faves, Gwen Stefani, started to date Blake Shelton so I checked him out and moved forth from there. (REUTERS/Mike Blake), "Who knows what they'll have to figure out, but, God, what a mess in the aftermath of removing 'antebellum.'". The band continue to explain that while it realizes changing its name is just one step, there is more to be done. They want to share a name they have had copywrited for over a decade with another artist. How about not being a pussy. Updated at 4:14 p.m. Also on this extortion question: Again, I think its a strong word and one I would not use. People who are partisans for a particular cause are going to run with it. The term 'ante bellum' is Latin for 'before war'. The real question is still.WHAT DOES DAVE HAYWOOD DO? Some on social media seemed opposed to the more modern moniker: Your move, @dixiechicks #WeHaveLostOurDamnMinds, John Ziegler (@Zigmanfreud) June 11, 2020. Notice how the Dixie Chicks came out unscathed from their name change, even though Chicks is deemed just as problematic if not more as Dixie in established PC dialogue? shared our stories 6:53 am. "When we set out together almost 14 years ago . Her loss. Im waiting to hear what the band has to say next about this whole thing. Just call it Charlie and whats her name. I am in no way defending Lady Antebellum. I agree with a lot of that you are saying.. actually I agree completely with Lady Antebellum should fire their management team today. Nobody is immune from fitting current events into their own established narrative. After much personal reflection, band discussion, prayer and many honest conversations with some of our closest black friends and colleagues, we have decided to drop the word antebellum from our name and move forward When we set out together almost 14 years ago, we named our band after the southern antebellum style home where we took our first photos. Lady Antebellum announced on Thursday (June 11) that they've made a name change in response to the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement. Complete Disgrace, docweasel It became widely associated with the U.S. Civil War after it was over, and now . Its okay to acknowledge our founding fathers did some really crappy things. You may opt-out by. January 13, 2023 @ With that, this mess seems to typify the knee jerk reactions being applied to real problems. Bands are going to make these decisions based on their business and branding interests. July 9, 2020 @ As such, he crossed the Columbia River and helped establish the Washington Territory, which eventually became a state. I hate to laugh at them but LOL. I urge everyone to actually READ [the] article. After the band participated in a Zoom call with the other Lady A, Anita White, they said, Today, we connected privately with the artist Lady A. Transparent, honest, and authentic conversations were had. Just one problem: White said she had used the exact same name since the 1980s, performing as Lady A thousands of times at concerts and festivals across the country. They were trying to be forward thinking, understanding, and pragmatic. I have read that even the term master bedroom is now off limits. And seeing the sheer outrage by peoplemost of whom as Shane McAnally said are simply reacting to a title instead of the nuance of the storyis definitely telling when you balance it with the utter silence on the Highwomen issue. You guys are sick. Its not letting me reply further down in the thread, to your point: Its not just enough to be on the right side of an issue. Anyone else tired of hyperbole and clickbait yet? When you change your name from Lady Antebellum to Lady A, the A still stands for antebellum, just like KFC still stands for Kentucky Fried Chicken. So much for good faith. I also dont believe for an instant that the members of Lady Antebellum are as woke as they claim to be or they would have relented the use of the name the moment they realized what they had done. July 10, 2020 @ June 11, 2020 / 2:37 PM / CBS News. Who is being selfish. In the statement that they posted online, the group explained both the origin of the name, and their decision to change it. Theyre using the name because of a Black Lives Matter incident that, for them, is just a moment in time. Trigger, your comments on trademark law arent entirely accurate. The highest-grossing movie of Tarantino's career, Django Unchained was a refreshing Revisionist Western that explored the horrific racism and atrocities of the Antebellum South without holding . And no, trademarks are not an element of privilege. They are there in part to protect individuals like Anita White from getting taken advantage of from larger entities. 4:37 pm. I totally agree with this, and I think we agree on this point in general. Anita White has a prior art claim, but moral people would understand their move was a mistake and start over with the name search. By Alexander Kacala. But we are regretful and embarrassed to say that we did not take into account the associations that weigh down this word referring to the period of history before The Civil War, which includes slavery. The reality is that they NEVER should have switched to a name any other artist was already using, let alone a smaller independent artist, let alone a black artist in context. When youre Goliath, suing David just looks awful, and I dont think they are coming back from this. docweasel July 9, 2020 @ A Warner Bros. 4:13 pm. The desire to change the names appeared to me more about self perception than what anybody else thought. I think Lady Anodyne would probably fit them the best because they strive to sound like inoffensive, new age pablum. You also must get the issue right. The Chicks spoke with Stephen Colbert about the name change, explaining that they'd wanted to do so for a while, and made sure they had their "ducks in a row legally" before announcing the change. This was a gross mistake by the band and their management. Country Lady A is not asking for any money. You often cannot copyright a name because as a simple expression, and its not fair to take that out of circulation for general use by anyone. 6. When we learned that Ms. White had also been performing under the name Lady A, we had heartfelt discussions with her about how we can all come together and make something special and beautiful out of this moment. Chick may be problematic or seen as demeaning in some circumstances if a man uses the term to refer to a woman, but its not at all controversial if a woman calls herself by that word. Despite an effort at reconstruction following the war, America has never truly made amends for the devastating effect of slavery on the nation and those who descended from slaves. And still and all, this is just behind the scenes bullshit that should stay there. Lady Antebellum is a group of incredibly selfish individuals. Dave Haywood, Hillary Scott, and Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum attend the 48th annual CMA Awards at the Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, November 5, in . See Confederate monuments>Lincoln>monuments>Columbus monuments, etc. July 9, 2020 @ Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Those talks have broken down. Now that action has resulted in them publicly suing a well-respected black member of the music community and receiving a massive backlash for it. It would be starting over from scratch. July 9, 2020 @ Lady A, formerly known as Lady Antebellum, and Lady A, also known as Anita White, have settled their trademark dispute. We will continue to educate ourselves, have hard conversations, and search the parts of our hearts that need pruning, The band also said theyll be making a donation to the Equal Justice Initiative, which according to the organizationswebsite is committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, to challenging racial and economic injustice, and to protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society., Moreover, Lady A wants to be better allies to those suffering from spoken and unspoken injustices. The US country group Lady A known until recently as Lady Antebellum, before changing their name to shed its slavery-era connotations is suing the blues and gospel artist Lady A over use of the name. 9:30 am, In this [country] industry, the air is so thick and putrid with racism, both current and residual, that everyone is awash in it, their eyes so caked with hate that theyve been glued shut. Songwriter and producer Shane McAnally said it best. July 13, 2020 @ Fox News Flash top entertainment and celebrity headlines are here. Lady A started by changing their name to erase what some considered the racist connotations of "Antebellum" and to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. On Thursday, the country band formerly known as Lady Antebellum announced on Instagram that they changed their name in . These controversies ensue on false pretenses and shocking headlines. So today, we speak up and make a change. (As two examples, after Kane Brown appeared on the BET Awards, I saw a lot of positive comments about checking out other Black country artists. Introducing, Lady A. The hurt is turning into hope. But on June 11, the Grammy-winning band decided to drop 'Antebellum' from their name amid the ongoing Black Lives Matter and George Floyd protests on account of the potentially racist connotations the name may have had. I hear Alabama (the band) is considering changing its name to avoid any unintended association with Alabama (the state). You can change your choices at any time by visiting your privacy controls. She said she felt the bands actions had branded her as an angry black woman. In response to the change, NPR journalist Anastasia Tsioulcas wrote, "The country trio Dixie Chicks have changed the group's name to The Chicks in an . When we set out together almost 14 years ago, we named our band after the southern antebellum style home where we took our first photos. I was thinking the same thing during this whole process. While CMA & Music Row operate independently of Billboard, they are not exactly siloed off from each other either. Id rather not listen to Eye in the Sky. Creepy song. My suggestion is Lady Abolition (or is that a white savior connotation?). 9:53 pm, Lyrics: I write about leadership, politics, inclusion, and social change. Im not saying that the word antebellum has racist connotations or not, I agree thats debatable. Legal Statement. Im sure hes an intellectual property specialist who knows a lot more about trademark law than anybody here. Frankly, Lady A should fire their management team today for not pushing back on this idea from the start (if it did start from the artists). It seems like they literally put two seconds of thought into their decision and made a decision that doesnt truly help any cause that they are for. Sydney Watson (@SydneyLWatson) June 11, 2020, MemphisFromZero (@MemphisFromZero) June 11, 2020. that cant go unrecognized. Thats next level white woke.. Big Machine has no interest in doing so. As an actual lawyer, while I dont appreciate the generalizations as we arent all blood-sucking parasites, I do think this Lady Antebellums legal team playing hardball as a reaction to a $10m demand. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. You seem to see these kerfuffles and as existential threats to county music. thegentile I guess it maybe would have better for the band to wait to get sued and then be the respondent? no one wants to be associated with racism anymore, not even country musicians. Market data provided by Factset. The pandering is nauseating at this point. Legal Statement. Business, Economics, and Finance. To be fair, George Washington ripped out his living slaves teeth to make his dentures. They werent wood, like many of us learned in school. The way many of the headlines read, Lady A the band is trying to take Lady A the artist for everything shes worth, and that is what is resulting in the rage. I feel like 95% of the people who are now trying to cancel the band dont give a single crap about the genre and would not be able to name a single song of theirs. My sides hurt its so funny. This is my life. The country trio has promised to donate to the Equal Justice Initiative and to be better allies to those suffering from injustice. Martin Kurtz Nobody was clamoring for them to change the name in the first place. Meanwhile, focusing on names when actual actions that demean and downgrade black performers in country like when The Highwomen disinvited Mickey Guyton from a video shoot last minute go unreported. Andrew Brown (@AndrewB66636244) June 11, 2020, So now were all suddenly offended by an ADJECTIVE?? 4:47 pm. The term often pertains to architecture, fashion, antiquities, and the likenamely the ornate finery of the era. Love their music, hate their childish guilt over a term that is in no way associated with slavery. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. I do find it kind of humorous how articles make the Anita Lady A out to be some revolutionary well known artist in her area when her monthly Spotify listeners before this was less than twenty, and before this went down she genuinely was getting about five or less likes on her Twitter posts. Lady Antebellum changes name to Lady A, is 'regretful and embarrassed' about the name's association with slavery era By Emily Yahr June 11, 2020 at 1:04 p.m. EDT White, a black woman, called the bands adoption of her long-standing name an example of pure privilege., The band sued White in 2020 after she rebuffed early requests for a settlement that both groups could use the name. This feels like a classic matter where lawyers on both sides got involved, started seeing dollar signs, and they will be the ones who will make out like bandits as the two parties get dragged through litigation. The protests that swept the nation in the aftermath of George Floyds death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers have shaken the nation and sparked deep soul searching by many about the countrys racist past. Internet and social media searches for Lady A, which had readily returned results for her music, were now dominated by references to Lady Antebellum. When you join the herd, you deserve the cow shit you fall into. They dont want $$$$$$, the R&B singer wants the $$$$$. Convict charlie I know the area. The country trio, which came together in 2006, came forward on Twitter on June 11, 2020 to announce that it was "deeply sorry" for using a moniker that has its roots in slavery. Suing Anita White first is an exceptional move. Musiccityman Change Your Name Clueless, innocent, and sheltered maybe. Army WO Pilot (@Army_WO_Pilot) June 11, 2020, Comfortably _()_/ (@Eyeroll_Shrugs) June 11, 2020, No, THIS is Ludacris. Just a few weeks ago, everything seemed to be hunky dory on the Lady A name change front. Lady A the band did not dispute Lady A the artist about her name at any point after registering the trademark. But, I have mad respect for him because he has lived out the music he wrote and is certainly not one of these white wokes running around Nash and East Nash. When COVID-19 sweeps through New York City, Jamie Gray is stuck as a dead-end driver for food delivery apps. The explanation being, Because A was already taken, B and C could stand for words demeaning to women, and were not sure about the rest.., This has been a PAGOCK! July 9, 2020 @ And she's super irritated with the band Lady Antebellum. Bill Scott from CGHR I copyright my respective articles, so if theyre stolen (which happens more than you know), I have legal recourse. Its questionable if Antebellum was problematic in the first place. We never even entertained the idea that she shouldnt also be able to use the name Lady A, and never will todays action doesnt change that. But if country music avoids being banned over the terms link to ideas of untoward nationalism, radio stations will no longer be playing music by hit group Lady Antebellum. 12:35 pm. This is 100% a shitshow. Ill put it plain and simple Lady Antebellum was just a dopey name to begin with; there are more effective ways of conveying modern Southern sensibilities with deeply rooted music traditions. July 9, 2020 @ But it definitely wont help them get new fans. 11:39 pm, In fairness, non-white sodomites are fucking HILARIOUS, Luckyoldsun Groveling to the BLM mob for a freakin non-offensive word. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much Perception is reality, trigger. Maybe the white woke millennial trio should change their name back to Lady Antebellum. 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