Dream Wired
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Celebrity
  • DramaAlert
  • Gossip
  • Movie
  • TV
  • Music
  • Comics
  • Shop
  • Home
  • Celebrity
  • DramaAlert
  • Gossip
  • Movie
  • TV
  • Music
  • Comics
  • Shop
No Result
View All Result
Dream Wired
No Result
View All Result
Home Music

Burton Cummings Makes Drastic Move to Stop ‘Fake’ Guess Who

rmtsa by rmtsa
April 12, 2024
in Music
0
Burton Cummings Makes Drastic Move to Stop ‘Fake’ Guess Who
74
SHARES
1.2k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


You might also like

Permit Issues Indefinitely Postpone Brooklyn Mirage Reopening

Is the Who Announcing Another Farewell Tour?

Musicians Needed For ‘Conservative Rage Against the Machine’

Burton Cummings, the founding singer and songwriter of the Guess Who, has taken an extraordinary measure to stop the band’s current iteration from performing his songs.

In October, Cummings, along with original guitarist Randy Bachman, filed a lawsuit to stop the current version of the Guess Who to stop performing under that moniker. At the time, it was the latest chapter in a dispute that stretched over a decade, with Cummings and Bachman fighting with bassist Jim Kale and drummer Garry Peterson over the band’s name. Though the lawsuit is still ongoing, Cummings has opted to terminate certain rights agreements on his songs to stop the Guess Who from performing them in concert.

It’s a complex strategy that breaks down something like this: Virtually every venue in the country has an agreement with performance rights organizations, commonly called PROs. These organizations collect royalties on behalf of songwriters whenever their work is performed. By ending the agreements pertaining to his songs, Cummings has made it impossible for the current version of the Guess Who to perform the material in PRO-aligned venues.

READ MORE: Top 10 Guess Who Songs

“I’m willing to do anything to stop the fake band; they’re taking [Bachman and my] life story and pretending it’s theirs,” Cummings explained to Rolling Stone. “They’re not the people who made these records and they shouldn’t act like they did. This doesn’t stop this cover band from playing their shows, it just stops them from playing the songs I wrote. If the songs are performed by the fake Guess Who, they will be sued for every occurrence.”

Cummings’ Action Will Have Serious Repercussions for All Parties

According to Rolling Stone, venues which booked the Guess Who could also face legal repercussions if the band decided to continue performing Cummings’ material without the proper licensing.

It’s a bold move that could seriously damage the ability for the Guess Who to make a profit. Cummings penned some of the group’s biggest hits, including “American Woman,” “These Eyes” and “No Time.” The band would be hard-pressed to put a show together without such classics in their set. Already, the Guess Who’s next five shows have been canceled due to Cummings’ actions.

Though the move has stifled the Guess Who, it also poses significant risk to Cummings himself. By canceling his PRO agreements, the songwriter will not be able to receive royalties for his work. In addition to live performances, PROs collect payments for material played on the radio, television, in commercials and other public spaces. As such, Cummings’ action amounts to revenue suicide – the cancelation of the PRO agreements leaves him unable to earn money off of these songs.

‘The Name Is Worthless Without Those Songs’

“Yes, I’m going to lose some money, but we’re going to find out what’s worth what. I will not have this fake band going on any longer,” Cummings explained, noting the risk in his decision. “I’m going to lose some money, but… the name is worthless without those songs. So what are they going to do? ‘Hey, the Guess Who Is playing but we can’t do ‘Share the Land’ or ‘American Woman’” we can’t do ‘These Eyes.’ Nobody’s gonna be there.”

“How much is my life’s work worth? You can’t put it in dollars and cents,” Cummings continued. “It’s wrong what they’ve done and for years, nobody did anything about it. But we’re doing something now, and this may set some precedents because there are other acts out there that aren’t real either.”

READ MORE: 22 Scathing Rock Star Breakup Quotes

In the 2023 lawsuit, Bachman and Cummings were seeking more than $20 million in damages. The singer insists his latest move has nothing to do with money, which is why he’s willingly abandoning his revenue stream.

“This is about way more than just money, I wouldn’t have pulled the catalog if it wasn’t,” Cummings noted. “This is about the legacy of the songs and the fact that the cover band is doing anything they can to erase me and Bachman from the history of the group. I see advertisements for their shows, and it’s me singing ‘American Woman.’ What they’re doing is fraud because they’re using real songs from the real guys to push their fake band. I’m protecting the name of the Guess Who, I’m trying to protect what we did.”

Rock’s Ugliest Band Breakups

Ugly band breakups are a sad fact of life in the world of classic rock – along with death, taxes, hair loss and yes, profitable reunion tours.

Gallery Credit: Matthew Wilkening



Source link

Tags: BurtonCummingsDrasticfakeGuessmovestop
Share30Tweet19
rmtsa

rmtsa

Recommended For You

Permit Issues Indefinitely Postpone Brooklyn Mirage Reopening

by rmtsa
May 8, 2025
0
Permit Issues Indefinitely Postpone Brooklyn Mirage Reopening

Brooklyn Mirage's planned reopening has been indefinitely postponed due to pending inspection approvals, affecting a series of upcoming shows, Billboard reports.Originally set to return with a pair of...

Read more

Is the Who Announcing Another Farewell Tour?

by rmtsa
May 8, 2025
0
Is the Who Announcing Another Farewell Tour?

Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey of the Who will reportedly hold a press conference in London on Thursday, though the exact topic of the event has yet to...

Read more

Musicians Needed For ‘Conservative Rage Against the Machine’

by rmtsa
May 8, 2025
0
Musicians Needed For ‘Conservative Rage Against the Machine’

An online ad looking for musicians to form a "conservative" version of Rage Against the Machine has the internet wondering if someone missed the point of the source...

Read more

Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ Streams Double After Tour Kickoff

by rmtsa
May 7, 2025
0
Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ Streams Double After Tour Kickoff

Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up newsletter, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come...

Read more

Weezer, Janelle Monáe, Bright Eyes Bound For Bumbershoot

by rmtsa
May 7, 2025
0
Weezer, Janelle Monáe, Bright Eyes Bound For Bumbershoot

Weezer, Bright Eyes, Janelle Monáe, Sylvan Esso, Aurora and Car Seat Headrest will make some noise at the 52nd edition of the Bumbershoot Arts & Music Festival, which...

Read more
Next Post
Costco Now Sells Up to 0 Million in Gold and Silver Each Month • Hollywood Unlocked

Costco Now Sells Up to $200 Million in Gold and Silver Each Month • Hollywood Unlocked

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Browse by Category

  • Celebrity
  • Comics
  • DramaAlert
  • Gossip
  • Movie
  • Music
  • TV
  • Uncategorized

CATEGORIES

  • Celebrity
  • Comics
  • DramaAlert
  • Gossip
  • Movie
  • Music
  • TV
  • Uncategorized
No Result
View All Result

Recent News

  • Matthew Shear, ‘Fantasy Life’ Filmmaker,’ Signs With Gersh
  • Survivor’s Jeff Probst Reacts to Announcing Wrong Challenge Winner
  • Kourtney Kardashian Is ‘Laying Down The Law’ For Stepdaughter

Copyright © 2023 DramaWired.
DramaWired is a content aggregator and not responsible for the content of external sites.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Celebrity
  • DramaAlert
  • Gossip
  • Movie
  • TV
  • Music
  • Comics
  • Shop

Copyright © 2023 DramaWired.
DramaWired is a content aggregator and not responsible for the content of external sites.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In