With the recent announcement that Steven Tyler is leaving Aerosmith and Sublime "resurfacing" and being ordered to change their name, this got me thinking about band names.
Should a band be able to keep it's name even if the song writer/lead singer/whoever makes the "largest contribution" quits? It's a weird subject and i think it almost needs to be taken on a band to band situation.
In the case of Guns N' Roses, are they really Guns N' Roses anymore? Or are they something different? Just because Axel is still the lead singer doesn't necessarily mean that they are "Guns N' Roses." Slash, Izzy Stradlin, Duff McKagan, and Steven Adler had just as much to do with Guns N' Roses' "sound" as Axel did.
For Aerosmith, only Steven Tyler is leaving. And while he is a main force of Aerosmith, Joe Perry, Joey Kramer, Tom Hamilton, and Brad Whitford are important to have too. So should they be able to keep the name?
And for that matter, who cares? It's just a band name.
I disagree. When i hear a band name, i associate all kinds of things with it. Anything from the way they sound, the way i feel when i listen to the band, and what i come to expect from the band. So when i hear that Journey is releasing a new album, i think "Yeah, but Steve Perry isn't the lead singer anymore" and i'm not as excited.
Sawyer and i have even changed a bands name. With basically 1/2 of the original Catch 22 lineup leaving after their first release (including song writer Tomas Kalnoky), we didn't feel it was right to call them Catch 22 anymore. They are now Grab 39 to us and forever will be.
Let me know what you guys think. (I pointed out the difference between the two Perrys for Sawsheezles sake)
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I think that we live in a very litigious society, and for this reason naming rights are a legal matter.
ReplyDeleteTherefore, if a band is famous they will need legal counsel to advise them in such matters.
Philosophically though, this may or may not be another matter. I will get back to with my thoughts when they are more complete.
Before this post goes into the abyss, I will say that the band is a different band and must not use the name anymore when the song writer or greatest contributor leaves, unless the second two leading contributors result in greater than 51% of total contributions.
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