The fact is, all of white America should be having a Lady Antebellum moment right now questioning how what we have said and done may have perpetuated stereotypes, racism, or other expressions hurtful to our fellow Americans who are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color. July 9, 2020 @ (Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images), Inside The Mind Of The Chief Revenue Officer, What Is Unconscious Bias (And How You Can Defeat It), Former Israeli Intelligence Officers Found Sentra To Provide Cloud Security, USCIS Starts H-1B Registration Process For FY 2024. Yes, we have. trevistrat So today, we speak up and make a change. It became widely associated with the U.S. Civil War after it was over, and now . 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, the band said in the statement. The term 'ante bellum' is Latin for 'before war'. July 10, 202012:31 PM. July 9, 2020 @ Lady A, (the country band) could join forces with Lady A, (the blues singer) and become. The hurt is turning into hope. @collin Its one thing to be told to refer to Caitlyn Jenner as she but its quite another to be told that we must agree that Caitlyn Jenner literally is a woman. hey trigger. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! 10:34 am. And frankly, I think if more details about that event were brought to light, people would be even more outraged.. I dont think thats extortion, but it is the kind of bad faith platform that might compel the Lady Antebellum team to make the exceptional move of suing first, so they can set the narrative, choose the venue, etc. I do not know. But a lot of the anger flowing towards the former Lady Antebellum over this issue is missing the forest for the trees, fueled once again by misleading headlines, and the mob not checking or reading the details. Army WO Pilot (@Army_WO_Pilot) June 11, 2020, Comfortably _()_/ (@Eyeroll_Shrugs) June 11, 2020, No, THIS is Ludacris. Lady Antebellum had received absolutely zero heat or controversy over their name and, in my opinion, was doing nothing more than seeking publicity and attempting to garner favor by creating an issue of something that had been a non-issue up until that point. All rights reserved. 11:39 pm, In fairness, non-white sodomites are fucking HILARIOUS, Luckyoldsun Hey Arnold She and her team have demanded a $10 million payment, so reluctantly we have come to the conclusion that we need to ask a court to affirm our right to continue to use the name Lady A, a trademark we have held for many years. And even movies like the Academy Award winning movie Gone With the Wind are being temporarily pulled from online media channels. They should have changed their name to Lady Avacado. 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 . Lady A, formerly known as Lady Antebellum, jumped on social media on June 11, 2020 to explain why the country band changed its name . 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. Alternately, they could have recognized the $10 mil as an opening salvo, countered with $2 and let the lawyers fight it out. This right here. That being said, to start off at $10M is nuts. When COVID-19 sweeps through New York City, Jamie Gray is stuck as a dead-end driver for food delivery apps. Market data provided by Factset. Im not saying the group is fake but Im not lying when say that theyve always come across to me as something sort of phony. But maybe they shouldve thought about it before going all woke with the name change. Ive looked into it, and it would be nothing short of catastrophic. But it just seems like they jumped the gun on this. 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 dont think its appropriate (or fair) to expect all fans to distill the meaning of Antebellum since it appears anything from that era is tainted by historical contexts surrounding it. 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. Who really is going to see it? They didn't even bother to notify her of their new trademark. As I have said, $10 million is a ludicrous number, but very well could have been floated out there simply as a negotiation platform, knowing they would never get it, hoping for half at best. Lady Antebellum changes name in wake of Black Lives Matter movement, The country-pop trio who won Record and Song of the Year Grammys for their 2009 smash "Need You Now" have renounced the . Hey Arnold But here we go again with another white person trying to take something from a black person, even though they say theyre trying to help. 3:12 pm. The name itself, albeit stupid, did no real harm. With the Fugitive Slave Act in full swing, it was the zenith . Thats whats happening with Lady A the band at this very moment, and its being driven in large part by a false narrative, driven by bad headlines and a lack of full information. July 9, 2020 @ If Lady Antebellum indeed trademarked Lady A in 2010 but DID NOT USE THAT TRADEMARK, she lost the rights to use that (Lady A) name. I know the area. But this apparent good deed towards the Black Lives Matter movement didnt go unpunished for long. I cant express to you how difficult it would be for any band to just rebrand to a completely different name. Lady Antebellum may no longer exist, but the band will play on with a new name, and perhaps even a new mindset that will make it more welcoming and inclusive than it was before. The answer: Antebellum means "before a war," and the term has been widely associated with the pre-Civil War period in the United States. On the one hand, so much of this outrage is coming from the fact that people arent reading the actual articles. 2. Charlotte His mic isnt on and they have a guitar player behind him. Please sound off in the Comments section below. In a motion filed Monday in Nashville federal court, both the country trio and Anita White asked a federal judge to dismiss their dueling lawsuits permanently. The band Lady A concluded their statement with a commitment to educating ourselves, our children and doing our part to fight for the racial justice so desperately needed in our country and around the world. Anita White, a 61-year-old . There was a perception out there in the public that Antebellum had racist connotations. You seem to see these kerfuffles and as existential threats to county music. They could have just changed it to Lady Belle (assuming thats available) and gone forth with life.. Maybe the white woke millennial trio should change their name back to Lady Antebellum. GameStop Moderna Pfizer Johnson & Johnson AstraZeneca Walgreens Best Buy Novavax SpaceX Tesla. The Washington in Washington actually has a double meaning in that it also refers to one of the original American settlers in the state, who was black (biracial) himself. And that the genre is getting awful publicity when it should be gaining new, young, progressively minded and BIPOC fans. In an appearance on PEOPLE (the TV Show! I copyright my respective articles, so if theyre stolen (which happens more than you know), I have legal recourse. Does anyone really believe these people are racist? 12:17 pm, Honestly Summers Eve is as good of a band name as Lady Antebellum, Goey agetter She said she felt the bands actions had branded her as an angry black woman. ", Country band Lady Antebellum is in the throes of a lawsuit over the name Lady A, which they now go by after reconsidering their previous name's reference to the pre-abolition South. 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. They already had the name Lady A trademarked and it was in common parlance. Chase Rice and Chris Janson played shows. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. As such, he crossed the Columbia River and helped establish the Washington Territory, which eventually became a state. My God people come aawwnn, EmmmArrrEmmm (@EmmmArrrEmmm) June 11, 2020. Or, when you give into the mob and still lose money, you might be a bleeding heart irrational pop country band. That may be where we disagree. Dee Manning And still and all, this is just behind the scenes bullshit that should stay there. It hasnt even been a month since Lady A announced their name change. July 9, 2020 @ What a bunch of self righteous shit stains. antebellum was a problem name to begin withplenty of money already, but never enough for the richchange the band name to something else, dismiss the lawsuit already, apologize for being bigots, donate some $ to a traditional black college, and be done alreadyshow real change & enlightenment with action! Typical bullshit from your type. Like the career dead Dixie Chick Commie pigs you are done with most People including myself. Its funny seeing him sequel like a white woke pig. I dont think country Lady A meant any harm by the name change, but this whole thing just CLEARLY shows they didnt put time and effort into a decision like they say they did. 618creekrat 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. By clicking Accept all you agree that Yahoo and our partners will process your personal information, and use technologies such as cookies, to display personalised ads and content, for ad and content measurement, audience insights, and product development. In a lengthy statement explaining the change, the band members acknowledged they didnt fully appreciate the pain felt by those who, correctly, associatethe term with Americas pre-Civil War history of slavery. You do not NEED to register a trademark. She also noted the . Country trio Lady Antebellum . (also, lets be honest. Triple 8 never addressed that part of the event. go look up current copyright laws. Egads. I hope the end game of the BLM movement is not intended to be black people cant ever get sued. Because to me the optics of altering ones behavior based on race/color is what we are fighting for in the first place. 4:37 pm. She had been performing under the name for roughly 20 years. It doesnt hurt the new Lady A at all and the original Lady A gets a little cash and free publicity. Lady A (left) and Lady A (right). Regardless, the band issued a letter to fans making known their regret for not fixing things sooner. Athletes, CEOs, And Movie Stars Are Getting Older: Why Your Best Days Are Ahead Of You: The Changemaker Interview: Michael Nyenhuis, CEO, UNICEF USA, Leading Lenovos Move Toward Solutions And Services. or NYT Stylebooks, you had better make sure to capitalize Black person and to lower case white personor youre a filthy racist, presumably. The country trio has promised to donate to the Equal Justice Initiative and to be better allies to those suffering from injustice. Lady A officially changed their name on June 11th. 9:29 am. I have no issue with them changing their name at all. Why Is Country Music Putting on Concerts?. appreciated. Thats the only actual similarity to the Highwomen thing. But the lesson many may and arguably should take from this is to not give into the demand mob in the first place. Their music is straight up adult contemporary anyway. But thats OK too. 11:31 pm. How about changing it to Person A that way people dont assume her gender? I was simply making different, but adjacent points that if you change your name to perceivably give into the politically correct crowd and you end up in the position Lady Antebellum is now, this will disincentivize bands or anyone else from doing this in the future, while it also seems some entities are spared public ridicule simply because theyre perceived to be on the just side of the political divide. no one wants to be associated with racism anymore, not even country musicians. So much for good faith. Everything thing they do from how they dress to their actual music seems like it goes through a marketing review before it gets the ok. From their original name to the name change to the lawsuit I actually doubt that the members of this group have that much of a clue about any of it and just go along with what theyve been told to do because it works to make them money and their managers and lawyers and record company etc. This is a BETA experience. None of this is present in band name changes or society in general. In this case, even in 2010, could Anita White have established that the general public would readily associate her with the term Lady A? Billboard does actively (in some cases very actively) get feedback from the industry on all of its charts. I hear Alabama (the band) is considering changing its name to avoid any unintended association with Alabama (the state). And how can you go and post a photo with everybodys management, say we are working and making a deal, then sue them weeks later?? LMAO. They had one big song Need You Now 11 years ago, and since then have been propped up by radio play. But perhaps most dramatically, the old symbols of the Confederacy, the group of states that seceded from the United States and sparked Americas Civil War, are finally being seen for the racist and incendiary associations they represent to Black Americans. Problem solved. Begging and simultaneously squealing racism. July 9, 2020 @ The trio, more likely their management and publicity team, really screwed up, and this whole thing is going to get uglier. July 9, 2020 @ How was Lady A ever a solution of any kind? especially : existing before the American Civil War. Even the notion that theyre suing her is misleading without sufficient qualification, as it suggests that theyre looking to stop her from using the name or seek monetary damage (as many inflammatory Tweets have been suggesting). Lady Anti-Antebellum? The idea they have $10 million dollars just laying around because theyre a mainstream band is ludicrous. would like to know what you think. Basically, youre starting over, especially in this day and age. Lady A certainly led by example, as the Dixie Chicks Natalie Maines, Emily Strayer and Martie Maguire announced their name change to The Chicks two weeks later on June 25. 4:13 pm. 7:06 pm. Or to be instructedas we were last week, that if you write something for a publication that subscribes to the A.P. 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 as Lady A, the nickname our fans gave us almost from the start. ". 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. 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 . But, ultimately, this is becoming another case of people not letting facts and logic get in the way of a good Tweet. jacob hatcher All Rights Reserved. How about not being a pussy. Of course, they couldnt play clubs cause the liquor sales would be dismal Country group Lady Antebellum is making a huge change to their band - they are changing its name. to hide behind while enslaving the blacks. Trademark rights are based on use, not registration. Lady A feat. Their management team royally fucked up by not checking more thoroughly before changing the name. 6:52 pm. You Americans have the most dysfunctional and disgusting way of dealing with racism any country has. 12:35 pm. Where the name 'Lade Antebellum' came from. Im disappointed in the headline that Billboard and other news outlets are using as click bait, when the article clearly states that the band is only responding to a 10M $ extortion demand. Once again the online mobespecially on Twitteris reacting to a drive-by, 260-character notion of the story instead of the actual situation with all the details. In turn, no corner of American society is left untouched by the moment, as political leaders, celebrities, and sports figures must reckon with the ways their conduct has reinforced institutional racism. They added that with White they had shared our stories, listened to each other, prayed and spent hours on the phone and text writing a song about this experience together. 6:53 am. July 11, 2020 @ Most of the time when people complain about everything being too PC these days, theyre just mad about getting called out for making racist jokes or mocking someone for being gay. It finally went through and now Im just waiting until my July release to see if my single will be buried.. Noah Berlatsky (@nberlat) June 11 . That would have been the right thing to do. Just Jimmy A trademark is for a business name, a band name, and emblem, a slogan. Furthermore, everyone knows what the A stands for. Copyrights and trademarks are two separate things. 2023 Cable News Network. I feel sorry for the threesome. You must use your trademark for it to remain valid, and you cant selectively enforce it. (And its not just country. I have also actively led trademark protection claims. In reality, they just want a judge to say they can use the name too. I guess it maybe would have better for the band to wait to get sued and then be the respondent? Grammy-winning band Lady Antebellum has now changed their name to 'Lady A' to eliminate any reference to pre-Civil War slavery and racial injustice. Maybe they could get their fans to come up with a totally new name for the band, and the winner wins a prize! None of this is telling of anything *but* that because nobody really cared if they changed the names or not in the first place. July 13, 2020 @ Trigger, your comments on trademark law arent entirely accurate. Exactly. On Thursday, the band announced on social media it would . Listen to Eye in the Sky by APP and Need You Now by LA. Now, if youre a band like Lady A, perhaps you can reassemble some of those pieces better than a band starting out. 144 Comments. 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. Thats all Shane McAnally was saying. Clueless, innocent, and sheltered maybe They grew up in very white neighborhood. As I started off yesterdays article about the PPP loans with, We live in the age of shame. But when you call someone out for playing a concert, and claim there were 4,000 people there and it was a normal show like The Washington Post did initially, and half a dozen other outlets did (The Daily Mail STILL has not updated the TITLE of their article https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8468633/Country-singer-Chase-Rice-hosts-concert-4-000-fans-Tennessee.html), which then inspires a sitting US Congressman and THOUSANDS of others to tweet out this incorrect information, when people find out the truth, it erodes your entire argument. The pandering is nauseating at this point. The dec action may have been a tad preemptive, but this is a good way for Anita White to clamor down. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. The $10 million demand by Anita White and her lawyers is ludicrous and completely unfounded, especially if as the lawsuit claims, Lady Antebellum has owned the Lady A trademark for a decade without dispute. When you see even half as many fluff catchphrases used in any kind of statementyou can be assured that the statement is the worst kind of bullshit. It doesnt make you too PC. 10:15 am. A lot of moving parts and entanglements to this issue. Fox News Flash top entertainment and celebrity headlines are here. Andrew Brown (@AndrewB66636244) June 11, 2020, So now were all suddenly offended by an ADJECTIVE?? (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. Names cant be copyrighted but they can be trademarked. Lady A the band did not dispute Lady A the artist about her name at any point after registering the trademark. 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, Lady A continued. 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