This episode was first released in 2020, but it’s got staying power: smart, funny, and surprisingly moving. Everyday Heroes is a snapshot of one of those rare moments when humor, chaos, and clarity all show up in the same room. It’s a look back at the cultural shifts we all felt but didn’t have language for yet, filtered through one artist/lawyer/mom’s razor-sharp insight and unwavering humanity.
Christiane Kinney is a rare hybrid: an award-winning singer/songwriter, a seasoned entertainment attorney, and a full-on everyday superhero. She’s represented Platinum-selling and Grammy-winning artists, advised festivals and music tech startups, and even served as legal counsel for Presidential candidates. As a musician, she’s received honors from Billboard, ASCAP, the International Songwriting Competition, and the Global Music Awards. She was named the #1 music law resource to follow on Twitter (Now X) by CD Baby, and featured in Glamour Magazine’s Woman of the Year issue for her nonprofit work bringing music to at-risk youth. She’s a voting member of the Recording Academy, a frequent speaker on legal panels, and somehow manages all of this while raising two kids.
After making partner at the firm where she built her career, it suddenly collapsed. So she launched Kinney Law, P.C. in the middle of a pandemic, while juggling remote school, a shutdown industry, and two kids at home. We talk about parenting in chaos, building a business under pressure, navigating the blurred mess of AB5, why the Blurred Lines verdict was such a gut-punch for songwriters, and what artists need to know about copyright, contracts, and career resilience. We also nerd out about piano, house concerts, artist advocacy, and what happens when your inbox is full of clients in full-on crisis.
Sometimes it takes a few years to realize what a conversation really held. This one held up, and in revisiting it now, it feels like a reminder of the kinds of people you want around when the ground shifts again.
Christiane Kinney:
Law Practice:
Kinney Law
LexisNexis
Artist side:
https://www.christianekinney.com
http://www.riddlethesphinx.com
Almost (Album) by Christiane Cargill Kinney
Riddle the Sphinx
Personal: website
Instagram: @musicalredhead
X (Twitter): @musicalreadhead
Charitable Foundation:
https://heartsgivinghopefoundation.org
Featured Music:
Earnestine by Christiane Cargill Kinney
Isle of Skye by Christiane Cargill Kinney
Episode References:
Sean Kinney: GoSeanGO.com, SeanKinneyStunts.com, 1stoogeentertainment.com
World Record of Jumping Jacks while on Fire
Hollywood Clown (Book by Jason Lassen)
Don’t Call Us Tori (how Steve and Christiane met)
Ruthann Friedman: “Everyone Knows it’s Windy” (made famous by The Association)
David Peters, Oak House Recording Studios
Killarney Star, IG: @killarney_star
Elizabeth (Libbie) Schrader
Gilli Moon
Marina V
Christo Pellani - soundformation.com
Don Teschner and the WaterDawgs
LA Times: “What a year it was: A 2020 Timeline” (California lockdown begins March 14, 2020) [you can postpone the paywall by launching the above link in a private browsing window]
A look back at LA County hiking trail closures (ModernHiker)
AB-5 (background)
LA TIMES: “The AB5 backlash: Singers, actors, dancers, theaters sound off on freelance law”
Governing.com: “America’s Rural/Urban Divide: A Special Series”
Blurred Lines lawsuit (can you look for?)
Pharell & Rick Rubin interview
“Word Crimes” by Weird Al Yankovic
(Which is NOT an example of the point I was making, it is a direct parody of “Blurred Lines”)
Albuquerque, By Weird Al Yankovic, is said to be written in the style of “Dick’s Automotive” by The Rugburns.
Exclaim!*@#: “Vanilla Ice Apparently Owns the Rights to ‘Under Pressure’”
CD Baby DIY Musician: Understanding music copyrights, Form PA and SR
Power Distance Index, explained (article)
Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers (GoodReads)
Luke Bryan - Rain Is A Good Thing (“Rain makes corn, corn makes whiskey”)
Jeff Richmond (Tina Fey’s husband)
The Firm
Ready Player One (film)
Ready Player One (book)
Idiocracy
Tags: Freelancing, VR, house concerts, covid, quarantine, losing your job, filter-bubbles, Blurred Lines lawsuit, attorney, Pharrell, Thicke, copyright, binge watching, dinner and a show, Zoom fatigue, Burning Man, avatars, community, meditation, Karens, memes, echo chamber, FAANG, precedent, declaratory judgment, IP litigation, musicologists, samples, audio mixing, copyright infringement, songwriting, streaming, riots, dystopia, Idiocracy, JP Sears, Ready Player One, AB-5, independent contractor, 1099, loan-out corporations, Disney+, Hamilton,making puzzles, Annie, piano, pipe organ, nunnery, St. Joseph’s, performance art, bucket list, professional clowns, Robert De Niro drum circle, Guinness Book of World Records, Roger Corman, Don’t Call Us Tori, SXSW, giving back, Children of the Night, #everydayhero, the power of sleep, personal power, boundaries
Language of Creativity’s host Steven Leavitt enjoys discussing the ins and outs of all aspects of creating, creativity, and life with his fellow creators: artists, inventors, designers, producers and more. Along the way he hopes to gain perspective and multiply our understanding of what we share in common while creating, living, and learning.
Producer in Your Pocket: https://www.icreatesound.com/
Portfolio: http://stevenleavitt.com/
