Anita White is 61-year-old Seattle Washington native, who has been singing the blues for over 20 years. When she is performing, Anita prefers to go by Lady A. Recently, the band previously known as Lady Antebellum endured criticism due to their band name and the connotation it draws to racism in the South, thus leading them to make the decision to change it from Lady Antebellum to Lady A.
As one can imagine, this presented quite the problem for the original Lady A. Rolling Stone, in their profile of the original Lady A (Anita), brilliantly pointed out the irony of taking action to change a name in support of racial inequality, but in the same vein, stepping on the neck and effectively hurting the brand of a person of color and fellow musical artist. The OG Lady A has worked to build a name for herself starting with her stint in the Motown revue band in the 80’s.
Too often do artists endure challenges in branding and trademarking when making a name for themselves, but instances such as these spark an important conversation.
Artists are steered by their label (if signed) and management and generally have some influence in how they market themselves and how they’re represented including the words they choose to be recognized by, but as it stands, nothing beats a God given name. Singer-songwriter, Briana Cash is facing a similar issue. Cash, an Orlando, Florida native and experienced award-winning recording artist with an eclectic writing technique and diverse sound, began singing at the age of 9.
Cash, who has built her brand from the ground up, is facing a similar issue with the artist Brianna Castro, also known by her chosen stage name, “Brianna Cash”. Brianna Castro is a 27-year-old singer, Philadelphia Native and Interscope Records signee. Similar to the situation Lady A is in, adopting a name for oneself that is taken by another working artist places said original artist in a compromised position in terms of marketing and branding. For instance, do you think your Alexa can tell which Briana Cash you are requesting when you speak that name into the mic? What results will Google bring up when you type the name? Perhaps it will assume you’ve misspelled it and conjure up the wrong artist? The issues with this are abundant, and what is the most maddening is that it is completely avoidable.
This instance has happened many times in history. Ever heard of the UK collective, The Beat? Probably not, as they go by The English Beat, due to the existence of the American band The Beat. Need another example? Just read up on The Charlatans.
How can this be? How can an artist simply adopt the name of an established, well-known artist? Why don’t bands, artists, or labels do their research before choosing such an important factor that will drive or halt the success of the artist in question?
The answer to that lies in the record business as a whole. Is it possible they looked into the name “Brianna Cash” to see if it was being used elsewhere? Maybe, maybe not. Interscope knows of the existence of the original Briana Cash but chose to secure and market the name “Brianna Cash” for Miss Castro with ease, utilizing everything at their disposal with their marketing machine and team of professionals. Briana Cash has made countless efforts to resolve this issue including involving attorneys who have sent numerous cease and desist letters to the management of Miss Castro, to no avail.
There is something very unsettling about ultimately seeing a copy of the likeness that you’ve constructed for yourself, stylized in such a way that works to erase the efforts of the original iteration. It is dastardly for a person to steal your intellectual property from you, which can in this case include a birth name adopted as a stage name because they are essentially profiting from your work.
Without accountability, these large machines send a message to their consumers, and to the world that it is fine to take from individuals without permission, notice or compensation. Imitation is not flattery; it is simply stealing. We live in a society inundated with many people trying to accomplish the same things, within the same markets.
This presents an ever-present issue as sometimes an artist wants to be associated with an aesthetic that broadcasts this without proper citation. It is in poor taste to say the least and exemplifies that the individual on the opposing side is acting in bad faith. It would be highly advised to give credit when it is due, and it would serve anyone well to keep in mind that good art deserves proper credit, and this can only be done with individuality and adequate representation of one’s self.
Briana was contacted by friends and colleagues asking if she was at a party in the Hollywood Hills, because it was there at Kylie Jenner's party that Tory Lanez allegedly shot rapper Megan Thee Stallion in the feet.
Here is a first hand account of Briana’s recent experiences:
“People could think that I attended because of my Los Angeles residential address. Tory Lanez collaborated with Brianna Cash. Interscope released a single featuring Brianna Cash and Tory Lanez which has over 4M plays. Interscope also released a music video featuring Brianna Cash and Tory Lanez. There will be a lot more press about this coming later this month because Tory Lanez has a court date on November 18th. So basically anytime someone googles this, my name comes up.
Big labels have magic wands, however in my case they certainly are not my fairy godmother. This magic wand has been able to retain the hits and plays on a song even though they have recently created a new Spotify account with her new professional name Brianna Castro. If you or I as an indie artist created a new account changing the name we would have to start from scratch. My team has been monitoring the situation and my name is still being used. It's cost me thousands to defend and protect what is already mine and I'm still not out of the woods yet.
Some advice to indie artists. Know your rights and when someone such as a label is doing you wrong, you need to push back. That is the only way you can sometimes retain your rights. Thank you Gulie for giving me the opportunity to be heard, to tell my truth. This is only the beginning, stay tuned.”
This won’t be the last time you hear of something like this happening. The best you can do as a listener/fan/someone who appreciates the arts is to advocate for the rights of those you love!