From: bgonzal@math.rutgers.edu (Bil Gonzalez)
Newsgroups: rec.music.cd
Subject: Re: Enigma re-release??
Date: 16 Dec 92 17:43:04 GMT
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.

norbeck@pleiades.cs.bucknell.edu (Naughty Nukes NY in her 1999 Nissan) writes:

>In article <BzBHx7.H57@mentor.cc.purdue.edu> ab@nova.cc.purdue.edu (Allen B) writes:

>>I find this hard to believe.  They state on the singles for
>>"Sadeness" and "Mea Culpa" which albums the "real"
>>tracks included come from, and it sounds like the same
>>source.  If they got permission to include some source
>>material (with credit) why didn't the original artists
>>know of the sampling?

>>ab

>It may be hard to believe, but I got it straight from the man in
>question.  I don't know that the issue in question is so much whether
>the use was *credited* but whether James or the Ensemble got any
>*royalties* for it.  They were certainly unaware of the use of their
>music.  I don't know the laws,...

I think that it depends on the original artist contract with the recording
company.  If ENIGMA used a sample off the recording with permission of the
company, regardless of a contracted payment of royalties, ENIGMA can't
be sued, because they didn't do anything wrong.  Unfortunately, most
artists sign contracts relinquishing all rights to the recording, for
some kind of royalty payment.  Sometimes it is a flat fee for recording the
album, sometimes it includes actual royalties.  But in some cases, the
recording company can do whatever they want with the recording without
the artist's consent and without paying royalties.  Michael Jackson 
owned the rights the the Beatles recordings ( I don't know if he still
does). 

In other words, the recording company owns and controls the recording,
not the artist in most cases.  In this situation, Mr. James should
probably be suing his recording company because he is not getting paid
royalties as contracted for the recording.  The recording company should
sue ENIGMA for not obtaining proper permission for using the sample if
that is in fact the case.

If ENIGMA and the original artist were on the same recording label, then
there really wouldn't be a problem at all, as the recording company
would own the rights to both recordings.  A similar situation to this is
the Bugs Bunny/ Warner Brothers cartoons.  The music scores for many of
the cartoons feature popular songs of the time (especially during the war
years).  Warner could do this without paying major sums in royalties because
they owned (through another division) the pubisher's rights for those
songs, which often was full control.  Some composers lose their rights
when they sign publishing contracts.
  
>It would be very difficult to find anyone else who sounds like David
>James.  He has a very distinctive voice.  In addition to the vocal
>sound, he is also a countertenor, one of a very small group (there
>aren't *any* American countertenors, for example).  Thus, finding a
>countertenor who has a similar sound to David James would be nearly
>impossible.

BTW - The sample in question wouldn't be the "gloria" one would it?
I have heard that sample on a few other recorings.


Bil
Newsgroups: rec.music.cd