Newsgroups: misc.int-property
Subject: Re: Crosley Bendix (Negativland) Discusses The Copyright Act
From: morgan@engr.uky.edu (Wes Morgan)
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1992 14:36:16 GMT
Organization: University of Kentucky Engineering Computing Center
Keywords: Copyright,Negativland,U2,lawsuit,reform

[ .....original message deleted..... ]

{ begin disgusted sarcasm }

"Found sound appropriation"?

What kind of Politically Correct, I-don't-want-to-feel-bad-about-what-I-do
label is that?  I agree with you that copyright law is in need of change, 
but I am not about to refer to samplers as "found sound appropriators".
That sounds like the invocation of musical salvage rights!  Yeesh.

{ end disgusted sarcasm }

Now that I've released that from my system, let's get to brass tacks.

We have to strike a delicate medium here <isn't that always the case?>.
I certainly acknowledge that even a casual hearing of someone else's work
can inspire one's creative Muse; it's certainly happened to me (I've written
quite a bit of music for percussion ensemble, and come dangerously close to
getting some of it published).  I would hope that music inspires all of us
in some fashion, and that it continues to do so.

However, I've heard sampling artists (?) say things like "yeah, I must have 
listened to 30 tunes before I found the back beat I was looking for."   [This
was said on an interview show on BET about 2 weeks ago.]  That isn't art,
it's carefully conducted research!  I don't think that fellow was "inspired"
by anything; he just searched and searched until he found what was already
in his mind.

Aesthetics aside, where shall we draw the line?  I'd say that the use of
an *identifiable* sample should require royalty payments.  I've heard lis-
teners say things like "have you heard that new song?  It's got James Brown,
Chuck Berry, and the Rolling Stones in it!"  They can't name the title or
the creator, but they know/remember the artists who have been sampled.

I don't think we should get particularly agitated about samples such as
"the drum track from 'Turn the Beat Around'"; however, immediately iden-
tifiable tracks such as the opening to 'Tom Sawyer' are deserving of some
compensation.  { fyi, both of these examples have been sampled in recent 
years }  Perhaps we could have some form of arbitration board that deter-
mines the need for (and/or amount of) royalty payments; ASCAP/BMI are 
notorious for their inflexibility in these matters.

A possible compromise lies in the lifespan of a copyright.  As I under-
stand it (and I'm not a lawyer), a copyright lasts 50 years past the
death of the author.  Perhaps we could adjust this for those items
created for mass broadcast (as opposed to mass distribution, as with
publishing).  Should the copyright on a Top 40 song last as long as that 
of _The Book of Lists_?  We don't hear/see the _Book of Lists_ every day;
in fact, we usually have to purchase or borrow it for our own use.  Music,
on the other hand, is constantly broadcast around us.  I'd guess that I
hear the "Top 40" songs approximately 50 times/song/week; that widespread,
free distribution should make a difference.  We just have to decide where
to make that difference.  Perhaps we need two different copyrights, one
for excerpts (sampling) and one for complete remakes (cover versions).

We must also consider the impact of such changes on other areas of
copyright law.  I don't believe that we can make exceptions for music;
we'll probably have allow similar exceptions for other copyrighted 
media, such as movies, television broadcasts, and the print media.
If we allow samples in music, should I be able to collect/print/sell
a volume entitled "The Best Quotes of American Literature 1992" with-
out paying royalties to the authors?  Should I be able to collect 
and sell "The Best Punchline Panels of the 1992 Comics"?  I don't think
Charles Schulz <Peanuts>, Bill Watterson <Calvin and Hobbes>, Garry
Trudeau <Doonesbury>, or Lynn Johnston <For Better or For Worse> would
have a particular appreciation for my sale of such excerpts.....

In conclusion, I believe that a compromise can be reached.  None of us
have an exclusive claim to musical interpretation, but I believe that we
should have an exclusive right <as guaranteed in the Constitution> to our
works.  I believe that we can find our compromise in the length/specifics
of that guaranteed exclusive right.


-- 
MORGAN@UKCC         |       Wes Morgan       |        ...!ukma!ukecc!morgan 
morgan@ms.uky.edu   | Engineering  Computing |   morgan@wuarchive.wustl.edu
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