From: zerobeat@intacc.uucp (Ferenc Szabo)
Subject: Negativland/U2 and beyond(long)
Date: Fri, 25 Dec 1992 02:23:48 GMT
Organization: Inter/Access' Matrix BBS

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Toronto, Ontario, Canada__________

First, a reprint of an article that appeared in NOW magazine in late
November '92.  (NOW is a local weekly entertainment magazine with a 
circulation of over 90,000)...........

                     STUPID REVENGE

 U2 TEAR UP:  In light of Island Records' sledgehammering Negativland for
 its satirical treatment of U2 and local sound artist John Oswald's bitter
 legal experience for copyright infringment on his Plunderphonic projects,
 a local entity called STUPIDLAND wants to protest the bullying of 
 experimental and small independent artists by corporate empires.

 Stupidland is inviting anyone to massacre, fold, spindle and mutilate a U2
 song and submit it for a compilation tape that will be distributed and sold
 for the cost/trade of a blank cassette.  This project is strictly not-for-
 profit and bootlegging will be strongly encouraged.

 Stupidland wants to emphasize that this is NOT a tribute compilation, and 
 that "recording quality and production values are not as important as the
 level of disrespect you show for the songs."  Stupidland hopes to have all
 submissions by mid-December for a release around Xmas.  You can even call
 them at xxx-xxxx if you have no access to recording possibilities.  They
 may even be able to record it for you.

 (end of article)

The following week, Stupidland got a call from David Baskin (president of 
the CMRRA - Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency Limited).  
Stupidland immediately put out the following press release:

              
                    FU2 COMPILATION SQUASHED
 December 1992

 Successfully intimidated by threats of legal complications by CMRRA (Candian
 Musical Reproduction Rights Agency Limited, which represents the publishers
 of U2's music in Canada), the Toronto entity know only as "Stu Pidland" has
 halted plans to release FU2, an "anti-tribute" music compilation that was to
 showcase much Toronto talent creatively trashing U2 songs as well as Island
 and SST records.  FU2 even blatantly bootlegged part of Negativland's recent
 Toronto performance while purporting to be a form of "tribute" to the west- 
 coast experimental group.  Negativland has been outspoken on anti-copyright
 issues.

          STU PIDLAND speaks:

 "Maybe there is *someone* out thee willing to release this compilation - but,
  under the circumstances, I think it's unwise to set myself up as a martyr.
	2(Y,X].Ymany of the submissions have been delightfully mean in satiric 
  nature, I would stand little chance of obtaining legal permission from CMRRA
  to go through with this recorded document.  It's a shame - I'm still 
  receiving enthusastic material representing a wide stylistic range that 
  spans raw punk, sampling mayhem, rant, industrial, rock, candid interview
  and sound collage.

 "I offered the public a chance to creatively express their opinions on the 
  Negativland/Island/SST affair and on U2 in general, and the response has 
  been tremendous - there's a real public distaste for this band, and it is
  interesting how many *former* fans have concluded that the band has totally
  sold-out.  Island Records seems to have acted independently of U2 in 
  pursuing action against Negativland, and refused to bend to pressure from 
  U2 to lay-off.  Regardless of how you feel about U2 and their part in this
  affair, note how ironic it is that the band itself obviously not longer
  owns or controls their own music.

 "It is also interesting how (former Black Flag guitarist) Greg Ginn's 
  'independant' label SST Records (whose slogan has always been "Corporate
  Rock Still Sucks") has behaved with corporate-style tactics towards
  Negativland by abandoning them when the legal shit hit the fan over the
  U2 single SST released, then subsequently threatening to sue Negativland 
  themselves.

 "Maybe I should have named this compilation NOT FOR SALE.  Although I 
  stressed to CMRRA president David Basskin that the FU2 compilation was not
  intended to be sold (it was to be made available for the trade of a blank
  cassette and bootlegged at will), I was informed that "It wouldn't be 
  pleasant" for me if this compilation hit the streets.  One can only assume
  what this exactly means, but it sure sounds messy to me.

 "What amazes me is the complete inability to conceive of music that is not 
  to be a commercial consumer item; music that is "not for sale."  Stu
  Pidland is not going away until the outmoded rules are updated to 
  acknowledge more complex issues of art and social commentary.  Stu Pidland
  is not going away until the musician takes responsibility for and charge
  of their own music.
                 Stupidland is definitely NOT FOR SALE...so don't even ask.

 "I feel truly sorry for the pathetic individual who has lost the ability to
  appreciate music for its simple spiritual pleasure, for its communicative
  power, or for the pure hell of it - the person who equates music with
  money or copyright has lost something that you and I at least temporarily
  still have (we are of course assuming he *ever* had it).  What makes this
  all boring and political is that he is often in a position of authority,
  and imposes his system of limited understanding on those around him."

 To quote CMRRA literature on mechanical licensing, "Copyright is the basis
 of the music industry." 
           Art, satire, social commentary, and music itself are not included
           in this bottom-line statement.  Neither, deceptively, is *money*,
           which we all know to be the real bottom line.

 (end of press release)

No, gentle reader, this is not the end!  David Basskin read the preceding
press release then subsequently threatened Stu Pidland with a libel suit.
After several menacing phone calls from Basskin and his lawyer, Stu Pidland
decided to put out another press release, of which the contents can (under
Canadian law) be used to negate the libel suit:


        CLARIFICATION / RETRACTION    to the press

 Stu Pidland, aka Gary Johnson, would like to apologize for any 
 misunderstanding regarding the previous release entitled "FU2 SQUASHED"
 sent out last week.  I in no way intended to single-out, defame or libel 
 CMRRA president David Basskin or the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights
 Agency Limited.

 Basskin, a lawyer and musician himself for some 30 years, *does* seem to 
 have the interset of musicians and song-writers in mind; and upholds 
 copyright and licensing as a protective measure for musicians large and
 small alike.

 My criticism of "those who equate music with money" was a general, not
 not specific comment, and merely my own biased opinion.
        I appreciated others' rights todisagree, and to express their
        differing viewpoints.

 Gee, do I ever feel STUPID!  If nothing else, I have gained valuable 
 information on copyright regulations that I urge every independant musician
 and song-writer to familiarize themself with before undergoing any
 recording project.

                Sincerely,
                on behalf of Stupidland,
                Gary Johnson <signed>
                Dec. 10, 1992

 (end of press release)


Stu Pidland/Gary/Roscoe sent Negativland the 'FU2 SQUASHED' press release and
this is what they had to say back:

                        SEELAND RECORDS     
                                                              Dec. 9, 1992

  To:  "Roscoe" (Gary Johnson)

  Omigod-

  I hardly know what to say.  Yes.  I do too:

  1.  Fax all that stuff to Paul McGuinness (manager) and to the members of
  U2!   Make sure they know what's being done in their names!  Also send
  clippings of any outraged articles that get written about this - they appear
  sensitive to press.  In Dublin:  353-1-777-276, In NY:  212-765-2372

  2.  PLEASE, send us a copy of all your submissions - we'd LOVE to hear 'em!

  3.  Would you make a digital copy of your DAT of us at Toronto and send it
  to us at this address?

  4.  It's shocking how you were treated by the guy - see the attached
  Christmas Newsletter for some similar news.  I can't encourage you strongly
  enough to go out and learn where you stand legally, and not just cave in to 
  the (obviously scary) intimidation this guy is aiming at you.  I don't know 
  how Canadian law works at all, but it seems to me that the entire 
  Stupidland project is non commercial (nay, anti-commercial), its activities 
  are even less illegal than somebody taping Achtung Baby for a friend.  Has 
  corporate control of the culture really reached the point where friends can 
  be stopped from trading tapes of music they make?

  Stay in Touch!!

  Gregg

(end of Seeland/Negativland fax)



Here is the newsletter:

              NEGATIVLAND'S CHRISTMAS NEWSLETTER 1992
         ***************************************************

              SST RECORDS SUES NEGATIVLAND FOR REVENGE;
               GROUP HALSTS SALES OF ITS MAGAZINE/CD
                  THE LETTER U AND THE NUMERAL 2.
                    LOSES INCOME, PLANS DEFENSE

  WELL, here we go again!  As another Christmas rolls around, Negativland
  seats itself, pen in hand, to compose our yearly Christmas Newsletter.  A 
  lot has happened since last Christmas in our little family of appropriators.

  Last September,  feeling we had an intersting story to tell about how  
  something as simple as an officeful of angry unmusical businesspeople
  armed with too much money and some out-of-date copyright notions had
  propelled us through a horrible nightmare of lawsuits, lawyers, liars, and 
  loss, we released a 96-page magazine with CD entitiled 'The Letter U And 
  The Numeral 2' that documented the entire Negativland/SST/U2/Island
  Records episode.  The magazine simply presented the lawsuit, court orders,
  faxes, public statements and press releases from all the parties,letters,etc.
  in chronological order, with no commentary from us, so that the reader
  could examine the facts and make up his or her own mind as to what it all
  "meant".

  Apparantly Greg Ginn, owner of SST Records, thinks otherwise.  On
  November 10th, 2 months after the release of the magazine, he brought a
  5-count lawsuit against us which essentialy seeks to punish us for going 
  public with the dirty laundry.  Yes, we have been sued.  Yes, again.  And 
  now it appears that the real nightmare may only be just beginning.

  If you're not actually a member of Negativland, or if you've never been 
  sued yourself - you might find some aspects of the lawsuit to be quite
  hilarious:

    *We're being sued to stop us from selling a magazine about how we were
     sued.

    *We're being sued by SST for copyright infringement because we printed 
     their press releases (!)

    *We're being sued by SST's corporate rock lawyer for printing a picture of
     SST's "Corporate Rock STILL Sucks" sticker.

    *We're being sued for printing their lawyer's letter saying that they want
     to sue us.

  Funny Stuff.  But the grim fact is that Greg's actions are destroying any 
  opportunity we might have had to get back on our feet financially (we're
  trying to self-release all our own stuff now) and could easily prevent us 
  from releasing any other new work for the next two years!  Negativland is
  what we do, and this magazine was our first new release back on our own 
  Seeland Records label.  We now know that we could have sold many, many
  more than the original limited edition of the magazine; it seems far more 
  people are interested in our story than we initially expected. This new case
  could easily drag on for two years or more, and although we think we'll win
  in the end, we can't safely make and sell more copies of 'The Letter U And 
  The Numeral 2' until the court decides on SST's copyright claims.

  Greg Ginn is already keeping our royalties to pay himself back for the U2
  costs, and he knows we can't afford to sue him to get him to agree to our
  50-50 split offer rather keep back the 100% he so autocratically demands.
  This case is going to cost Greg Ginn a lot more money than he has any 
  reasonable hope of recovering from us in any reasonable time frame (you
  can bet his lawyer isn't working for free).  SO WHY IS HE SUING US?  Well,
  it seems that his main reason is...revenge. SST grosses millions of dollars a
  year- you can look it up in their credit report printed in our magazine (he's
  suing over that too- of course- despite the fact that it's readily available
  public information that SST themselves provided), so he can certainly 
  afford towaste the dozens, perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars that 
  it'll cost to take this case to trial.  We can't.  He seems quite happy to
  behave towards us in the same way as Island Records did to him and us,
  using his economic might to crush the small and the weak.

  A copy of the lawsuit is enclosed so you can see it all for yourself. (It's a
  public document, so he can't sue us for that.) You'll notice some other stuff
  in there about 'breach of contract';that's all about how they still claim
that
  we owe them every dime they had to spend over the Island suit (despite:
  gaping holes in their contract; our denials to their claims that we promised
  to pay; all the money they made by selling the record; our providing the
  GUNS record to replace the U2 record; our flat-out inability to pay; and 
  SST's own decision to put the record out knowing there might be problems),
  and about how they think we owe them master tapes for two new releases
  that we cancelled when they tried to stick us with the whole U2 damage 
  (despite:  our attempts to repay the advances; the fact that their lawyer 
  said they might not even be interested in releasing the records; and the fact
  that the tapes aren't even finished yet).

  SST is basically punishing us because we've resisted being abused.

   If any of this behavior disgusts yo as much as it does us, we would
   urge you to:

    *SPREAD THE WORD about what SST's doing to us to all your friends, radio
     stations, record stores, bands, writers, and the whole alternative musical
     community.  This mailing is only going out to about 600 people, and we 
     want EVERYBODY to know what's happening (copy this mailing if you
     want, or post it to a computer network).

    *Have everybody CONTACT GREG GINN, SST Records proprietor, and let
     him know how all of this makes you feel about him and SST, and maybe
     even ask him to explain to you just what the hell he thinks he's doing.
     (fax 310-430-7286, tel 310-430-7687, 10500 Ilumbolt Street, 
     Los Alamitos CA, 90720)

    *If you've seen the magazine, you know that we stand a very good chance
     of getting our U2 single back if we can only change the mind of Casey
     Kasem.  Now that the magazine has been stopped, we no longer have a
     way to tell the world that Casey has been interviewed on radio framing
     Island's action against us as censorship, and saying that although he's
     personally embarassed by our record, he's for free speech and doesn't
     approve of what happened to us; on the other hand, the last word we
     have from Island Records is that they'd actually be willing to return the 
     record to us, except that Casey Kasem has told them privately that if they
     do, he'll sue them (see letter and interview, attached).  Casey's lawyers 
     have also threatened us similarily.  If you want to help us out, please 
     CONTACT CASEY KASEM with a good letter or fax and ask him to explain
     his contradictory position, but mainly to withdraw his opposition to the 
     return of our record to us (not to SST).  Casey Kasem c/0 Westwood One
     Radio Network, 8968 Washington Blvd., Culver City CA. 90230, 
     fax 310-840-4051, tel 310-840-4000.

    *Are there any folks in the LOS ANGELES AREA willing to offer a few 
     couches and square feet of floor space for us to spend the night on the
     days when we'll have to appear in court?

    *Any LEGAL FOLKS out there with services to offer , or interesting ideas
     on how to proceed?

    *ANy WRITERS out there?  Please, write about this!

    *BE CREATIVE! -  think up something helpful (but not illegal...) and do it!

  And, as always, feel free to contact us with anything you want to ask us or
  say to us:  fax 415-420-0469, 1920 Monument Blvd. Concord CA, 94520.

  Well, we suppose we should close with a tearful "Happy Holidays," or a 
  heartfelt "Merry Christmas," but instead, since you may have heard of our
  feeling that Christianity is Stupid, and since the "holiday," established by 
  the church/state, was arbitrarily located in the calendar year to coincide
  with the well-established pagan/astrological holidays coinciding with the 
  winter solstace, while the actual 'birth' date of the extraterrestrially-
  operated operative know as Christ was probably sometime in the early fall,
  let's just say:  "Til Next Year..."

  We'll try to keep the world updated as the situation progresses.

  Anything you choose to do to help, participate, or contribute will be greatly
  apprectiated.


                             LOVE,

                                          "Negativland" signature here

    "Copyright Infringement Is Your Best Entertainment Value" seal here.

  ps...SST is also frivolously and maliciously suing the Meat Puppets.  For
  more info on that, contact their manager, Jamie Kitman, at 914-359-4520,
  fax 914-359-4739 (He's being sued too.  Are you surprised?)

            SPECIAL THANKS to our legal and financial helpers across the
            country, and particularly to everyone who came out to see us on
            tour in the northeastern half of the country last month.

(end of Negativland's Christmas Newsletter)

I never did get the enclosed copy of the lawsuit nor the Kasem letter and 
interview, so obviously I can't reprint them here.

Bombs Away for now

patient Zer0
                
ps.......don't confuse Gregg from Negativland with Greg from SST.