Copyright Conspiracy? Perhaps...

Danger Mouse’s project, The Grey Album, created quite a stir within the media industry because of our eschewed understanding and enforcement of copyright laws. The issues mainly revolved around the conflict of whether or not the album should have been protected under artistic expression or removed for stealing another group’s copyrighted material. I am going to take a stand from the start arguing that the album should be protected for many reasons, however, none more salient than the very nature of the postmodern landscape which we all inhabit.

Scholars for years have been discussing the implications of living in a postmodern society dominated by the image in which all we have to base ourselves and the world around us on are the images or experiences already in circulation. Fredrick Jameson’s nomenclature of the “pastiche” on creative materials follows the logic of the collage wherein nothing is entirely original because what we create is inherently borrowed from or influenced by some other source and consequently expanded upon; therefore, the only way to truly create something “new” is by way of pastiche. If this is truly the case in our society (I believe it is), then copyright laws, as they are exercised in today’s music industry, act to suppress the only form of creativity left in the world. (Click here for a brief explanation of Jameson’s pastiche)

I realize this claim is a bit extreme and I understand how copyright laws help to ensure an artist’s property rights, however, the way the record labels in the Danger Mouse case reacted do not reflect the artist’s best interest but their own. Even though the DJ took Jay Z and The Beatle’s music the project should not have been suppressed but rather used economically to gain revenues and consequently used as remuneration for all the artists that have contributed. In that case we could foster creativity while still maintaining copyright law/intellectual property for the right reason.

Let me give an example of why copyright law is becoming too harshly enforced. This is a link to the video of the “Four Chord Song” in which many of the popular songs from different eras used the exact same chord progression! Following the logic of the music industry and copyright law, Elton John’s “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” stole from Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” and should be removed all public forums—what a loss for The Lion King. In conclusion all I know is that the music industry doesn’t feel the love tonight, and that I have stopped believing in copyright laws. 

ps. Speaking of The Lion King, remember Hamlet? I think there are some similarities there too... See what I mean. Mickey Mouse is a criminal too. Nothing is entirely original! It's all a conspiracy! AHHHHHHHH!!!

Black and White and Grey All Over

The Internet is the driving force that has led to many legal debacles in modern times.  Through the Internet, people now have a free gateway to any information he or she wishes to have.  This free access to information is also what is causing many of the legal issues. 

DJ Danger Mouse created a new album bringing together both Jay Z’s The Black Album and the Beatles’ The White Album and created what he called The Grey Album.  This new album was a mashup that he had created utilizing both Jay Z’s lyrics and the Beatles beats and chords.  What DJ Danger Mouse didn’t know was how his new tracks would quickly go viral and be the cause of a lot of copyright and serious legal issues.

 

The issues surrounding DJ Danger Mouse’s The Grey Album reflects the problems that major companies and people with power face on a daily basis.  DJ Danger Mouse didn’t even have control over what his album would become as soon as the tracks were put on the internet.  The Internet served as a highway for the tracks to spread like wild fire.  He originally only made 300 copies of his album to give to his friends and family, but as soon as that album hit the Internet, word of mouth led to the album being downloaded by hundreds of thousands of people from all over.  (Here is a link to download The Grey Album for yourself)

The legal issues with this case deal with the fact that DJ Danger Mouse did not seek to get legal rights to use the Beatles tracks in his mashups.  This copyright infringement is what led the EMI to seek legal action.  EMI claimed that DJ Danger Mouse violated a serious copyright law.

The grey area of EMI’s argument, however, is that there is no set price or detailed description within copyright laws explaining how DJ Danger Mouse could have gotten the rights to the samples even if he had tried to go about using the samples legally.  If it is true that copyrights exist for the purpose of protecting an artist's economic and artistic or intellectual interests and property than shouldn’t there be a cost association for people who desire to buy rights to samples of the music or property?

The copyright laws need to reconsidered and reevaluated for clarity.  If these laws do not become thorough and comprehensive than we will continue having these legal battles.  The Internet is a powerful technology that allows for people to use and distribute music among other things whether it is sanctioned or not sanctioned by the industry from which they originate.  This is why copyright laws need to be clearly black or white and we need to move them out of the grey area.