|
|
I'm currently reading the excellent book Freedom of Expression:
Overzealous Copyright Bozos and Other Enemies of Creativity by
Kembrew McLeod. The overarching theme is how current copyright law
has been taken over by corporate types and instead of promoting the
creation of new work, stifles it. Here's an excerpt about what
happened to the Verve when they sampled 5 notes from a Rolling
Stones song:
The Verve, a popular British band that scored a major worldwide
hit in 1997 with “Bittersweet Symphony.” The Verve negotiated a
license to use a five-note sample from an orchestral version of one
of the Rolling Stones’ lesser hits, “The Last Time,” and received
clearance from Decca Records. After “Bittersweet Symphony” became a
hit single, the group was sued by former Stones manager Allen Klein
(who owns the copyrights to the band’s pre-1970 songs because of
aggressive business practices). He claimed the Verve broke the
agreement when they supposedly used a larger portion than was
covered in the license, something the group vehemently disputed.
The Verve layered nearly fifty tracks of instrumentation,
including novel string arrangements, to create a distinctly new
song. In fact, the song’s signature swirling orchestral melody was
recorded and arranged by the Verve; the sample from the
instrumental record is largely buried under other tracks in the
chorus. The band eventually settled out of court and handed over
100 percent of their songwriting royalties because it seemed
cheaper than fighting for a legal ruling that might not end in
their favor. As if things couldn’t have gotten worse, they were
then sued by another old Rolling Stones manager, Andrew Loog
Oldham. Klein went after the Verve for infringing on the
songwriting copyright, which he owned, but Oldham possessed the
copyright on the sampled sound recording. They totally lost
everything.
Not only couldn’t the Verve earn money from their biggest hit,
they were stripped of control of their song. For instance, after
the group refused Nike’s request to use “Bittersweet Symphony” in
an ad, the shoe manufacturer aired the song after it purchased a
license from Allen Klein. “The last thing in the world I wanted
was for one of my songs to be used in a commercial,” the
despondent lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft said. “I’m still sick
about it.” In one final kick in the groin, “Bittersweet Symphony”
was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Song category, which honors
songwriters. Because the unfavorable settlement transferred the
Verve’s copyright and songwriting credit to Klein and the Rolling
Stones, the Grammy nomination went to “Mick Jagger and Keith
Richards.” Ashcroft quipped that it was “the best song Jagger and
Richards have written in twenty years.” He then suffered from a
nervous breakdown and the group broke up.
|
Posted by eric gauswell on July 10, 2005 at 12:27 PM EDT #
Posted by T on May 15, 2007 at 01:22 PM EDT #