I overturn the decision of the lower court that Negativland violated copyright law.
Although it may be perceived that music is a free market based on the love of music, others may argue it is based on profit. In the article “U2’s double trouble,” the band Negativland proclaims that Island Record’s, U2’s record label, only concern in the lawsuit is, “to control the marketplace” (139). Negativland believes Island is trying to control what music is being made and sold. Island is so focused on profit that they are limiting the musical market.
I agree with Negativland that Island Records is only concerned about the profits they would receive from controlling the market place. Music is created to induce emotion, not only to make money. Seeing as there are only so many ways an instrument can be played, it will not be long before songs will sound similar. The similarities between the two songs should flatter the original composer because their work has inspired a fellow artist to produce a similar sound. Composing and making music is a craft that should be shared and used to help influence or inspire other people, not for anyone person to control. As a result, the decision that Negativland violated copyright law should be overturned.
At first glance, it might not appear like it, but the lawsuit between the two bands is actually about censorship. In “U2 Negativland the Case From Our Side”, the band Negativland asserts that the song they created was, “a parody, satire, social commentary, and cultural criticism” (147). The band is expressing that their song is a work of art and has every right to be sold like U2’s song. In removing Negativland’s song, U2 and Island Records are censoring the public from hearing ...
... middle of paper ...
...vic sampled, copied, and created a parody from Michael Jackson’s song “Beat it”. Weird Al copied everything from Michael’s video including his hairstyle and the scenery throughout the video. However, even though the song “Eat it” was almost identical to the song “Beat it”, fans knew the difference between what was made by Michael and what was made by Weird Al. Negativland’s song has even less similarities with U2’s song than Weird Al’s song had with Michael Jackson’s. It is because of this that it can be assumed fans of U2 would be able to tell the difference between Negativland’s choppy, techno sampling style from U2’s heartfelt ballad.
Putting concrete limitations and rules on what an artist can and cannot use when expressing their opinion of another artist’s work is unconstitutional. If we put a price on the freedom of speech, we place a fine on our liberties.
Although “Reasonable Doubt” wasn’t a huge success, it showed that the young man from Brooklyn had skills and was not to be taken lightly. More importantly, it earned the admirations from stars as varied from Notorious B.I.G. to Ice Cube. One of his songs even made its way onto the nutty professor soundtrack.
According to “The Changing Landscape of the Music Business,” Artists have to develop an image that appeals to the supporters in order to be unique. This can be achieved through the promotion of their music, but if the artist makes the wrong move, this can result in the artist struggling to sustain their career. There are many ways that licensing music can go wrong, with it either going into the wrong hands, or is abused with promotion so that the song isn’t enjoyed anymore, resulting in less sales or profit for the
... song entitled “Formation”. The filming took place in Los Angeles, but features references to Hurricane Katrina, with Beyoncé on top of a police car in a flooded street and later cuts to a man holding a newspaper with Martin Luther King Jr.’s face on it with the title “The Truth”. Later a young hooded boy dances in front of a line of police officers with their hands up before the video cuts to a graffitied wall with the words “stop shooting us “ tagged on it, at the end of the video the police car sunk with her on top. Not only did this song, bring awareness to the 10th anniversary of hurricane Katrina it also brought awareness to police brutality, racism, and the “black lives matter movement”. I stand with Lil Wayne, Beyoncé, the people of New Orleans and the countless others who are pushing for a change in the way minorities and the lower class citizen are treated.
Freedom of speech has been a controversial issue throughout the world. Our ability to say whatever we want is very important to us as individuals and communities. Although freedom of speech and expression may sometimes be offensive to other people, it is still everyone’s right to express his/her opinion under the American constitution which states that “congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press”. Although this amendment gave people the right express thier opinions, it still rests in one’s own hands as how far they will go to exercise that right of freedom of speech.
Many say that music has evolved over the years. This essay shall explore the elements of two versions of one song. It shall discuss the correlations and disparities of these songs and confer how it has been revolutionised to entertain the audiences of today.
“Everyone loves free expression as long as it isn't exercised” (Rosenblatt 501). In the article, We are Free to Be You, Me, Stupid, and Dead, Roger Rosenblatt argues for the people’s right to freedom of speech and expression, that is given by the U.S Constitution. Rosenblatt argues that freedom of speech is one of the many reasons the Founding Fathers developed this country. For this reason, Rosenblatt believes that we should be tolerant and accepting of other’s ideas and beliefs. Even if one does not agree with someone else, they need to be understanding and realize that people have differing opinions. Everyone has the right to free expression, and this is what Rosenblatt is trying to get across. The necessity of freedom of expression and the important values it contains is a main foundation for this country, therefore, Rosenblatt’s argument is valid.
Napster appealed the ruling of the lower court and the case then landed before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Cir...
Through the decades, artists such as Elvis Presley, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones have raised controversy over their seemingly explicit acts that are now viewed as legendary. Parents banned their children from watching Elvis Presley and his outrageous hip movements though today these moves are copied by Britney Spears, pop groups, and dancers all over the world. In 1956, Ed Sullivan deemed Elvis "unfit for a family audience." However, in 1970 Elvis met the President in the Oval Office, and now his face appears on a postage stamp (RIAA; History 2 of 4). On June 15, 1966, The Beatles released their album Yesterday...and Today featuring a shocking cover with the foursome surrounded by raw meat and butchered baby dolls. Immediately the album was withdrawn from music shelves everywhere and returned only with a new approved c...
In today?s society, we value and learn to tolerate different cultures and people. Sometimes people end up expressing themselves differently as well. This country is based on the idea that we may express ourselves any way we want to, be it religion, organizing, writing, or speaking. Music has been a popular form of expression for centuries. These days, in the country best known for freedom, some people are trying to censor it the freedom of music. Music should not be censored along with any other form of expression otherwise what we and artists say are being controlled. If we value freedom, then that includes what we may say and how we say it even in musical form.
People are not usually informed about what they can and cannot do with an Artists music, even Artists themselves. Fair use is usually determined by the purpose and nature of product along with the parts of the song they are using in comparison to the work itself (Drummond). There are three types of fair use: nominative, comparative advertising, and parody. Nominative fair use is the ability to use a trademark to compare or help describe another product. Comparative Advertising states that the product or service being compare is the same or at least similar to the other product or service. Lastly Parodies are funny exaggerations of entertainment that has already been established. This fair use type seems to be the most controversial (Celedonia and Doyle)
does not give anyone the right to ban or prosecute someone’s music, because an artist has
enjoyed the original more because I felt the lyrics were much more relatable. In the song he talks
The music industry’s history is a convoluted mess. There is no real consensus on what the music industry IS and what paths it has taken. Were the Beatles the greatest band to ever exist? Maybe. Is there a hyper objectification of women throughout the “men’s club” that is the music industry? Probably. It’s this hard to define, frankly confusing business that is worth roughly $130 billion dollars today. With it’s flimsy and opaque edges, can the music industry ever be called into question on its wrongdoings? The racist undertone throughout its history may force it to. With the music industry as an ever growing business that seems to change almost every decade, the one thing that has not changed throughout time is an undercurrent of racism that
Music Copyright is a very important aspect of the music industry. The Copyright law was established to preserve the creativity and rights of authors, composers, performers of expression. Copyright is the law that protects the property rights of the creator of an original work in a fixed tangible medium. (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/copyright) A fixed tangible medium is something substantial like copying lyrics on paper or putting a song on tape or CD. Copyright can be seen every where in the music industry. Many music artist of our culture today have been involved in copyright issues. Recently, on MTV news it was stated that, "As the music industry becomes increasingly concerned about protecting the integrity of artists copyrights in the age of MP3. Prince has now filed a motion in New York federal court aimed at shutting down several websites offering free downloads of the Artist's songs." (http://www.mtv.com…19990304/prince.jhtml) In addition, in recent music news, "Nine Inch Nails lead man Trent Reznor copyright infringement suit was dismissed. Another artist claimed that the Reznor had stolen material for his last album." (http://www.mtv.com…19991202/nine_inch_nails.jhtml) The copyright law has become an important legal aspect to know our music generation.
...e songs for free? With things like music, these rules of copyright are seldom followed. Many times, music is not distributed with the artist’s permission. The artist’s song, or even album, will often get leaked on a website before the actual album or song gets released by the artist. It connects back to one of the issues with the Internet when it comes to copyright infringement. Often times, people will try to alter the voice, beat, or tempo of a song to protect themselves from a lawsuit for copyright infringement. This can be risky, however, because artists may try and argue how the song lyrics are still theirs, even if the beat is altered slightly. Music downloaders like iTunes are better at protecting the rights of artists, because they require listeners to purchase the music they want to listen to. This helps out a lot when lawsuits could very much get involved.