[78-L] Copyright Criminals on PBS

[Cary Ginell]

Finally saw the "Copyright Criminals" show on PBS and was more than disappointed. It spent the whole time on hip-hop artists and didn't really delve more deeply into the subject of exploiting copyrighted works without permission. It concerned producers who are making "mash-ups" consisting of taking samples from existing recordings and editing them together to make a new song. Big deal. The argument was between those who accused them of doing this without permission from the original performers and those who claimed their creativity was being stifled if they had to go seek licenses. Pigeon pellets! Of course it's stealing and of course they should license samples. That's a no brainer. It's just proof that the hip-hop world has nothing new to say musically. They want to use other people's hard-earned work just to get a rhythm bed behind them so they can create their rant-filled rap lyrics. Come up with an original melody, beat, or background, and I'll take notice. 

The only older musician they interviewed was Clyde Stubblefield, the drummer for James Brown during the late 60s, whose work has (apparently) been sampled more than any other drummer (I have no idea why). Stubblefield put on a good face, saying he was glad his music was being recognized, but then, in the same breath, seemed a little pissed that he got no credit or payment for use of his drum patterns. Seems like the producers of the documentary were extremely selective in what they used (why only Stubblefield?). 

One moron tried justifying the musical theft by comparing it to photographers cheating by not painting pictures instead of using cameras. Others basically said that creating the mash-ups constitutes a new composition and that they don't need permission to be creative. Then why do people who create arrangements of existing copyrighted works need to get permission to do so? And in my business, when a marching band director wants to create a band arrangement of "D'yer Maker" by Led Zeppelin, Zeppelin gets the royalties for the arrangement, not the arranger. 

I found the documentary poorly researched, boringly presented, and not exploring the subject more fully. 

Cary Ginell


 		 	   		  
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