Re: Grey Tuesday

The album's not really even that good.

Meh
Nick

On Feb 24, 2004, at 11:55 PM, Olhado wrote:

>
>
> [see also:
>
> http://www.downhillbattle.org/
> http://www.greytuesday.org/
>
> -o]
>
> Grey Album Fans Protest Clampdown
>
> By Katie Dean
> 02:00 AM Feb. 24, 2004 PT
>
> http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,62372,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_4
>
> A record company's attempt to silence a popular remix has raised 
> voices of
> protest among almost 200 websites, which are posting DJ Danger Mouse's 
> The Grey
> Album online in defiance of the music industry's copyright control.
>
> Musicians and music fans will host The Grey Album, a remix of music 
> from The
> Beatles' White Album and rapper Jay-Z's Black Album, on their Web 
> pages Tuesday.
> Those who don't want to host the music but support the cause will make 
> their
> websites gray for the day. Six independent radio stations around the 
> country
> will play the album Tuesday, said Holmes Wilson, co-founder of 
> Downhill Battle,
> the group that organized the protest.
>
> Danger Mouse caused a sensation when he released the album last month. 
> But when
> EMI, which owns the rights to Beatles sound recordings, heard about 
> the popular
> mix, lawyers for the label demanded that Danger Mouse stop selling his 
> record.
> They claimed he had not asked permission or paid for the rights to use 
> the
> music.
>
> According to protesters, the Danger Mouse fiasco is a perfect example 
> of how
> outdated copyright restrictions stifle creativity. The label's tactics 
> show that
> "making money is a higher priority in the music industry than making 
> music,"
> said John Langton, a student and musician.
>
> "Musicians have a right to make albums like The Grey Album, and when 
> something
> great and culturally important like this album gets made, the public 
> has the
> right to hear it," Wilson said.
>
> He said he hopes people will download the album, see the work as art 
> and work to
> change the current copyright system.
>
> Rolling Stone magazine and The Boston Globe reviewed the album with 
> praise.
>
> The label said it's simply protecting its copyright.
>
> "There are proper channels to go through," said Jeanne Meyer, a 
> spokeswoman for
> EMI North America. "They've just been completely ignored in this case. 
> The DJ
> didn't ask permission (and he) used the work in an unauthorized 
> fashion."
>
> "We authorize samples, we authorize remixes all the time," Meyer said.
>
> But others argue that even if musicians want permission, they don't 
> have the
> money or the lawyers to work through the proper channels.
>
> "If you want to be creative you have to be signed to one of the major 
> labels,"
> said DJ Variable, a DJ and a producer from Philadelphia. "They're the 
> only ones
> who will put up the money for sample clearance."
>
> "It's like a glass ceiling out there for music," DJ Variable said. "If 
> you start
> your own label and do your own thing, you can make a spark in the 
> underground
> scene. If you get to be big, then the major labels are either going to 
> sue you
> or sign you."
>
> There is fierce support online for Danger Mouse's creation.
>
> "I am hosting The Grey Album because it's a work of art," said John 
> McHale, who
> runs a personal site called Team Good Guys. "It's a fantastic display 
> of
> creativity. I mean, who would've ever thought of putting Jay-Z and The 
> Beatles
> together?"
>
> Those hosting the work will not be ignored, EMI's Meyer said. "EMI 
> plans to take
> action as it does as a matter of course" but she declined to elaborate 
> on what
> sort of "action" the label would take.
>
> Those who plan to post the album aren't worried.
>
> "I have nothing to gain from posting it other than feeling proud about 
> standing
> up for something I believe in," McHale said. "I did not use a 
> peer-to-peer
> service, so I really didn't use illegal means to obtain the record."
>
> Still, as of Monday afternoon, several sites reportedly received 
> cease-and-
> desist letters from lawyers for Capitol Records, an EMI unit.
>
> The Grey Album "is obviously so popular, I don't understand why EMI 
> just won't
> sign a deal for this thing," said Glenn Otis Brown, executive director 
> of
> Creative Commons. "It doesn't seem to be rational to me."
>
> Brown said he was surprised that the labels don't recognize a win-win 
> situation
> and license the songs to get a cut of the profits.
>
> "Mixing together two old things is creating a new thing," Brown said. 
> "It's
> surprising that the labels don't see this as a way to make money."
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