BANGIN-TABLES: Sample Documentary "Copyright Criminals" Will Air On PBS Next Week

Friday, November 26, 2010

Sample Documentary "Copyright Criminals" Will Air On PBS Next Week

UPDATE: The film will air on PBS's "Independent Lens."

With the issue of sampling and the legal ramifications behind it becoming more and more prevalent in Hip Hop, a new documentary produced by Benjamin Franzen and Kembrew McLeod seeks to answer the question of who truly owns music created through samples.

Titled Copyright Criminals, the documentary features over a dozen interviews with some of Hip Hop’s most recognizable figures, including Pete Rock, El-P, Chuck D of Public Enemy, De La Soul, and Bobbito Garcia.

Along with artists who have sampled during their careers, Copyright Criminals also highlights a handful of artists who themselves have been sampled. One musician in particular is drummer Clyde Stubblefield, who played in James Brown’s band during recording sessions. “I didn’t know anything about sampling until people came up and said some other artist is using your drum pattern…So many groups have sampled my stuff,” explains Stubblefield in the documentary. “They say I’m the world’s number one sampled drummer; I haven’t got a penny for it yet though.”

Copyright Criminals will be available January 26 via Amazon.com and iTunes, as well as in select local retail DVD stores. View the trailer below.

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording (i.e. "production") of an artist's music. A producer has many roles that may include, but are not limited to, gathering ideas for the project, selecting songs and/or musicians, coaching the artist and musicians in the studio, controlling the recording sessions, and supervising the entire process through mixing and mastering. Over the latter half of the 20th century, producers have also taken on a wider entrepreneurial role, often with responsibility for the budget, schedules, and negotiations.
Today, the recording industry has two kinds of producers: executive producer and music producer; they have different roles. While an executive producer oversees a project's finances, a music producer oversees the creation of the music.
A music producer can, in some cases, be compared to a film director in that a music producer's job is to create, shape, and mold a piece of music. The scope of responsibility may be one or two songs or an artist's entire album -- in which case the producer will typically develop an overall vision for the album and how the various songs may interrelate.
In the UK, before the rise of the record producer, an A&R man would oversee the recording session(s), assuming responsibility for creative decisions relating to the recording.

ULTIMATE BREAKS & BEATS SERIES

"Breakbeat"Lenny Roberts and Louis"Break Beat Lou"Flores created Street Beat records an indi label based in the South Bronx. In 1981 they released the first installment of their Ultimate Breaks & Beats collection.This series of records were released mainly for the party djs that would catch the beat breaks in the songs to create a continuous Beat for emcees and Breakdancers to perform.The UBB series stood out to the naked eye before you even heard it with their beautifully decorated covers. As Hip-hop production advanced these BreakBeats became an essential tool for Hip-Hop producers in the late 80's. The series stopped printing after Vol.25 was released in 1991.

THE SAMPLING PENALTY

Hiphop has always been under scrutiny for its use of samples. From Funkadelik, Jazz, Latin, reggae and R & B, Hip-Hop has fused all these genres making it a melting pot for people from all walks of life. In 1991 Biz Markie became the posterboy for sample use when he made a song called Spring Again in which he used a sample from Gilbert O'Sullivan's song Alone Again. When O'Sullivan won the case this caused sampling to be considered theft, before this situation sampling carried no legal consequences. Biz Markie was forced to pull that song off the album. Since that infraction any record with any recognizable sample no matter how small the section, the label is to receive clearances to clear the sample and the producer is to share album credits plus publishing rights with the original producer. True facts.

COPYRIGHT BASICS

What Is Copyright?
Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States
(title 17, U. S. Code) to the authors of “original works of authorship,” including
literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. This
protection is available to both published and unpublished works. Section 106
of the 1976 Copyright Act generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive
right to do and to authorize others to do the following:
• To reproduce the work in copies or phonorecords;
• To prepare derivative works based upon the work;
• To distribute copies or phonorecords of the work to the public by sale or
other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending;
• To perform the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and
choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual
works;
• To display the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and
choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural
works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual
work; and
• In the case of sound recordings,* to perform the work publicly by means of
a digital audio transmission.
In addition, certain authors of works of visual art have the rights of attribution
and integrity as described in section 106A of the 1976 Copyright Act. For
further information, see Circular 40, Copyright Registration for Works of the
Visual Arts.
It is illegal for anyone to violate any of the rights provided by the copyright
law to the owner of copyright. These rights, however, are not unlimited in
scope. Sections 107 through 121 of the 1976 Copyright Act establish limitations
on these rights. In some cases, these limitations are specified exemptions from
copyright liability. One major limitation is the doctrine of “fair use,” which
is given a statutory basis in section 107 of the 1976 Copyright Act. In other
instances, the limitation takes the form of a “compulsory license” under which
certain limited uses of copyrighted works are permitted upon payment of
specified royalties and compliance with statutory conditions. For further information
about the limitations of any of these rights, consult the copyright law or
write to the Copyright Office.

A.S.C.A.P.

Why Join ASCAP? Joining ASCAP is a critical step in your career in music. By joining ASCAP you can begin to register your songs, collect performance royalties and take advantage of many exclusive career benefits. As the only member-owned performing rights organization in the U.S., ASCAP is free from conflicting interests. Everything that ASCAP does, from collecting and distributing royalties to protecting and strengthening copyright to developing and supporting your career, is done to serve you throughout your life in music. There is a one time, nominal processing fee of $35 to apply for ASCAP membership, but there are no annual dues. You can join as a writer or a publisher or both - the processing fee is $35 for each application. This fee is non-refundable. Click one of the buttons below to start filling out the online application. We look forward to welcoming you to the ASCAP family.

B.M.I.

Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) collects license fees on behalf of the more than 400,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers it represents and distributes those fees as royalties to members whose works have been publicly performed.

As a performing right organization, or PRO, BMI issues licenses to various users of music, including television and radio stations and networks; new media, including Internet services and websites and mobile technology businesses such as ringtone and ringback providers; satellite audio services like XM and Sirius; nightclubs, discos, hotels, bars, restaurants and other businesses; digital jukeboxes; and live concert venues.

BMI currently represents some more than 6.5 million compositions — a number that is constantly growing. As a result, BMI has, over the years, implemented a number of technological innovations in its continuing effort to gather the most accurate information available about where, when and how its members’ compositions are played or performed, as well as ensuring that royalty payments are made in as precise and timely a manner as possible.

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Friday, November 26, 2010

Sample Documentary "Copyright Criminals" Will Air On PBS Next Week

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