April 27, 2004
David Bowie's mash-up contest is a crock of shit
by Liza Sabater
BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Music | Bowie asks fans to bootleg songs
Oooh! How exciting! How avant-garde. Look! They even have a picture of DJ DangerMouse in the same article. This must be the punkest expression of anti-copyright activism from a well-know star, right?
W R O N G.
3. Ownership:
By entering your Mash-Up in the Contest, you acknowledge and agree that: (a) db.com will maintain ownership of the elements (including, without limitation, the Masters), and will own all Mash-Ups entered by you in the Contest or otherwise uploaded to the Website (the Mash-Up and all parts of the contest entry being collectively referred to herein as the "Materials"), and (b) as between you and db.com, db.com will own all publishing rights in and to the Materials. Each entrant into the Contest hereby irrevocably grants, transfers, sells, assigns and conveys to the Sponsors, their successors and assigns, all present and future right, title and interest of every kind and nature whatsoever, including, without limitation, all copyrights, all music and music publishing rights, and all rights incidental, subsidiary, ancillary or allied thereto (including, without limitation, all derivative rights) in and to the Mash-Up(s) for exploitation throughout the universe, in perpetuity, by means of any and all media and devices whether now known or hereafter devised (the "Rights"). Sponsors shall have the right, in their sole discretion, to edit, composite, morph, scan, duplicate, or alter, the Mash-Up(s) for any purpose which Sponsors deems necessary or desirable, and each entrant irrevocably waives any and all so-called moral rights they may have in the Mash-Up(s) submitted by him or her. Each entrant hereby acknowledges that such entrant does not reserve any rights in and to the Mash-Ups. Notwithstanding the forgoing, an entrant will retain whatever rights such entrant had in and to any Additional Elements that may be incorporated into a particular Mash-Up, subject to an irrevocable, royalty-free, worldwide, non-exclusive license to use such Additional Elements throughout the universe in perpetuity in any and all media now known or hereafter devised.4. Use of the Masters:
By entering the Contest, each entrant acknowledges and agrees that: (a) Sponsors are granting entrants a limited, non-exclusive license to use the Reality Masters and Bowie Masters in connection with, and solely as a part of, the Contest and then only for the duration of the Contest, (b) entrants shall have no right, title or interest in the Masters, and (c) any use of the Masters other than as permitted by these Official Rules will constitute a violation of the Contest Rules and may constitute copyright infringement.[...]
8. Conditions:
By accepting a prize, each winner agrees that Sponsors may, without any limitation or further compensation, use his or her name, screen name, voice and/or likeness in any and all media for the purpose of advertising and promoting themselves, the Website, the Contest, or any other promotion, contest or sweepstakes sponsored by the Sponsors. [...]
What better way than to, as the website says, ride "the buzz in the music business"? What better way to sell the not-so-hot album of an aging rock star than to "invite" contestants to "mash up" songs from only said album with older tracks of the same artist? And what better way than to get the full rights to those master tapes and exploit them for fun and profit than to do it through a contest?
I can understand artists encouraging others to remix their songs and giving them limited licensing rights to their work. The other thing is to come up with the ruse of a contest to basically have people send them for free master tapes to which they immediately lose all rights to. This is as bad as encouraging poor people in the ghetto to play the lottery.
Think about it. If 10,000 people enter the competition and let's just say that 5% of the work is good enough for publishing, that is still 500 free tracks that Bowie and company get to make money from for free. Not only that, but once the contest is over, the DJs have no right so ever to attribution for any of the work they have submitted. None. Whatsoever.
David Bowie, you're not hip. You're just full of shit.
Posted by Liza Sabater in Commerce, Copyright, Copyright, Marketing, Music
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Found inMay 5, 2004 02:47 PM
Say it loud, say it proud!
My fundamental line on David Bowie:
You know how every Woody Allen movie that comes out nods at the zeitgeist by casting, e.g., Ryan Phillippe or someone of that ilk? Like you just know that the direction given to Casting was something along the lines of "Get someone the kids these days will respond to"? And yet the movie is invariably the same warmed-over pastiche of bits pruned from "Annie Hall," and Allen's even creepier than ever in his attempts to come credible as the love interest of a 25-year-old?
David Bowie is like that. "1. Outside": his "trip-hop" album. There was an "ambient techno" one too, wasn't there? His "mash up." And yet the guy hasn't written a decent *song* since, oh, 1980 - and even then the best cuts on his albums were Iggy covers.
His art criticism drops all the right names. He cameos in all the cleverest films. But he has nothing to say, and isn't hip, and frankly, when I see those two words, I know what's coming is so awkward a stretch and so awful that I tune out. Period, full stop.
2
Comment by: tomwsmf at April 28, 2004 02:40 AM
So Bowie is in fact a great expression of everything POP, ie all sounded no fury, all barking no bitte, all jibbajabba and no murdock.
Vapidity spread over a decades long carrer with just enough clout to touch the hem of whatever is de jour (tours with nin, plays warhol in a film, and is perpetualy " in some way or another going to Reseda someday to die and the radioman laughs because the radioman fucks a model too Gone savage for teenagers with automatic weapons and boundless love gone savage for teenagers who are aesthetically pleasing in other words fly" as SC would entone.)
yea, Bowie is royal popage if ever there was a wiz there was....
but ya know...Ziggy Stardust still gie me the chills.. Even in the midst of pewpage a moment.
-tomwsmf
3
Comment by: Seedy Expat at April 29, 2004 04:15 AM
I saw him at live aid in 85 a blue suit and he looked like an overplayed cabaret singer and was very preachy about world hunger and he loved everyone in that fluffy british actor way. Most people in recovery seem to go like that for a while. I thought "he's done" after 15 years, he's stopped being rebellious and he seemed to have stopped being gay too. I was kind of relieved about "he just like us innee" that but disturbed that i was relieved.
In fact he's always seemed a bit fake like he's waiting for us to find him out like some east end barrow boy bluffing a career in the stock exchange. And here we are 20 years later and to me there's been nothing new. But I saw the show in Singapore and I was scared he'd do material from the last 20 years that i hadnt heard and didnt care about and knew i wouldnt like. He was late, he was funny, he rocked and the band rocked and i danced and sang so i guess i really dont care whether he's cool or not.
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Comment by: daisychaincuntmachine at April 30, 2004 10:05 AM
Jesus people. Here's my take on things. David Bowie wants to jump on a band wagon before anyone else has a chance. It's called innovation. Mash-ups managed to make a buzz, david hears that buzz and jumps on board right away. so i say fair play to him.
And as far as anyone bitching about his exclusive right to use these mash-ups... there his songs. get over it. You didn't write the original material.
if you honestly think that pumping a couple of someone elses songs into ACID and playing with a couple of effects and pre-fabricated loops makes an artistic statement, you my friend are a bitch.
DJ dangermouse has been working for underground labels for sometime and from my limited experience with the artist, he has a solid understanding of theory, audio recording and mixing as well as a basic understanding of groovin'. He is an artist. He created art with the grey album.
Participating in a contest is not art. it's shite and anyone trying to do that should be well aware of the fact. if you had talent, you would be working your ass off to make it work for you, clubbing and practicing and generally making a life out of your love (i.e. mr dangermouse) Not participating in bedroom dj mash-up contests and certainly not bitching about those contests on the internet.
If bedroom djs had any idea how to write thier own music and record thier own music and find away to get thier own music published and some retard mixed a couple of thier tunes together using a program designed for asshats, and tried to collect money on the work that they did, i think they'd have a better understanding of why we have copyright laws. HE IS ENTITLED TO ALL PROFITS AND USE OF THESE MASH-UPS in anyway hes sees fit because its HIS MUSIC. It's his work someone half-assed into something esle. Bedroom Djs are bitches. Most know nothing about music theory, know nothing when it comes to actual recording and audio mastering. they are hemroids on the ass of the music industry.
in closing, if you don't like bowie, don't enter his contest. If you think the offical rules are bogus, write a catalogue of 30 some years of music, start your own contest and allow any asshat in the world the right to use your work to get them rich.
in fact, just to spite david, you should delete all of your illegal mp3s, delete your hacked copy of ACID you downloaded, yell at people who are proud of stupid things like mash-ups and shoot yourself in the goddamn head you turd.
thankx for your time.
5
Comment by: mr. jesusbits at April 30, 2004 10:12 AM
amen daisychain,amen.
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Comment by: sulleleven at July 13, 2004 05:35 PM
Daisy- I agree with your defense of bowie, but I think your criticism of mash-ups, which are a form of collage art which is part of a digital cultural movement, is quite biased.
You took your legitimate argument and sugar-coated it with unfair statements about people who are interested in recombining...culture. You do this because you automatically assume anyone who does a mash-up is like someone who may enter the bowie/audi contest. Sure, many of them would fall into your descriptor but these are people who were presented with a contest to win a sports car by mixing a few songs into something new and different. It was not exactly a call-out to artists... though i bet many artists entered.
But, there is a strong cultural movement that is the base of this collaging of media elements, albeit music, video, images, words whatever.... And this evolution of artists will continue and become more complicated both in art form and legal acceptance... which is why Creative Commons implemented the Recombo licenses.
So, ease up in defining a butt-load of people as 'bitches' and belittling one aspect of a larger art form. Your point in response to original post is dead on! but you tainted it with your own naivete!
7
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8
Comment by: david at September 15, 2004 02:02 AM
I'm fine with giving away 100 percent of the song. I won 30k lol
1
Comment by: Adam at April 27, 2004 02:29 PM