Rip Me Off (Part 2)

To summarize part 1. Google ContentID flagged me, which I guess I should take as a compliment because Google claims that one of the criteria for getting matched is audio quality so apparently I meet their quality standards. My complaint was that I don't think the claimant actually owns the copyright, as explained in the previous post, because there are two types of copyrights: one for the composition and one for the sound recording.

This post I'd like to review what I've learned about Intellectual Property. IP was created in the 18th century for less than noble reasons:

The first signs of IP appeared after the invention of the printing press. Governments used it to suppress political dissent (I suspect that the religion wars had something to do with this). It was a royal mercantilist privilege confer on printers, same as it was conferred on tea, tin, cotton, banking, or any other good. In the day, it seemed reasonable. The ruler wanted to control goods and producers want guarantees. Everyone wins, right? Except that there is no competition, no market process, and hence there is stasis. Mercantilism was refuted by economists and free market emerged and history was changed.

What happened to IP in the age when mercantilism was being repealed? It was not abolished but transferred from kings to producers: the exclusive right to produce was granted to private owners who became responsible for enforcement under the cover of law. This was a huge mistake in the liberal revolution of the 18^th century, an inconsistency that continues to haunt us.

Not only is the history of IP somewhat nefarious, the system actually works against the realities of modernity. Its only purpose is to make non scarce goods scarce. The barriers to entry have been lowered. Recording equipment is cheaper than ever and competition is rising. When producers compete, some producers win and some lose. That's just the way it works, but the consumer always wins in this situation. Those that provide better products and services, or in other words those that consumers prefer, survive. Amazon won. Tower Records lost. TVT lost, but Dischord is still making it.

So again I'm saying: "Rip me off." Anything I post, copy it, remix it, parody it... this blog, my music, my book when it's finished. Use it any way you see fit. I would only ask two things if you use it, let people know where you got it, and two if you make money off of it, share a little. Please? You'll be doing me a favor because content is advertising so I'm releasing any of my content on a non commercial creative commons license.


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
New business models are not about selling the content. Techdirt has a formula for new business models: CwF + RtB = $$$$ or in other words, Connect with Fans and Give them a Reason to Buy is the new business model. Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead are two good examples, and there are many more at Techdirt.

Rip Me Off (Part 1)

Some things are just ridiculous. I uploaded 5 videos for Brother Down today. Here's one:



Obviously we didn't right the song. The title says it's a cover. I've already received an email from YouTube stating that the video "may have content or video that is owned or licensed by Warner Chappell." (Actually I received the same information about another video also, but for explanation purposes I stick to one video, even though both situations are identical.)

Here's the explanation about why this irritates me. There are two copyrights when discussing music. The first is the song copyright, and the second is the sound recording copyright. From CDBaby's FAQ on recording cover songs:

Keep in mind that the owner of these rights is typically a publisher, and that the owner of the rights in the song is not the same as the owner of the rights to any particular recording of the song. In other words, Record Labels are almost never the owners of the copyright to the musical composition - they typically own only sound recordings. You should be looking for the name of a publisher (or in some cases an individual).

Further from BMI's FAQ:

What is the difference between a songwriter and a publisher?

A songwriter or composer is the creator of a work, which is a song, score or other musical composition. A publisher, on the other hand, is an individual or company that owns or administers the copyright of a work. The writer or creator of the work must assign the copyright to a publisher in order for that publisher to claim ownership.

So if we do a search of BMI's Repertoire database we find:

HASH PIPE
BMI Work #5595418
Songwriter/Composer          Current Affiliation          CAE/IPI #
CUOMO RIVERS              BMI                              180165192

Publishers
E O SMITH MUSIC           BMI                              180282972

So plainly, the song copyright is owned by Rivers Cuomo, he is using E. O. Smith Music to administer the copyright. Warner Chappell then, being the record label, would own the sound recording copyright. The thing is, I didn't use Warner's recording. I recorded it myself in the Anarchoroom, so Anarchronistic owns the sound recording rights. Warner has no claim on this video. Brother Down performed it. They own the performance rights, so collectively, Weezer has no claim on it either.

Rivers Cuomo, personally, does have a claim on it. He owns the song copyright. If I were going to sell the song, I could get a pay the mechanical royalties and get a compulsory license to use the work. As long as the rules are followed properly, the license is automatic. Rivers Cuomo would not legally be able to object to it's use. However the compulsory license only covers selling the work. It does not cover free streaming over the internet. The compulsory license law was created for the benefit of the record labels. They used it to have "respectable musicians" record "black music" so they could sell it to kids over the objections of their parents. Now the same companies that had these laws written to their advantage (and continue to have laws written to their advantage) use their laws to my disadvantage.

What is a person supposed to do? The only choice would be to post it and hope for the best. Though, if Rivers Cuomo, or his publisher E. O. Smith Music, asked to have the video taken down, I would have to comply because currently there is no legal way to cover a song and post it to YouTube. Admittedly I'm a little frustrated. YouTube is a great advertising vehicle. I don't want to lose access to it.

I don't think this situation is right. I create content so I understand the desire to be compensated for your work, but this system is broken. For this reason, I am saying: "Rip me off." Anything I post, copy it, remix it, parody it... this blog, my music, my book when it's finished. Use it any way you see fit. I would only ask two things if you use it, let people know where you got it, and two if you make money off of it, share a little. Please? I have more thoughts on this for another post soon.

Update: Here is part 2.

The Noble Savage, Specialization, and the Freedom of Simplicity

LRC posted an interesting article on the myth of the noble savage. The myth itself is ancient and persistent. In the Judeo-Christian culture it is called the Garden of Eden. In ancient Greece it was the Golden Age. In the Hindu-Vedic tradition it was the Satya Yuga. The modern version was crafted by Rousseau in his Discourse On Inequality, and regained popularity more recently through Rachel Carson's Silent Spring.

The article itself provides evidence that the myth is just that: a work of fiction. He cites the fact that chimpanzees make war and commit rape, that rape is also common among orangutans, and that gorillas commit infanticide. He quotes Harvard archaeologist Steven Le Blanc and Katherine E. Register's book Constant Battles that "warfare in the past was pervasive and deadly" and also that cannibalism and infanticide were common among early humans. From the article:

Le Blanc concluded "the common notion of humankind's blissful past, populated with noble savages living in a pristine and peaceful world, is held by those who do not understand our past and who have failed to see the course of human history for what it is."

The article has a quote that I had never read before, but I very much enjoyed. Apparently, Rousseau sent a copy of his Discourse On Inequality to Voltaire. Having received the book Voltaire sent Rousseau a letter to acknowledge that he had.

"I have received, monsieur, your new book against the human race. I thank you for it...no one has ever employed so much intellect in the attempt to prove us beasts. A desire seizes us to walk on four paws when we read your work. Nevertheless, as it is more than sixty years since I lost the habit, I feel, unfortunately, that it is impossible for me to resume it."

The reason I find this quote so amusing is how it cuts through Rousseau's circular logic. In other words, if humanity followed Rousseau's recommendation to not come down out of the trees then Rousseau would never have had "so much intellect" to make the recommendation.

Besides Voltaire's purely entertaining quote, the article has me thinking. One of my goals in life is simplicity. I want everything in my life to be as uncomplicated as possible. I want to cut out all the crap. The article does a good job of exposing that the noble savage was not the simple blissful idiot that he is romanticized to be because he was never at peace, but what about the other side of the argument that modern life is all hustle and bustle, too complicated to enjoy.

Thinking about it logically, the "noble" savage had to work every minute to survive. He had to hunt and gather food, ward of predators, make shelter and clothing, he couldn't adequately clean and so he was prone to diseases, and suffering an injury like a broken leg almost certainly meant death. Is this what people mean by the simple life?

The "noble" savage had to not only know how these things were done, but had to be proficient at them just to survive. How many people can tell an edible plant from countless poisonous look alikes? In the modern world we can buy food from experts who know the difference between the edible and the poisonous plants. This is called specialization, the division of labor. The system itself is complex, but it allows each individual to focus on their own niche. It gives the individual the freedom of simplicity.

Maybe "the simple life" isn't possible without the complex system of specialization we have in the modern world. Since at least the time of Malthus, possibly even earlier, the fallacy has claimed that a calamity was imminent due to humans' selfish overuse of resources, yet living standards continue to rise. Still as the wealth and comfort of the average person continuously increases, the specter of a Malthusian disaster waiting just around the corner is never questioned.

What will it take to destroy Malthus's prediction? His Essay on the Principle of Population was first published in 1798. If it didn't come true in the 214 years that have passed since then why does the average person believe that it is still imminent? Is it the power of myths? They continue to hold our imaginations even after they are shown to be demonstrably false. What will it take to make a new myth, A truer myth, in which specialization improves our lives by increasing our standard of living. It makes life more comfortable and simpler.

Duderonomy

The Big Lebowski is an odd movie. Not that I don't like it, I do very much, it's just unusual. It seems that the plot of the movie doesn't really matter that much. What makes the movie enjoyable is its mood and humor. These are accomplished by it off beat dialog and it's soundtrack. (That's something I should probably try to remember as I think about ideas for promotional music videos for our current projects.) Whenever I hear Bob Dylan's The Man in Me, I now associate it with the movie. (The same could be said about the Stuck in the Middle scene in Reservoir Dogs.) The association of the song with the movie and vice versa is a testament to how well they compliment each other.

I was thinking about the Dude tonight because I stumbled on to the fact that there is now a religion called Dudeism, otherwise known as The Church of the Latter Day Dude. As a Lay-Dude, my understanding of Dudeism is that it's a take on Taoism as espoused through the words of the Dude. So, you know, you can take'r easy, or what have you. On the website you can read about the Dude-liness of Great Dudes or even become a Dudeist Priest.

This also reminds me that not too long ago I was reading Heinlein, and found that there is a Church of All Worlds based on Stranger in a Strange Land. However, the Church of All Worlds' site isn't nearly as entertaining, and it appears that it has also been in the process of "being updated" for a long time so it is somewhat out of date.

Mental Plasticity

Yeah... So... The Grammy's, eh? It seems that almost everything I've read is about Adele. Undoubtedly Adele has an incredible voice, but honestly, what competition did have last year. I also noticed that Amy Winehouse and Tony Bennet won for their duet. It just really seems like some people like to give awards away for dying. The problem with that would be that it's a publicity stunt you can only pull once... usually. And I really have to ask, when did they start giving away Grammy's for liner notes? Obviously there are times when you'll find some interesting information in liner notes. I think I'm going to try an experiment: I'm going to try to start a conversation with, "Hey, did you hear that some compilation album of 60's jazz that you've probably never heard of won a Grammy for best liner notes?" I'm just curious to see what kind of reactions I'll get.

The second big winner of the night was the Foo Fighters. I admire Dave Grohl. He's a talented, he's a multi-instrumentalist, he knows how to write and connect with people, and he's dedicated. He has to be one of the hardest working people in entertainment at the moment. Besides Nirvana and the Foo Fighters, he's had two smaller projects called Pocketwatch and Probot. He's played drums for:

Buzz Osbourne
Mike Watt
Killing Joke
Tony Iommi
Tenacious D
Cat Power
Queens of the Stone Age
Nine Inch Nails
Garbage
Pete Yorn
Neil Young
David Bowie
Them Crooked Vultures

I'm certain there's more. It's an impressive list, not just for it's size, but also the quality and variety of the collaborations.

Somewhat related to hard work, WSJ has a review of Guitar Zero by Gary Marcus. Marcus is a neuroscientist and sets out to correct some misguided notions on brain plasticity, specifically the idea that:

"the brain's circuitry was only alterable in certain 'critical periods,' or brief windows of extreme plasticity; these were thought to occur in childhood, when experience helped to form the brain's circuitry. The conventional wisdom was that certain skills must be learned early on; it was generally 'too late' for adults to pick up a new language or musical skill. Plasticity was for kids."

He does this while documenting his experience learning guitar in his book, and conducting interviews from musicians.

"Guitarist Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine), we learn, didn't start playing until he was 17, but he practiced six hours a day for four years while a doing an undergraduate degree at Harvard... 'Guitar Zero' makes some delightful counterintuitive fine points. Kids are not quicker learners; but they are more persistent. Kids will practice riffs over and over, just as they will play a new videogame ad nauseam."

So not only is creativity good for the soul, but anyone can get there through hard work.

I Am Furious (Yellow)

I've been angry more than usual lately. I somewhat feel guilty about it. I know I shouldn't feel guilty about it because that only makes me feel worse. I've said before that it's easier to just feel angry than it is to be confused. It's a form of escapism, in a way.

I feel almost like Homer Simpson, or at least Bart's version of Homer in the Angry Dad comic he made. I'm Homer and I have Clayton Bigsby sitting on my right shoulder saying, "Don't let the liberal media tell you how to think and feel. If you have hate in your heart let it out!" On my left shoulder sits Darth Vader: "Feel the power of the dark side."

Not that anger is necessarily bad. It can at times be useful. I can actually be a pretty good motivator as long as you don't get so steamed up that you can't do anything. I really think that all of our emotions can be good in moderation. The "in moderation" part is important. Being angry all the time is tiresome like holding a shield to deflect a dragon's flame. Sooner or later your arms are going to give out, and then you get burned.

So why am I angry? It's mostly my fault. I never learned how to set boundaries for myself properly. Partially it's because I'm so easy going. For many things in life, I just couldn't care less about them. Some people might think I don't care about anything, but when one of the things that I really do care about gets crossed. I take it personally. I try to be nice about it, but then I stew it over.

I try to tell myself to stop. If a thought is not useful I try to tell myself just that: "Stop. This is not a useful line of thinking. Lock it in a box and forget it." Sometimes it's just not that easy to do. Distraction can help. I can watch a comedy, make a dumb photoshop of Homer, Clayton, and Vader, write in this blog, or listen to the most relaxing song ever. A friend of mine just called and told me her problems. It seems that listening may be a way to distract yourself from anger because I feel better now.



I think what I feel guilty about the most is that I've let my anger slow down my progress in some of my projects, but I shouldn't even feel guilty about that. I should just be more dedicated. I should get to work. I'm only 7,500 words into my novel, and creativity is good for the soul.

Musical Drum Stools

Musicians are inherently unstable. I can say this because I am one. It seems that, many times, the better the musician the more unstable. Many stories are public knowledge, like Hendrix or Cobain, but stories like those are tied into the fame they gained. Some might think that fame was the root cause. While there is a bit of truth to that, fame is not the only cause. I've run across plenty of drama from musicians who were never famous.

One of the first times I played in front of an audience, I met a tall, long haired guy who slightly resembled Kurt Cobain. He played too loud on a crappy guitar, but he had a pretty decent punk rock scream. (Think Tourette's by Nirvana.) A couple of years later I joined a band that he played drums for. Before that time I didn't even know that he did play drums. It turns out that he was phenomenal, an absolute monster behind the set. We played a few shows. I thought we sounded great. We practiced three days a week. Then we didn't hear from this drummer for over a week. After two weeks we found another drummer to fill in for our last show. I never did hear why he quit showing up. I heard he had a heart attack a few years back, less than a year after he cleaned himself up and quit using.

Another time, I was in a cover bar band with an older drummer. He was dating this skinny old hag. She was constantly blitzed out of her mind. One night while we were playing, she was doing her usual routine of humping tables, support beams, chairs, and anything else that was handy. This particular bar had a mentally challenged guy that was somewhat of a regular, and she was so trashed that she didn't notice this guys hand up in her crotch as she was grinding. Or maybe she did, but liked it. I don't know. I didn't ask.

A short time later she was dancing with a fairly nicely dressed guy and kissing him. Our drummer started to argue with the guy over the PA, and when that didn't settle the matter to his liking he started throwing drum sticks at him during Sweet Child O' Mine. I think he hit about four people throwing things in a tiny crowded bar, and soon the two were in each other's faces while we were still playing. (You know it's a very, very long song.*) Our drummer didn't have a great meter even when he tried to concentrate (burn out) much less when he another guy are about to come to blows. I quit playing entirely since I could no longer tell where the beat was, and the rest of the band followed shortly after. Needless to say we fired that drummer. What he does on stage reflects on all of us. I was embarrassed. Besides, I haven't been in a fight since seventh grade, and I don't plan on getting in to one for his dumb ass.

We found a replacement for that drummer so we could get back to slumming it up in the bars. Our new drummer was another one of those monster drummers like the Kurt Cobain look alike, and he had a good meter, whenever he wasn't on something. We played for a couple of years, and then he too disappeared, for about six weeks. When we finally found out that overdosed on heroin, and was forced into rehab.

So why are musicians so unstable? I think it has to do with expressiveness. The best music takes you on a journey, (Pink Floyd and Tool are incredible at that) and real musicians are able to express that. Every instrument is different, has it own personality, wants to be held a certain way. A good musician can feel that and adapt to it. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but it can be a roller coaster at times. I have somewhat of a theory that everyone should date musicians. Musicians are fun, responsive, and intimate. The same instinct that lets a musician feel the personality of an instrument can make a the musician responsive to an intimate person too. (It's hard to explain just try it and find out.)

But if you don't like a musician's flaws... No, if you don't LOVE a musician's flaws then don't marry them or plan on having a long term relationship. (Loving someones flaws is a large subject and I plan to write an entire post on it some time.) If you don't love their flaws then have fun while you can. Enjoy the moment, but know that it's temporary because they will get worse and better on the roller coaster of life and musician's swings high and low tend to be more exaggerated than most.



*The quote comes from Days of Graduation by the Drive by Truckers, and yes I know the quote was actually about Freebird.