Comments on: Benn Jordan tries using the DMCA

Benn Jordan tries using the DMCA

jeffburdges — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 06:16:22 -0800

"These companies are willing to shove 1,000 attorneys down your throat if you share music, but won't even respond to a legal order about actual music theft and piracy." -Benn Jordan [via]

Recent bonuses : DMCA's critic's site down over 16-word quote. DMCA forces education blogs offline.

By: Slap*Happy

Slap*Happy — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 06:32:33 -0800

And there we have it. Music you write, perform, record and distribute does not belong to you. It belongs to the middlemen, and they will give money that belongs to you to their friends with connections. The new music distribution services really seemed like a good way forward for the artists. Now it's clear that it's just another record company scam.

By: hippybear

hippybear — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 06:32:58 -0800

It'll be amusing to see how many recipe sites suddenly disappear if originating authors learn they can do this kind of thing.

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 06:35:49 -0800

God, that's a depressing read. You know, you have to be crazy to try to earn a decent living by selling your recorded music. It's so fucking bad. I'm starting to think that the model I've used for years now, just playing my little gigs and selling my self-produced and self-released CDs at said gigs, in dribs and drabs, is maybe as good as it'll ever get for me. If so, well... that's OK.

By: Mezentian

Mezentian — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 06:51:10 -0800

My shocked face is in the shop, it is so worn out now. Benn Jordan is something I have not heard of, but dubstep I have. I am not sure who I should back. when you play the original version of "Undiscovered Colors" into Shazam, it identifies the song as written by Inventor I have never used Shazam... I assume this is not a smoking gun?

By: Slap*Happy

Slap*Happy — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 06:59:51 -0800

It's a smoking gun with bloody fingerprints. You hold up a smartphone, and it listens to the music, and tells you what the song is. He's basically proving that someone has rigged the game - his song is recognized as belonging to someone else. It also means the song isn't being sampled or mashed up, it's being ripped off wholesale: someone inserted a drop on an otherwise unreworked song and called it a day - then used their industry contacts to promote the hell out of it and make certain the original artist will never see a cent or sales bump from it.

By: ChurchHatesTucker

ChurchHatesTucker — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 07:00:20 -0800

Mr. Jordan should be taking notes on how to market your music.

By: Hactar

Hactar — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 07:00:23 -0800

What's the punishment for failing to respond to a DMCA filing? I went looking online but could not find anything. I think he should start suing these companies, and if they react the same way, receive summary judgments. Or he could directly contact the hosts of Yahoo, Google, etc. and see about forcing them to take the offending products offline. Of course this would not happen, but then he can sue the ISPs as well. This takes time, but my impression was that DMCA penalties could add up quickly if not responded to. I feel like I'm missing something when reading this and suggesting this, but am not sure exactly what.

By: jonbro

jonbro — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 07:02:08 -0800

Benn Jordan has been doing drill n bass / idm stuff for at least the past 10 years under the name The Flashbulb. I think he may predate the mutation of two-step into dubstep. Here is his original track. Here is the remix on beatport. (press one of the million of play buttons). This is a case of unauthorized remix (and what a shit remix it is). It is frustrating that the original is not listed on the major portals above this one.

By: A Thousand Baited Hooks

A Thousand Baited Hooks — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 07:05:36 -0800

The Benn Jordan article is a little confusing. For a start, it's not clear whether he's been sending DMCA takedown notices at all. He talks about "cease and desist notices", which are not necessarily the same thing and may not be succesful in removing the DMCA safe harbour if ignored. That's if the safe harbour even applies to these kinds of services, which I'm not sure it does (although I'm hardly a US IP attorney). They probably get a whole lot of completely spurious demands along with the reasonable ones; sounds a lot like they're calling his bluff and waiting for him to go away or file suit. I doubt they'll do anything at all until he at least starts communicating through a lawyer. That's not to say the system isn't ridiculously broken, of course.

By: snuffleupagus

snuffleupagus — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 07:06:48 -0800

It's pointed out in the comments that Undiscovered Colors is misspelled on iTunes as "Undicovered Colors," which is why it doesn't show up in a title search. (And possibly also why Shazam doesn't find the original?)

By: snuffleupagus

snuffleupagus — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 07:12:23 -0800

What's the punishment for failing to respond to a DMCA filing? I went looking online but could not find anything. I think he should start suing these companies, and if they react the same way, receive summary judgments....my impression was that DMCA penalties could add up quickly if not responded to. I feel like I'm missing something when reading this and suggesting this, but am not sure exactly what. Failing to comply with notice & takedown procedures deprives the service provider of the DMCA safe harbor. You sort of have it backwards. Compliance gives a notional defendant-service provider an out. Without it, a complaining content owner still has to prove infringement. More here.

By: es_de_bah

es_de_bah — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 07:25:47 -0800

Well, duh. The companies are still making money off this guy's music. Why should they care if he's not getting paid? Honestly, this is a horrible story. It's also a great story about how the music industry is still perfectly fine with fucking over artists despite new distribution models. Thanks for sharing!

By: IAmBroom

IAmBroom — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 07:47:53 -0800

hippybear: It'll be amusing to see how many recipe sites suddenly disappear if originating authors learn they can do this kind of thing.

1. Recipes themselves aren't copyrightable. 2. The text that accompanies them is, so you may still have a point. 3. But honestly Monica...

By: clvrmnky

clvrmnky — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 08:16:53 -0800

Classic. Let's be honest here: the music industry has /always/ been a shady business run by criminals. Like the mafia, they've just cleaned up a little in recent years. Media arms of Apple, Google, etc. are basically legal extortion enterprises.

By: mrgrimm

mrgrimm — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 08:21:24 -0800

I'm a little skeptical. I'm pretty sure you can't roll up crack cocaine in paper and smoke it like a joint. *cough* ... Is this thing ON? The new music distribution services really seemed like a good way forward for the artists. Did they really? Or did they seem like a cheap way for listeners to get a false sense of paying artists for content they could easily find and duplicate for free? What's the punishment for failing to respond to a DMCA filing? There's no punishment but it's evidence of non-compliance with the law, i.e. liability. Demonstrate damages and there's your case. Mr. Jordan should be taking notes on how to market your music. I dunno. TF has a big audience. This article is a pretty darn good way of marketing yourself. I'd never heard of Benn Jordan or Flashbulb before. Now I have. I even listened to his song. I think he may predate the mutation of two-step into dubstep. And I like them both, but I still don't know the difference! (I also think a lot of the problems he's having is because of the misspelling.)

By: mrgrimm

mrgrimm — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 08:26:01 -0800

I think there is an interesting story here, regarding all of the knock-off/karaoke style covers that spawn on places like iTunes and Spotify. What's up with those? They don't actually license those songs, do they? How are they not infringing copyright?

By: davejay

davejay — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 08:47:28 -0800

Thank goodness nobody's willing to pay for my music, no matter who distributes it. bullet dodged

By: iamck

iamck — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 12:45:58 -0800

Too true. A major group on a major label (who's appeared on the blue) sampled one of the tracks I licensed from some Moroccan musicians -- no response from the group or label yet. /rant

By: Jimbob

Jimbob — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 13:02:53 -0800

I think there is an interesting story here, regarding all of the knock-off/karaoke style covers that spawn on places like iTunes and Spotify. What's up with those? I was under the impression you could record a cover (ie. make use of a published music composition) for a flat licencing fee. Sampling actual music, however, required specific clearing of samples.

By: Talez

Talez — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 13:45:34 -0800

Too true. A major group on a major label (who's appeared on the blue) sampled one of the tracks I licensed from some Moroccan musicians -- no response from the group or label yet. /rant Not talking about Galvanize by The Chemical Brothers, right?

By: homunculus

homunculus — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 17:52:30 -0800

Why It's Almost Impossible To Get Punished For A Bogus DMCA Takedown

By: Hop123

Hop123 — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 15:35:13 -0800

I went to school with Benn. He's awesome.

By: homunculus

homunculus — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 13:28:30 -0800

In other DMCA news: EFF Wins Renewal of Smartphone Jailbreaking Rights Plus New Legal Protections for Video Remixing