November 2, 2002

1:13 AM

Have promotional remix competionsdone more damage to copyright protection than good? As an avid collector of bootleg/illegal remixes & mashups, its interesting that the proliferation of such remixes through low-key releases and the internet has not, in recent times, resulted in any legal action.
posted by mary8nne (8 comments total)

I don't know what the legal ramifications of bootleg remixes are, but I can honestly say that some of the more inspiring mixes out there often surpass the original song.

Who can resist a ragtime version of Eminem's "Without Me"?
posted by Down10 at 1:58 AM on November 2, 2002

Only money will make them pursue us... The Bran Flakes
posted by mildred-pitt at 3:18 AM on November 2, 2002

I know who is at fault... those pesky internet kittens.
posted by tapeguy at 5:26 AM on November 2, 2002

Agreed, Down10. Many of the bootlegs are better than the original and some of them even get their own proper releases.

Many artists don't particularly mind. They know that many of these bootlegs get them play in places they would otherwise never be heard. You'll see many artists putting an acapella on their promo vinyl releases, so at least DJs have access to them. Its funny though because some artists have only recently started doing this while others have been doing it for years. Then again there was one artist who's representation contacted a website that simply listed the artist's acapellas that were available on the net.
posted by darainwa at 5:36 AM on November 2, 2002

i think it would be considered "fair use" since the vast majority don't profit monetarily from them....

also, check out one of my favs: anniething
posted by amberglow at 8:26 AM on November 2, 2002

As said earlier, I doubt many artists mind. Indie rock band The Dismemberment Plan encourage remixing their songs, they're even holding a fan remix contest. They're supplying individual tracks from many of their songs (vocals, guitars, etc) for ease of mixing.
posted by fishbulb at 2:33 PM on November 2, 2002

Bootlegs/mashups are about to go mainstream, and when they do, the RIAA will be all over it like shit on fans. 2 Many DJs were the first to try to do their release legit, and their website goes into a lot of detail on the hell they had getting copyright clearance.

The sample clearing process is completely broken. This site has some good links and horror stories.

Artists that favor remixing may wind up freeing things up, but remember that a lot of artists don't own the rights to their music. Just another example of how the entire industry needs to be brought down if music is going to move forward. Meanwhile, it seems like more and more of what we are listening to and how we listen to it is illegal.
posted by fuzz at 3:06 PM on November 2, 2002

If anything, I think bootleg remixes have the same effect as putting a song in a Levi's ad, ie. instant short term cred and a temorary boost in record sales. What musical artist would complain about that?

In any case, I thought bootleg remixes had gone the way of buffalo sneakers months ago. And as for the term 'mashups', what is this, slang sponsored by MTV?
posted by backOfYourMind at 4:53 AM on November 3, 2002