Copyright Criminals Premiering Tonight on Independent Lens on PBS

“What’s the difference between creative ‘borrowing’ and outright theft? The Independent Lens documentary Copyright Criminals offers a thought-provoking discussion of the subject filtered through a history of hip-hop ‘sampling’ culture.”
- United Features Syndicate

Can you own a sound? As hip-hop rose from the streets of New York to become a multibillion-dollar industry, artists such as Public Enemy and De La Soul began reusing parts of previously recorded music for their songs. But when record company lawyers got involved everything changed. Years before people started downloading and remixing music, hip-hop sampling sparked a debate about copyright, creativity and technological change that still rages today.

Copyright Criminals premieres tonight, January 19, at 10:00 PM on Independent Lens on PBS (check local listings).

Learn more about Copyright Criminals and other special Music Month programs >>

From our first free preview screening event at the Saratoga Springs Public Library in Saratoga Springs, New York on October 3, 2009 to our last two events on October 29, 2009 in Charleston, South Carolina and Indiana, Pennsylvania Community Cinema thrilled audiences with live DJs, hip-hop dancers, and fascinating panelists from musicians to lawyers. Co-producer of COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS Kembrew McLeod told us “I feel honored to be part of the Community Cinema program which has allowed the film to be seen far and wide by a diverse range of audiences. Plus, it’s free. Who doesn’t like free?”

Tags: hip hop, music, music month, sampling