sampling
COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS Demystified Sampling from its Roots in Early Hip-Hop to Modern Day Video Mash-ups
Kembrew McLeod, co-producer of COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS, answers questions from the audience with Tony Berman of Berman Entertainment and Technology Law, who is featured in the film.
For more than 30 years, as hip-hop evolved from the urban streets of New York to its current status as a multibillion-dollar industry, hip-hop performers and producers have been reusing portions of previously recorded music in new, otherwise original compositions. But when lawyers and record companies got involved, what was once referred to as a “borrowed melody” became a “copyright infringement.” Through interviews with many of hip-hop music’s founding figures—like Public Enemy, De La Soul and Digital Underground—along with emerging artists such as audiovisual remixers Eclectic Method, COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS by Benjamin Franzen and Kembrew McLeod illuminates both sides of the debate, from traditional musicians who view sampling as pillaging to those who argue that the practice of borrowing is by no means new nor is it unique to hip-hop or even music: Think of Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s soup cans.
With OVER 50 free screening events from coast to coast audiences were able to sample the flavor of hip-hip and electronic music first-hand from some of the subjects featured in the film. The Philadelphia event featured worldwide DJ sensation based in Philly, RJD2 (RJ Krohn – pictured to the right, on the left). The photo is a TwitPic uploaded live from the event. Our event in Oakland welcomed DJ legend Jeff Chang. Local hip-hop radio DJs hosted events in St. Louis and Seattle. In Seattle, KUBE 93 FM DJ Hyphen who co-hosts “Sunday Night Sound Session” introduced the film. “Sunday Night Sound Session” airs every Sunday night at 10:45 PM. “J. Moore and I offer listeners the newest, dopest hip-hop from all around the country, including local music from our own backyard,” boasts DJ Hyphen. Tune in around the Puget Sound Region or online worldwide. DJ Hypen introduced COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS and left the audience with some things to think about while watching the film.
Read on for more video clips, photos, and community connections.
Live Webinar Tonight: Copyright and Fair Use in the Art World and Classroom
Are you looking for ways to incorporate digital media into your teaching? Don’t understand the rules of online copyright and fair use?
On Wednesday, March 10 at 8:00 PM ET, join PBS Teachers and Classroom 2.0 for a special live webinar that will explore the implications of copyright and fair use laws in the classroom. The seminar will also explore how to share best practices in student media production.
During this event, you will have the chance to hear from and interact with filmmaker Kembrew McLeod, whose film Copyright Criminals recently aired on PBS’s Independent Lens, renowned law professor Peter Jaszi, and media producers and educators Chris Runde and Joe Fatheree.
Also, Annelise Wunderlich, national community engagement and education manager for ITVS, will present film modules and lesson plans based on the film and developed by ITVS Community Classroom.
At the close of the live webinar, you’ll have an opportunity to ask questions and have a better understanding of what kind of tools and resources are available for your classroom or organization.
Bookmark this site and join the live discussion TONIGHT at 8:00 PM >>
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?”
COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS Demystifies Sampling from its Roots in Early Hip-Hop to Modern Day Video Mash-ups
Kembrew McLeod, co-producer of COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS, answers questions from the audience with Tony Berman of Berman Entertainment and Technology Law, who is featured in the film.
From our first event at the Saratoga Springs Public Library in Saratoga Springs, New York on October 3 to our last two events on October 29 in Charleston, South Carolina and Indiana, Pennsylvania we’ve 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?”
For more than 30 years, as hip-hop evolved from the urban streets of New York to its current status as a multibillion-dollar industry, hip-hop performers and producers have been reusing portions of previously recorded music in new, otherwise original compositions. But when lawyers and record companies got involved, what was once referred to as a “borrowed melody” became a “copyright infringement.” Through interviews with many of hip-hop music’s founding figures—like Public Enemy, De La Soul and Digital Underground—along with emerging artists such as audiovisual remixers Eclectic Method, COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS by Benjamin Franzen and Kembrew McLeod illuminates both sides of the debate, from traditional musicians who view sampling as pillaging to those who argue that the practice of borrowing is by no means new nor is it unique to hip-hop or even music: Think of Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s soup cans.
With OVER 50 free screening events from coast to coast audiences were able to sample the flavor of hip-hip and electronic music first-hand from some of the subjects featured in the film. The Philadelphia event featured worldwide DJ sensation based in Philly, RJD2 (RJ Krohn – pictured to the right, on the left). The photo is a TwitPic uploaded live from the event. Our event in Oakland welcomed DJ legend Jeff Chang. Local hip-hop radio DJs hosted events in St. Louis and Seattle. In Seattle, KUBE 93 FM DJ Hyphen who co-hosts “Sunday Night Sound Session” introduced the film. “Sunday Night Sound Session” airs every Sunday night at 10:45 PM. “J. Moore and I offer listeners the newest, dopest hip-hop from all around the country, including local music from our own backyard,” boasts DJ Hyphen. Tune in around the Puget Sound Region or online worldwide. DJ Hypen introduced COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS and left the audience with some things to think about while watching the film.
Read on for more video clips, photos, and community connections.
Mashups Nudge The Limits of Copyright Law in a New Technological Renaissance
The documentary COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS previews for FREE throughout October as part of Community Cinema
Mashup, a popular musical genre where a video or a digital media file that contains material from more than one source is used to create one “new” musical, video or digital work. We’ll get back to why “new” is in quotes shortly. The film COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS - currently screening for free across the country and airing in January 2010 on PBS’ Emmy Award winning series Independent Lens – explores all aspects of artistic inspiration, emulation, and reproduction with a focus on hip-hop music sampling and video mashups. The film asks simply, “Is sampling stealing?” The answer is a little bit more complicated than the question.
The modern day mashup is an expansion of classic hip-hop sampling and in many cases also a statement by the artist on one or more of the songs being mashed. The sport of mashup challenges DJs and – these days – anyone with a computer to join two songs that may at first seem like oil and water into a smooth and groovy mix. Most mashup titles include the term “vs.” to describe the relationship between the original media. Sampling expert and music journalist Rob Sheffield explains in the April 2009 issue of Blender Magazine (PDF 3MB), “As you listen to the hip-hoppers, laptoppers, and DJs work their magic, it kicks you in the head with how radically the sampler redefined music in such a short period of time…” The relative ease with which anyone can conflate two digital tracks has lead to an explosion of mashup songs and videos on YouTube. Sit back and click your weekend away. The opinions expressed in the videos linked to this post do not necessarily reflect those of ITVS, its board or other employees.
Nirvana vs. Rick Astley – Nirvana gets Rickroll’d (a term for Rick Astley popping up outta nowhere)
Superfriends meets Friends – A video mashup of 70′s classic “The Super Friends” and 90′s classic “Friends”
More mashup mayhem. Read on!
DJs and “Dark Suits” Talk It Out and Dance It Out in St. Louis
Speakers and audience members in St. Louis feel the music after the film an discussion.
Last Thursday, we screened COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS in St. Louis at the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park. Community Cinema Producing Partner and KETC Project Manager Sydney Meyer shares some stories from this unique event.
The skies were dark and rainy with severe thunderstorm warnings… the St. Louis Cardinals had a play off game… the St. Louis Blues had a home opener game… and the University of Missouri had a great football game. It was all happening on Community Cinema COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS night! But that was not enough to detour 50 die hard hip-hop fans from coming out and enjoying the music and the film. Local DJ Alejandro and DJ Needles were joined by three “men in dark suits” or more commonly known as copyright lawyers. The five guest speakers informed and entertained the audience by handling the topics and issues raised with knowledge and humor. The lawyers clearly sympathized with the audience and DJs over the frustration felt concerning creative expression versus corporate ownership, which was a recurring theme from the film.
Money was mentioned more than once during the night.
Seattle Has Something To Say About COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS
KUBE 93 FM is Seattle's #1 Hip Hop and R&B Radio Station
This past Saturday, Community Cinema Seattle presented COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS at the SIFF Cinema at Seattle Center, a 74-acre campus at the north end of downtown home to more than 30 cultural, educational, sports, and entertainment organizations. The film, about sampling in music and who really owns a sound, resonated deeply in a town with so many musical interests. Seattle is the birthplace to grunge but is also one of America’s urban centers where positive hip-hop is drawing a large following (Blue Scholars, Gabriel Teodros, and others). Music in Seattle is a true mash-up. We screened COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS in the lecture hall theatre shared by the Seattle Opera, the Pacific Northwest Ballet, and the Seattle International Film Festival. One of Seattle’s foremost hip-hop DJs, DJ Hyphen of KUBE 93 FM, talked to us about a few of the film’s topics in the lobby before the film. He observes, “There is a fine line between borrowing and stealing.”
The film suggests that sampling is similar to other forms of reproduction in art, but DJ Hyphen suggests that because the art – in this case – is hip hop music that the same rules do not apply.
DJ Hypen also introduced the film for the entire audience and left them with a few things to consider while watching the film.
Community Cinema Partners With Future of Music Coalition to Discuss Sampling and More
This past weekend, Community Cinema screened the Independent Lens film COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS in Washington, DC. The film examines the creative and commercial value of musical sampling, including the related debates over artistic expression, copyright law, and (of course) money. Find out what happened at the screening from Regional Outreach Coordinator Michon Boston.
Kembrew McLeod, co-producer of COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS, answers questions from the audience with Tony Berman of Berman Entertainment and Technology Law, who is featured in the film.
There was a time when talking about music sampling and lifting pre-recorded music in front of an audience of musicians would seem more like a rowdy town hall meeting.
Times have changed. At Sunday’s screening of COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS, the audience was enthusiastic to ask questions about copyright and sampling for professional purposes. The screening was part of the Future of Music Policy Summit at Georgetown University.
For Kembrew McLeod, co-producer of COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS, copyright is not just a hobby, but a profession based on his own youthful “sound collages” of existing material. I won’t reveal the source of his work on this forum (YouTube removed the evidence!). Tony Berman, of Berman Entertainment and Technology Law (who appears in the documentary) was also available during the Q&A.
Together, McLeod and co-producer Benjamin Franzen cleared over 500 clips for the documentary. The process took more than one quarter of the production budget, according to McLeod, adding, the estimated cost for “playing by the rules” clearance for the clips in the film would have added up to $4 million. Some clips were classified as “fair use” thanks to the expertise of attorneys like Peter Jaszi of American University (who is affiliated with DC’s new Community Cinema series partner The Center for Social Media).
Is Sampling Stealing? Musicians and Lawyers Sound Off in October
Mix Master Mike (Beastie Boys, Invisibl Skratch Piklz) at a performance in the ATL
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 the peer-to-peer explosion and remixing music, hip-hop sampling sparked a debate about copyright, creativity and technological change that still rages today. COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS by Benjamin Franzen and Kembrew McLeod is the next Community Cinema documentary feature and includes interviews with Chuck D and Hank Shocklee of Public Enemy, George Clinton, De La Soul, Miho Hatori, Mix Master Mike of Beastie Boys, DJ Spooky, RJD2, Matt Black of Coldcut and more!
For more than 30 years, as hip-hop evolved from the urban streets of New York to its current status as a multibillion-dollar industry, hip-hop performers and producers have been reusing portions of previously recorded music in new, otherwise original compositions. But when lawyers and record companies got involved, what was once referred to as a “borrowed melody” became a “copyright infringement.”
Stay Connected
Program Tools
Community Cinema on Twitter
-
communitycinema: #Compost THIS! Cow/horse manure (outdoors only), cardboard rolls, chopped leaves, coffee grounds (worms love these) MORE: http://dld.bz/kSXD
-
Jenn Wilcox: RT @GlobalFundWomen: In #SF nxt wk? Come to the Womens #Empowerment #FilmFestival to watch inspiring films abt #women @communitycinema @IMOW http://bit.ly/bjZuPz
-
Simon Kilmurry: RT @communitycinema: Women's Engagement Film Series NEXT MONTH! Partners incl @unfpa @CARE @unifem @povdocs http://dld.bz/nQbH #FF Thanks!