Remix Artist Pogo Expecting To Be Sued By Disney For Releasing Latest Remix (Created For Disney)

from the copyright-as-censorship dept

Nick Dynice points us to the news that a remix artist named Pogo is getting ready to release some new audio/video remixes, based on Disney films — but he’s expecting to get sued by Disney to do so. That’s because (apparently) he was working for Disney in creating some of these videos, but folks there are refusing to let the videos he created be released:

Folks, I long to release my Pirates Of The Caribbean mix on YouTube. I think it’s one of my best mixes yet, and it’s agonizing to imagine it rotting away in some filing cabinet instead of taking its rightful place in my body of work. All I’ve been told is that the producers at Jerry Bruckheimer Films want nothing to do with it. Whether that means they’re displeased or they’re just waiting for the right time is impossible for me to say. The sad reality is, Swashbuckle was contracted work. I?d literally have to start saving the money that Disney would sue me before making the decision to upload it. But who knows? It might just come to that. My music is my mark in this world. If I have to pay to watch it entertain millions of people, then so be it.

Of course, I find it quite intriguing that Disney appears to have hired a remix artist to create remix videos. I’d love to get more details on how that came about in the first place. What’s really odd is that the blog post indicates that he had to take down his “classic” Disney movie remixes while he was working at Disney, but now that his contract is up, he’s free to put them back up. You can see an absolutely brilliant song he made out of the classic Snow White film, using “vocal syllables, musical chords and sound effects” all from the 1937 Disney film:

If I worked at Disney, I’d hire this guy too… but I’d set him loose to release whatever he came up with. It’s hard to see how a video similar to the one above could do any harm whatsoever to Disney. If anything, it makes me want to go see the original film again.

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Companies: disney

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Comments on “Remix Artist Pogo Expecting To Be Sued By Disney For Releasing Latest Remix (Created For Disney)”

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37 Comments
Dark Helmet (profile) says:

Nice...

Very creative, although I could have done w/o the image of bambi cornholing himself to make th water spigget work….

Having said that, this type of stuff always reminds me of what the folks at OC ReMix do, and how the creators of the Street Fighter franchise were so impressed w/their work that they hired them to do an entire soundtrack, which of course ended up being one of game’s best qualities.

Obviouly gaming companies are not always on teh right side of this stuff, but why do they seem to “get it” more often than movie/music folks?

Dark Helmet (profile) says:

Re: Re: Nice...

“(btw, when is Digilife published?)”

It’s done. Just hasn’t been picked up yet by an agent and/or publisher. Not a surprise, really, since I just started sending out query letters/submissions about three weeks ago, and normally you expect to hear back from those folks within 3-12 weeks.

More on topic, regarding OC ReMix: if you’ve ever played Final Fantasy 7, you probably love the soundtrack from the game, and OC ReMix did an INCREDIBLE job with an full remaking of the soundtrack that I recommend as highly as possible to ANYONE who loves videogame music….

Yeebok (profile) says:

Re: Re: Re: Nice...

Hey, thanks Dark Helmet – the FF7 theme gets stuck in my head even now from the PS1.

As for the remix in question, I think it’s excellent. I only discovered it recently for myself and have enjoyed it every time I listen to it. It’s no portal end song, but it ain’t half bad, and far more interesting than the original.

Looking up FF7 remix in 3.. 2…

Anonymous Coward says:

ew

that was annoying to watch/listen to.

also, the sounds from the actual movie were very accent points in a sea of otherwise non-interesting background music that is not a remix at all.

in other words, just another craptasticly crappy remix. nothing to see here, move along.

(no, I cant make something better, why would you even ask that question?)

Mike Masnick (profile) says:

Re: ew

in other words, just another craptasticly crappy remix. nothing to see here, move along.

I love it when people insist that remix is nothing special, just because they don’t like one particular remix. I happened to like this one quite a lot (even though I don’t really like that style of music). So, based on your own idiotic standards, your comment is “nothing to see here, move along.”

Obviously, you must agree, since in your opinion if one person thinks something is crap, then it should be ignored. I think your comment is crap, thus, by your logic, it should be ignored.

Juan Doh (user link) says:

Wow

If this work isn’t the definition of “transformative,” I don’t know what is. The images are clearly going to be a problem, but no competent judge could get him for the sampling of the audio.

This sort of sound isn’t normally my cup of tea, but I have to say, I really like his work, and hope to hear “swashbuckle” when it hits. There is just no valid reason to prevent someone from making art like this.

Ron Rezendes (profile) says:

Just a guess...

It doesn’t seem out of line to think that Disney will of course sue and demand the work be turned over to them which they will then turn around and use for marketing purposes because it is such a great piece of work. Disney will probably consider this a win-win scenario since they will be awarded damages and they get the work done for free.

Either that or it will go into the infamous “Disney vault” and won’t see the light of day except when Disney opens the vault door to re-release another movie “for a limited” time.

Terada (profile) says:

Damage control?

I don’t know how these remixes would damage Disney’s brand. It may be a bit strange sounding but it has no sex, violence, or drugs. Frankly, they would take a normally uninterested segment of the population (like the kind that listens to electronica) and make them a little more interested in Disney. Besides, this remix sounds better the remixes they release on Disney Channel with their marginally talented stars. At least this required more talent.

Eo Nomine says:

Really?!?

So lemme get this straight:

1) Company hires artist to perform work for hire;
2) Artist performs work and delivers to company (and presumably was paid);
3) Company decides (for whatever reason) not to use the work;
4) Artist doesn’t like this and complains that, even though he was paid by someone else to make it, he can’t post it online;

And the company is the villain here?

Lawrence D'Oliveiro says:

Gorgeous, Gorgeous Bit Of Work

See the rest of his stuff on his YouTube channel.

By the way, is it a coincidence that many sequences from those Disney films look like they?re made under the influence of drugs, anyway? I mean, talking animals, dancing plants, inanimate objects with faces on them … what kind of imagination does that sort of thing come from? 😉

Lyn says:

Pogo is great

Pogo is an artist creating music from film footage for enjoyment, music which I know I could not create and brings a smile to my face. If it is true that Disney are trying to sue I think they are very greedy, it seems injust to me that Disney is trying to sue Pogo when the likes of Topshop get away with blatent ripping off ideas from small companies & individuals. Sometimes the world seems very injust.

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