Easily digestible tech news... http://www.techdirt.com/ en-us http://www.techdirt.com/images/td-88x31.gifhttp://www.techdirt.com/ Tue, 5 Jul 2011 13:35:08 PDT Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110705/03482614973/dear-musicians-once-again-politicians-can-probably-play-your-songs-events-without-your-permission.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110705/03482614973/dear-musicians-once-again-politicians-can-probably-play-your-songs-events-without-your-permission.shtml the Foo Fighters and Jackson Browne (among some others) got upset at John McCain for using their music, and the band Heart complained about Sarah Palin using one of the band's songs. Most of the complaints are about rally events, and almost all of the complaints are bogus. In cases where the music is used in a TV commercial (as was the case with Jackson Browne), the legalities are a little trickier (which is why McCain settled that lawsuit), but when it comes to events, the musicians are unlikely to get very far. That's because as long as the venue has the proper ASCAP/BMI licenses for public performance, they can play any covered songs they want. This has always been true.

So, for all the talk (as plenty of people have sent in) about Tom Petty complaining about Michele Bachmann using is song at campaign events, there's not much legal basis for the complaint. Ditto for the complaint (also against Bachmann) from Katrina and the Waves. This is probably why Bachmann seems to have ignored Petty and is still playing the music.

Of course, as we've pointed out before, even if there's no legal recourse, it still amazes us that Presidential candidates don't at least reach out to musicians first. Because otherwise, they're just opening up a huge opportunity for musicians to generate headlines about how much they dislike a particular politician. Why not find some musicians who support them and use their music?

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
]]> hello-ascap http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20110705/03482614973 Fri, 3 Dec 2010 17:00:00 PST Michael Ho http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101130/18423312064/dailydirt-live-performances-get-attention-sometimes-being-kinda-bad.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101130/18423312064/dailydirt-live-performances-get-attention-sometimes-being-kinda-bad.shtml

The Broadway version of Spiderman is falling into the same trap as big budget movies -- except the audience can't exactly "pirate" the live performance. Still, a budget of $65 million seems like a risky bet for a comicbook-based musical. [url]

Susan Boyle needs a re-take when she burps(?) while singing. [url]

OK Go's Damian Kulash is still figuring out more ways to create viral videos -- demonstrating that it can take months to create the perfect single-shot performance for YouTube. [url]

Mashable points out some viral video tips. Tip #6: Be frugal. [url]

But maybe any publicity is good publicity, especially if you sell knock-off sunglasses on the internet. [url]

Most true fans will understand that everyone makes mistakes...

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story
]]> urls-we-dig-up http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20101130/18423312064