From Russia, With Stupidity: Band Must Pay Fines To Itself

from the in-russia-songs-copyright-you dept

Reader Wesha sends in the news that the band Deep Purple has been fined for performing its own songs in Russia without first getting a license from the Russian Authors’ Society (NGO). And it wasn’t a small fine either, approximately $1,000 per song. Oh, but wait, it gets better. According to one news organization, the money will be passed along to the victim, a band called… Deep Purple. Yes, that’s right. Apparently, the band needs to pay a fine for performing the songs without properly licensing them from itself… so now it’ll pay the fine and the fine will be given to the band (minus a commission to the Russian Authors’ Society, of course.) Common sense just died.

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Companies: ngo

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Comments on “From Russia, With Stupidity: Band Must Pay Fines To Itself”

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63 Comments
Dark Helmet (profile) says:

Re: Re: Re:2 Re:

“2+2=4 is too hard to completely accept?”

I’d like to see the RIAA’s take on that math, since one infringement of one song = $80k

“The earth is round, not flat, not enough evidence?”

Are you talking about the Earth in it’s totality, because certainly certain segments are flat.

“Sex is fun, never tried it yet?”

Yes, tried it, not excessively but enough to know that the blanket claim that sex is fun is not always true. If you haven’t had enough sex to know that some sex is so bad that it isn’t fun, have more and you’ll come to know the truth.

*Self admitted arguholic*

Ryan says:

Re: Re: Re:3 Re:

FYI, I finally replied in that post’s comments. I agree with making everybody play by the same rules, I just disagree with blaming individual players for actions made in a faulty system. And I definitely disgree with putting a firm limit on what is “excessive” wealth and what isn’t, which seems totally subjective, unfair, self-defeating, and unnecessary to me.

VanCardboardbox says:

Re: Re: Original Band

Well, Ian Gillan and Ian Paice can pretty much be regarded as original members since they were in the band from 1969 on and appear in every important DP recording except Kentucky Woman, a Neil Diamond cover, their first single in 1968. I’d bet they played no material from that first record at their Russian shows.

Of the principal writers, however, only Gillan remains, as Ritchie Blackmore and Jon Lord are no longer performing with the Purple. So Gillan will have to pay so that Gillan can get paid. The crazy remains.

Anonymous Coward says:

What is so amazing that a politically backward country such as Russia is tied up with the same stupidity that occurs in 21th century societies. From what I can see, there isn’t much difference between Russia and most African countries when it comes corruption.

It would be news worthy if they didn’t have the same stupidity.

Mr Big Content says:

Makes Sense To Me

Remember, Russia isn’t a Commie country any more. Now that they have all the benefits of Western-style freedoms, along with that goes Western-style responsibilities, which means they have to respect property rights, just like we do in the West. Even property that’s “all in the mind” (intellectual property) needs to be respected, albeit in a mindful way. One thing’s for sure, it DEFFINNATELY beats the old Commie hidebound bureaucratic way of doing things. Isn’t Capitalism awesome?

Mr Dave says:

Just like the UK

Here in the UK, an organization called PRS (prsformusic.com) would go after the venue owner for the fees, but the PRS rep would tell the venue owner that they should collect the fees from the band, so it’s still the band that pays for the right to play their own songs. I believe they take about £14 per performance (per song?) and give less than £1 of that back.

There’s no way out of it either, other than releasing all the songs into the public domain, the law says the PRS may collect for any performance of copyrighted music!

AlfeG says:

It's deep puprple submit to court

You are not right.

It’s Band of Deep Purple was get to the court for the russian concert hall, that need to pay all royalties for the Deep Purple. It’s a little stupid but it’s the DeepPurple issue not russians(because DP not own there songs, single members of band own all rights for the songs).
Please learn all documents before complain.

You can find information in the russian habrahabr.ru: http://habrahabr.ru/blogs/copyright/63217/ (yep it’s russian)

petr999 (profile) says:

dp pays R. Gov. as as a legal play

So, Deep Purple pays itself as a legal consequence of fair play of authors’rights and human rights, right?
In deed, Deep Purple pays to Authors’ society its commission , right.
Deep Purple, beloved by president Medvedev, who picked a shot of himself among them behind the scenes at a concert, Deep Purple pays royalty to legacy organization controlled, licensed and so on by… Russian Government. right?
And here the Prime Minister Vladimir Putin comes out. Just what’s about him?
Being altogether all over Medvedev’s election campaign, they were split on that Deep Purple’s concert. No, Putin picked no shots with these celebs for his sweet memory giving food for kremlinologists’ considerations. As well, no jeans wear on him in public noticed.
Although there are much more powers whom these both officials are tend to serve as a face of intentions, powers those are about to be the people of Russian Federation, right? Since the officials are simply the faces of the Forcing Rule, I’m about to consider their acts as a messages.
So again, Putin had not visited Deep Purple’s concert with Medvedev, just like speaking to us “it’s not his favor”.
Now, Government, headed by Putin, faced by Authors’ Society, charges Deep Purple, just like speaking to us “it is not a favor”.
Looks like little somebody, now Government-related, did it to them again. 🙂
So I have 2 questions: 1. Why was it needed to send such a message again. 2. Why here is a tech, not political, dirt 🙂

0ffh says:

Same happens here in Germany if a Band plays its own songs without first telling GEMA (NGO) that it will perform a gig!
Or if it performs a gig of songs which are of no concern to GEMA (because the writers of the songs have no agreement with GEMA) without telling the GEMA first there will be a gig and list all the songs to prove they are all non-GEMA!
Not funny!

sebastian velasquez says:

Common Sense

Actually, common sense died when the Russian Goverment Agency fined the band and not the producer of the concert. It is he, the producer who in fact should pay for this licence for which deep blue would be paid too afterwards by the group’s own society…which should have a reciprocity contract with the russian agency….so in fact…it is the concert’s producer whi should have paid the fine…

sebastian velasquez
Copyright Lawyer

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