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Fair Use, Music and Political Campaigns October 16, 2008

Posted by lborodkin in : Uncategorized , trackback

Photo by s fitzstephens under Creative Commons license.

I just read the letter from Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart to the McCain campaign objecting to their use of “Barracuda” as entrance music for Sarah Palin.  A similar issue came up today with Bon Jovi and last week with The Foo Fighters’ “Hero”. 

Illegal uses or not, the reactions of the artists show the significance of the non-economic rights granted by copyright.  These include the right to approve derivative works.  In August, Jackson Brown sued the McCain campaign for using “Running on Empty” in a campaign commercial without permission.

Attribution matters.

How much?  Traditionally, recording artists retain the right to approve licenses of their music for political advertisements. It’s a custom that the music business has respected, even cultivated, in the grand American tradition of protest music. Free speech includes the freedom not to be associated with a cause one disagrees with.

Many non-commercial Youtube videos incorporating TV clips or music are defended as fair use. McCain invoked fair use when Youtube took down a campaign video that used unauthorized CBS clips. Youtube declined, suggesting that the McCain campaign send a counter-notification under the DMCA.

Here’s some thoughtful debate from Lessig Blog on the tradeoffs between allowing borrowed clips and music under the fair use doctrine versus requiring permission from copyright holders.

It’s not exactly censorship. If you use someone else’s material, the owner can ask to have it removed. It’s an assumed risk nowadays. Isn’t it desirable anyway to avoid the PR problem of band after band declaring how much they dislike your candidacy?

Tags:
  • Well think of it this way, would you want your music to be used this way? I would be quite annoyed
  • being na amteur musician myself, i beleive that artists should be consulted before using materials for pilitical purposes...
  • The artists should know their rights and responsibilities as an artist and as a human. DMCA really have a good job in taking down request for the unauthorized used of CBS clips.
  • Nice post.Good knowledge about the music and political campaign.
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    I would like to buy essay writing or the custom written essays about Salto Chico. A kind of supreme idea! Thank you for this!
  • "Another rare example of YouTube refusing a DMCA takedown request (thanks to action from EFF and others) involved the International Olympic Committee and a Tibetan protest video of the Beijing Olympics" thats true.. rightly said
  • The McCain campaign could turn this PR mess around by cutting out the selfish whining and publicly expressing an opinion on proposed copyright reform measures.

    While I agree that all of the uses mentioned above are illegal and should not pass for "fair use" under any circumstances, the reality is that *anyone* can demand a DMCA takedown and the content in question would be removed without question under YouTube's current terms. We've seen corporations like Viacom unilaterally attempt this and follow up with billion dollar lawsuits. Another rare example of YouTube refusing a DMCA takedown request (thanks to action from EFF and others) involved the International Olympic Committee and a Tibetan protest video of the Beijing Olympics.

    You'd think that -- at least behind the scenes -- Google must be lobbying for copyright reform to help clarify such issues.
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