Members zone_ahead Posted May 20, 2004 Members Share Posted May 20, 2004 not anything i'm doing (i don't even use lyrics), but am just curious... i mostly notice this in hip-hop, but i've heard it elsewhere.... kind of the borrowing of little snippits of lyrics from other tracks or from movies, television, etc.... example: in aesop rock's track 9-5'ers anthem there is a line from dolly parton's 9-5: "Fumble outta bed and stumble to the kitchen, pour myself a cup of ambition" in el-p's track deepspace 9 millimeter there is a line from an SNL skit with phil hartman as a caveman attorney: "i'm a caveman, your modern ways frighten and confuse me" or in A LOT of sublime tracks you hear bits and pieces of marley and peter tosh, etc... "I'm like a stepping razor, Don't you watch my size, I'm dangerous"... In legal terms, what's the deal with this type of use of borrowed lyrics? Now these aren't samples, they are included in the actual lyrics, but only make up a small portion of the lyrics as a whole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Pro Posted May 20, 2004 Members Share Posted May 20, 2004 First of all, there is no such thing as a "copywrite" - it is copyright, as in the right to sell your work. The past tense is copyrighted (as opposed to "copywritten", which is wrong). Second, using a song portion or a sample from a popular recording can be licensed through a website maintained by the Harry Fox Agency of New York known as www.songfile.com. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SUPAPRODUCA Posted May 20, 2004 Members Share Posted May 20, 2004 Well I guess that is why they call you the Pro huh? hahaha.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zone_ahead Posted May 20, 2004 Author Members Share Posted May 20, 2004 Originally posted by The Pro First of all, there is no such thing as a "copywrite" - it is copyright, as in the right to sell your work. The past tense is copyrighted (as opposed to "copywritten", which is wrong). [/url] anyone else......................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Symbiotic Posted May 20, 2004 Members Share Posted May 20, 2004 Yup. The Pro is correct from everything I know and have read on the subject. May not be the answer you were looking for, but it is the truth. And, hey, we can all use a good grammar lesson now and then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tjwett Posted May 20, 2004 Members Share Posted May 20, 2004 well there is actually such a thing as copywriting, just it has nothing to do with music. a copywriter is a person who writes "copy" for a living. like the literary content of a website, a product advertisement, or even the news that an anchor person reads from the teleprompter. as for using someone's lyrics in a song, that would all depend i think. the only way to know for sure is to figure out who owns the publishing rights to the song in question, not the copyright. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zone_ahead Posted May 20, 2004 Author Members Share Posted May 20, 2004 Originally posted by 3DMC Yup. The Pro is correct from everything I know and have read on the subject. May not be the answer you were looking for, but it is the truth. And, hey, we can all use a good grammar lesson now and then. not a problem with the answer, as i wasn't really looking for a specific answer.....was just curious about something i haven't heard brought up as it's different than sampling.... just do'nt appreesiate teh condosending tone bout someting taht nuthin has with tread to do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr EggyToast Posted May 20, 2004 Members Share Posted May 20, 2004 the copyright is on the actual samples. If it's not lifted from the copyright work it's far cloudier and harder to defend. Add to that... You can't copyright words or short sequences of words. You can trademark phrases but that's different law and based on businesses. Microsoft has "Where do you want to go today?" trademarked, but you can say it all you want. But if you're a computer company you can't use it as a trademark of your own, or in promotional materials. You mean that they're re-saying the lyrics themselves, not playing back a recording, right? yeah. Just words. it's pop-culture. Do you see some guy saying "Hey, I introduced "fo shizzle my nizzle, don't use my phrase, it's mine, pay me money!" ? After all, how many songs say "i love you?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zone_ahead Posted May 20, 2004 Author Members Share Posted May 20, 2004 Originally posted by Mr EggyToast You mean that they're re-saying the lyrics themselves, not playing back a recording, right? yeah. Just words. it's pop-culture. yeah, exactly....they take little short phrases from other music/media and they are actually incorporated into their original lyrics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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