Clayton Counts, the mashup artist behind the Beachles project (Pet Sounds Vs. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band) has received a multi-million-dollar lawsuit by the fab four's publisher EMI, who also want him to turn over the IPs of those who downloaded it.
Read the Cease & Desist, and Clayton's response here. Dodge, you're linked in it! And the sad part is it wasn't even that good.
Posted at 12:54 PM
Tags: Brian Wilson & The Beach Boys | The Beatles
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Pathetic. Is it any wonder that everyone hates the record companies?
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wait, hasn't EMI died by suicide yet? Looks like they're still working on it...
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Turn over IPs? Insane. I got it through bittorrent anyway so it doesn't affect me but still, that's a bit insane.
How about less time busting avant guarde projects with a tiny fringe audience and more time on A&R to develop quality artists so we won't have to waste our time with things like "Sgt. Petsounds" in the first place!
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it's better than most of the mashups i see. i guess it's too much to ask of record labels to let music be music.
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Yeah, I thought this mashup wasn't very good. Not nearly as catchy or creative as American Edit.
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Does anybody think that the beatle or the beach boys will lose one single record sale because of this? Does EMI think this? Absoulutly ridiculous
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I've got both records edited and splice together now. Guess I don't need the originals
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If EMI were suing this guy because his mash up sucked, I'd support it. The Beachles is horrible.
But... I do agree that EMI is wasting their time. The labels fight piracy like the US fights the war on drugs - go after the dealer first. If the user can't buy the drugs, they won't use the drugs...that kind of flawed mentality. The problem is two fold: users will always find a way to get their music/drugs and if the previous statement is true then you really need to prioritize the destructive powers of your dealers.
EMI going after this two bit "artist" is like the DEA fire-bombing Washington Square Park because there's five or six dealers selling shake (and oregano). I'm categorically against the wholesale sharing (stealing) of music/whole albums/bit torrenting, but this schmoe's Beachles project - and the blog posting of trial mp3's and such - does more for artist promotion than any label can ever dream of doing. They really just don't get it...their own artists and more important, the music buying public.
The Texas folk artist has a lot to say about the labels and their stance on digital music. Great stuff:
http://www.janisian.com/article-internet_debacle.html
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If EMI were suing this guy because his mash up sucked, I'd support it. The Beachles is horrible.
But... I do agree that EMI is wasting their time. The labels fight piracy like the US fights the war on drugs - go after the dealer first. If the user can't buy the drugs, they won't use the drugs...that kind of flawed mentality. The problem is two fold: users will always find a way to get their music/drugs and if the previous statement is true then you really need to prioritize the destructive powers of your dealers.
EMI going after this two bit "artist" is like the DEA fire-bombing Washington Square Park because there's five or six dealers selling shake (and oregano). I'm categorically against the wholesale sharing (stealing) of music/whole albums/bit torrenting, but this schmoe's Beachles project - and the blog posting of trial mp3's and such - does more for artist promotion than any label can ever dream of doing. They really just don't get it...their own artists and more important, the music buying public.
The Texas folk artist has a lot to say about the labels and their stance on digital music. Great stuff:
http://www.janisian.com/article-internet_debacle.html
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If EMI were suing this guy because his mash up sucked, I'd support it. The Beachles is horrible.
But... I do agree that EMI is wasting their time. The labels fight piracy like the US fights the war on drugs - go after the dealer first. If the user can't buy the drugs, they won't use the drugs...that kind of flawed mentality. The problem is two fold: users will always find a way to get their music/drugs and if the previous statement is true then you really need to prioritize the destructive powers of your dealers.
EMI going after this two bit "artist" is like the DEA fire-bombing Washington Square Park because there's five or six dealers selling shake (and oregano). I'm categorically against the wholesale sharing (stealing) of music/whole albums/bit torrenting, but this schmoe's Beachles project - and the blog posting of trial mp3's and such - does more for artist promotion than any label can ever dream of doing. They really just don't get it...their own artists and more important, the music buying public.
The Texas folk artist has a lot to say about the labels and their stance on digital music. Great stuff:
http://www.janisian.com/article-internet_debacle.html
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Normally, I'd back the guy. But this guy is a TOOL. Even the mashup scene doesn't support him.
The Beachles is solely and strictly a publicity stunt. He's releasing his own material, and using this to drum up publicity. It's precisely the same thing that Dangermouse did with the Gray Album, except in a significantly more cynical way. The Gray Album showed talent and artistry, which showcased Dangermouse's skills. Here, there was no effort to add artistry. He just took two revered albums and combined them in a completely uncreative way, solely for his own purposes.
If you want to see how big a tool he is, hit his website and read the comments. You won't find any negative comments because he deletes them all. Now he's looking for folks to support him against the "evil industry".
I hope EMI sues him, I hope they sue him big, and I hope they take him for all he's worth. Guys like this make actual artists look bad.
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I can think of a lot of other mashers who did much greater things with the beatles and never got sued.... maybe EMI is just doing a bit of quality control....
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Yeah, it wasn't that good, but do I have to be punished by EMI (as well as my lame system administrator) for downloading a crap album?
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Actually, I thought it was quite good. And no, the guy's way less of a tool than you are, I believe. You support artists unless they fit your mold of what an artist should be.
He's taking a stand for people like you, whether you support him or not, and I'd say he's doing a much better job of it than you would do.
Also, he wasn't promoting his own work. He's been giving all of it away for free for years. I've seen him DJ also. He's one of the best I've ever heard. You guys should drop the act and give the guy a break. It just makes you look like morons.
The Beachles is a masterpiece of contemporary lowbrow.
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I was talking to uglyredhonda, BTW.
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Wow I haven't heard the term "shake" in like 25 years. Then again I haven't listened to Janis Ian lately either.
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Found it interesting also that it should matter what the "mashup scene" supports. Do you care about art, or just what DJs believe is art?
Some of you are really dense.
LOTS of people liked this record. That qualifies it as "art." Have you been under a rock? Just like he says on his webpage, if he really wanted publicity he would've made it listenable.
I think he did just fine.
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So he did just fine, but it's unlistenable?
I've never heard the mashup, but now I have to assume it's like your neighbor's five year old screeching into her recorder.
How silly, Richard.
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i like the part about "& fuck robbie williams".....
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I totally agree with Richard on everything he said.
Uglyredhonda: The "mashup scene?" You mean GYBO? Sorry, but a bunch of jealous people on one forum doesn't = the whole scene. Clayton did things that no one on that forum ever thought to do, and they're both jealous of the attention (as was admitted), and they don't get the point of the record.
Why don't we support artists who think outside the box?
Like Richard said, he's taking a stand for the people on the forum.
-GM
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okay, here's my two cents. i love the beachles. i don't just like them, i love them. i listened to "the grey album" maybe twice, but this is one record i will listen to until i am old.
i've been following this closely and some of you seem to be in competition to see who can put this record down the hardest, but i'd bet none of you have even listened to it. boys will be boys.
as for not being "supported by the mashup scene" i'm sure clayton has better things to care about. anyway - since it was brought up, if anyone wants to know why the "scene" doesn't support him they can read his blog. i'm sure the poster who mentioned it knew all about it. ;-D
http://claytoncounts.com/blog
as a jazz guitarist, an electronic musician, a music producer for tv and film, a dj & a lover of music, what do i know? this is one of the most original mashups ever. quite possibly THE most original. period. open your ears and your minds.
long live clayton counts!
kate
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Let me come into your house and steal anything that I want. Whether I'm poor or rich, it's doesn't give me the right break the law. Syealing intellectual property is the same thing. Come on people, get real. Tom, Las Vegas.
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Let me come into your house and steal anything that I want. Whether I'm poor or rich, it's doesn't give me the right to break the law. Stealing intellectual property is the same thing. Come on people, get real. Tom, Las Vegas.
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Hey Tom -
There's no clear distinction between art and theft, and that's one of the biggest problems with explaining this to people who just automatically assume that if something's sampled then it must be theft.
The music industry is the only branch of the entertainment world that doesn't acknowledge fair use. But if you look at what's gone on before this mash-up, you'll see that many artists have sampled others' work without prosecution.
Indeed, even EMI has allowed the use of uncleared samples on their own records. A great example of this is the "Amen, Brother" sample, which has been used by every major label at some time or another. The band that originally recorded the loop have never been compensated.
It's not stealing if you're making something new and creative out of it, and that's what happened here. If he were giving away the original Beatles and Beach Boys records, I would have no problem agreeing with you, but what he did was protected as satire. That's why EMI dropped their case against him.
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good beatles remix here and it s free!!!
http://www.myspace.com/walteregoh
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