FCC To Boston Airport: You Know We Meant It When We Said You Can't Control WiFi

Band Just Notices That Run DMC Sampled Their Song Twenty Years Ago; Files Lawsuit

from the you-can't-be-serious dept

Wed, Sep 20th 2006 2:00pm — Mike Masnick

In 1979 the band The Knack came out with their song, "My Sharona." Seven years later, in 1986, Run DMC sampled My Sharona in their hit song "It's Tricky." It turns out that someone representing The Knack just discovered this. IP Law Daily points out that The Knack is suing Run DMC for copyright infringement twenty years after the song came out (the Rolling Stone article notes, jokingly, that the law firm representing The Knack highlights how "efficient" they are on their website). Since the obvious question is on the statute of limitations, someone in the comments points out that, while there is a 3 year statute of limitation, The Knack's lawyers can claim that "each play/download/cd-sale is a new infringing violation." While it limits the damages to the last three years, it still seems a bit ridiculous.

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65 Comments

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Steve E, 20 Sep 2006 @ 2:17pm

Seems totally ridiculous. You'd think the Knack might actually be pleased considering they're unheard of! At least one piece of music they wrote ended up in something famous...
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Mike Mixer, 20 Sep 2006 @ 2:50pm

Infringement ?
Well a band that was famous for 2 minutes got ripped off by a band you couldn't listen to for 30 seconds finally gets justice 20 years later, a statute of limitation should be put on those lawyers being able to breath. I know I know, too violent, but the flipside is they are already braindead, we just need to unhook the respirator
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Cyryl, 20 Sep 2006 @ 2:52pm

Frivolity...
I believe that this lawsuit could EASILY be categorized as "Frivolous" considering that it never really adversely affected their income. It's not as if people just thought to themselves, "HEY! I can just go buy that Run DMC song and get TWO songs for the price of one!"

Fucking morons. They'll lose; like the LOSERS they are!

(Psst! SSHH!! My GF likes "The Knack". Don't tell'er I said that shit!" LOL!)
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DanW, 20 Sep 2006 @ 2:53pm

Ambulance Chaser
Lawyer's are such dogs, when it comes to chasing after a buck.
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DJ Twiztid, 20 Sep 2006 @ 2:54pm

A law firm that efficient. Man is that a laughable subject. Dirty bastards drag shit out so they get money in their pocket to begin with. I agree with Steve. The Knack should be so lucky to have something they created be that well known, regardless if they can't do anything else right!
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Reed, 20 Sep 2006 @ 2:55pm

Show me the money
Whatever happened to REAL artists? You know, the ones who live a poor life but are fulfilled by the art they create? I think we have a serious problem with money if all anyone can think of is "where is my slice". Simply put no-one creates art out of thin air. It is a by-product of life and therefore relies on society as a whole to influence and create it. You wouldn't be playing your guitar if someone before you didn't invent it. Artists owe what they create to soceity and to think that we should pay an arm and a leg for what our forefathers invented is truly insane. There is nothing that is truly original and all these sue happy artists need to get over their ego and let music be free the way it was meant to be in the first place.

If this meant taking the money out of the Music Industry, so be it. We could concetrate on things more important than "who stole my line I stole from someone else"
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Jo Mamma, 20 Sep 2006 @ 2:56pm

When was the last download of a Run DMC song?
I'd say it'd have to be more than 3 years ago, wouldn't you?
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Greg, 20 Sep 2006 @ 3:00pm

Everybody lay off the Knack - it's been a long time since "My Sharona" - they're probably broke. :P

Well a band that was famous for 2 minutes got ripped off by a band you couldn't listen to for 30 seconds finally gets justice 20 years later

You're seriously saying that people can't listen to Run DMC for more than 30 seconds at a stretch? Matters of personal taste aside, you know they're one of the most influential hip-hop acts of all time, right? That they more or less created rap music as a popular genre? It's hard to dispute that someone listened to them for at least 31 seconds at some point.
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ehrichweiss, 20 Sep 2006 @ 3:06pm

Re: Infringement ?
Mike Mixer, I guess you listen to music with real integrity, huh. Emo sucks dude.
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chris (profile), 20 Sep 2006 @ 3:08pm

this is a useful article
i had no idea that "it's tricky" was made from "my sharona". i got that runDMC album when i was in the 6th grade. it was a big hit with my friends because it had he F-word on it.
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dtek, 20 Sep 2006 @ 3:10pm

Re:
Well put Greg, Run DMC are Pioneers of HipHop and to me, the old school is still much more relevant and listenable than the nonsense put out by artist such as nelly.
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LukeD, 20 Sep 2006 @ 3:10pm

If I was in a washed up 70's/80's band, I'd be flattered to have a part of my song sampled. I also think it's bullsh*t that they just discovered it twenty years later. The only thing they've just discovered is that they're broke! lol
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Robbie, 20 Sep 2006 @ 3:19pm

So are they going to sue Bloodhound Gang as well, since they covered "It's Tricky"??
Idiots!!
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Helsturm, 20 Sep 2006 @ 3:20pm

Hmm...
Unless the "sampling laws" that came after the infringing act are retro-active (which, I seem to remember them not being so at the time) I doubt they'll get much out of the lawsuit.

At most, they'll settle out of court for some of RunDMC's pocket change and it will all be forgotten.
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Hugh, 20 Sep 2006 @ 3:26pm

"...someone representing The Knack"
Chances are this has nothing to do with any of the band members at all -- more likely the managers, label, RIAA, lawyers all cooked this up -- and this is not the only 'sample suit' going on -- Brian Transeau (BT) is being sued by some street rapper in NYC for a million dollars "...'cause he stole my drum beat".

I bet we see more and more of this shit as the torrid months go by.

And yes it's true -- all students graduating from 'Law School' should be forced to wear timed-explosive neck collars....
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Grandfather Time, 20 Sep 2006 @ 3:34pm

Yeah, sure.
If I were broke, down and out, or whatever,...I'd sue someone for copytight infingment 20 years after a song I created was released.......... Sure, I would also like to buy McDonalds and give every kid a free H3 with every Happy Meal purchase.......
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ConceptJunkie (profile), 20 Sep 2006 @ 3:37pm

Re:
Maybe they are influential, but when I saw them on MTV about 20-some years ago, I honesty thought they were a parody act.
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huh, 20 Sep 2006 @ 3:41pm

grandfather time
Yo gramps,

Time to move to an assisted care facility.

Your senile drivel is showing. :-P
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Sep 2006 @ 3:45pm

Re: "...someone representing The Knack"
If, Run DMC infringed on the copyrights on My Sharona then they need to pay up. It's as simple as that. The Knack were musicians, unlike Run DMC who did not play an instrument. And, the Knack were big when My Sharon came out. Big for a year, but big none the less, alll over the airwaves with their new album and comparisons to the Beatles at the time.

I'm also a big fan of Run DMC. And, Run DMC were very influential when they were coming out their rap albums and Aerosmith owes a lot to this guys for bringing them back into the mainstream with the hit "Walk this Way".

But, Aerosmith had something to do with the come back also, they refused to have the song covered without them participating in the song or video!!!

Ultimately, it was a monster hit with the urban and suburban kids.
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cjmemay, 20 Sep 2006 @ 3:47pm

Hilarious
Nice catch, Mike!
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DittoBox, 20 Sep 2006 @ 3:58pm

Re: Show me the money
Define "art"...
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Adam Lea, 20 Sep 2006 @ 4:00pm

Someone PLEASE show me where someone compared The Knack to The Beatles...
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lol, 20 Sep 2006 @ 4:03pm

haha
I hope this doesnt happen to me 20 years into the future!
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Sep 2006 @ 4:12pm

Re:
It's an old article....from time period...they were being hyped the next best thing. It's funny how even in this day and age things get lost in history and it depends who's re-telling the story.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Knack
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Chaosinc, 20 Sep 2006 @ 4:12pm

the knack
well since reading this, i am glad i was alive in the time when the knack etc were playing--- @ least most stuff then was original, not sampled , hashed digitised etc. noone should compare the knack to the beatles after all they were pop crap ATT -- still are but now they're antique popcrap!!
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WHAT?, 20 Sep 2006 @ 4:18pm

Thats retarded!
"The Knack were musicians, unlike Run DMC who did not play an instrument."

What the hell do you call a microphone? Is the voice not an instrument? And HELLO!! What do you think a turntable is?

Next you'll say that people who compose music on thier computers dont play instruments! WE ARE MUSIC!

"If, Run DMC infringed on the copyrights on My Sharona then they need to pay up. It's as simple as that. "

I think not~! The songs have no resemblance to each other! This wont pass in court for shite! People need to wisen up.

"I'm also a big fan of Run DMC. And, Run DMC were very influential when they were coming out their rap albums and Aerosmith owes a lot to this guys for bringing them back into the mainstream with the hit "Walk this Way"

You... think... Run DMC... Helped Aerosmith.... Get back... Into the "mainstream"?

What drugs are you on!

Aerosmith, by the time they collabed with Rev Run and the DMC, already had a GIGANTIC fan base! Only thing Run DMC did was open peoples eyes to another genre of music that they tastefully diclined to listen to because it wasnt the hip hop.

People who make music ARE musicians... Plain and simple.
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Sep 2006 @ 4:20pm

Knack/Beatles connection?
Google on Knack and Beatles and you'll find tons of comparisons. But apparently that did piss off a lot of Beatles fans then, just as it seems to right now! Apparently Capital (record co for both) were calling the Knack "the next big thing" and explicitly or implicitly comparing them to the Beatles who'd broken up by then. Lots of people said the Knack were updating the Beatles. And the front & back art and title of Get The Knack was purposefully a take off of Meet the Beatles.
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AMP, 20 Sep 2006 @ 4:23pm

Reed is a fucking idiot.
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Sep 2006 @ 4:24pm

Re: Thats retarded!
Aerosmith at the time of that collaboraton did not have a hit in years....they were one of those "Where are they now bands" . Sure, they have a gigantic base....a base from the 70's. This was 1986. Hell, people were wonderng if they were still alive.

Making music on computers....gee...do I have to take lessons for that????

Gee...how about the turntablles...how long do you think it will take me to master playing the turntables and turning a few knobs???
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youvegottobekidding, 20 Sep 2006 @ 4:31pm

Run DMC/The Knack
Okay.... Really??? This is an issue??? Being a fan of both and loving both songs, I can't find the similarities. Call me crazy but if the people who love both bands cannot find the sampling (unlike Vanilla Ice doing Bowie/Queen), why is this even an issue? And BTW, both groups were great in their time and although we don't hear much of the Knack anymore, we do hear DMC. They were and still are great, they are legends.
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RICK in SUNNY CAL, 20 Sep 2006 @ 4:32pm

ONLY IN AMERICA,,, give them a break!
"ONLY IN AMERICA" I had to use quotations, dont want to be in any Lawsuit.
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Sep 2006 @ 4:33pm

Re: Thats retarded!
absolutely Run DMC helped Aerosmith. Should be pretty easy to compare their charted hits/sales/concert tabs etc before and after.

They were past their 70's success. This surely brought them back into the limelight.
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noisician, 20 Sep 2006 @ 4:34pm

re: Thats Retarded!
You... think... Run DMC... Helped Aerosmith.... Get back... Into the "mainstream"? What drugs are you on!
Sorry, man I remember it the same way.
And check this from the AMG Aerosmith bio:

By the early '80s, the group's audience had declined as the band fell prey to drug and alcohol abuse. However, their career was far from over -- in the late '80s, Aerosmith pulled off one of the most remarkable comebacks in rock history, returning to the top of the charts with a group of albums that equalled, if not surpassed, the popularity of their '70s albums...
In 1986, the pair appeared on Run D.M.C.'s cover of "Walk This Way," along with appearing in the video. "Walk This Way" became a hit, reaching number four and receiving saturation airplay on MTV. "Walk This Way" set the stage for the band's full-scale comeback effort...
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noisician, 20 Sep 2006 @ 4:45pm

Making music on computers....gee...do I have to take lessons for that???? Gee...how about the turntablles...how long do you think it will take me to master playing the turntables and turning a few knobs???

umm, yeah, if you want to be good, lessons might help. practice is definitely in order. just like any instrument.
in fact, just like any music there is the art and the craft.

The craft is being technically good. Say Yngwie Malmsteen was a master craftsman with his guitar. The Ramones? maybe not.
The art is coming up with something that is meaningful and touches many people in some way. Yngwie? Please don't make me sit through any more! The Ramones? Yes, they absolutely connected with a lot of people.
so can anyone make computer or turntable music? of course. can anyone make guitar music and sing? of course.
is it easy to do either of these well AND to come up with material that touches a lot of people? good luck!
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kantankerus, 20 Sep 2006 @ 4:50pm

Reed this:
"Whatever happened to REAL artists? You know, the ones who live a poor life but are fulfilled by the art they create?

Manybe they have to pay gas to go somewhere and play for free, and then hope someone likes them enuf to buy them a cheap meal somewhere ???

"I think we have a serious problem with money if all anyone can think of is "where is my slice"."

are you willing to work at wal-mart or 7-11 the rest of your life ???

"Simply put no-one creates art out of thin air. It is a by-product of life and therefore relies on society as a whole to influence and create it."

i have been told i am artistic [talented is what they said]..i live in a "country" world, and what i have qritten is based upon experiences between 2 people, similar to what at one point most everyone experiences...

"You wouldn't be playing your guitar if someone before you didn't invent it. Artists owe what they create to soceity and to think that we should pay an arm and a leg for what our forefathers invented is truly insane. There is nothing that is truly original and all these sue happy artists need to get over their ego and let music be free the way it was meant to be in the first place."

no one ever gave me a free guitar, or my friends a bass guitar, a drum set, an organ...and i never saw anyone offering to drive them/us to any performances

"If this meant taking the money out of the Music Industry, so be it. We could concetrate on things more important than "who stole my line I stole from someone else"

well, i would never, ever like to see what i have written perverted in to pop, rap or hip-hop. if you dont like country, stay away from my stuff.

i quit performing a long time ago...dumped my 12 string for a comp and
never regretted it. i have also "copyrighted' everything i ever wrote, so,
i guess society will have to wait for 75 years after i die to see of anyis "worthy"
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Jahova!, 20 Sep 2006 @ 4:52pm

Re: Re: Thats retarded!
"Making music on computers....gee...do I have to take lessons for that?"

You can goto a four year college and still not know anything.

"Aerosmith at the time of that collaboraton did not have a hit in years....they were one of those "Where are they now bands" . Sure, they have a gigantic base....a base from the 70's. This was 1986. Hell, people were wonderng if they were still alive."

And you're saying that just that one song that they collabed with the DMC "Walk this way" gave all the band members the creative spark they needed to continue to come out with chart toppers? (Not that those damn charts matter)

"Gee...how about the turntablles...how long do you think it will take me to master playing the turntables and turning a few knobs???"

Geewiz yo, I dont know, probably about 8 years of dedicated beatmatching, scratching, beat juggling (to sound awesome not to mention you'd have to listen to the many genre's that include turntables these days).

But then agian there is the subject of content. Would you have any idea of what to mix on those tables, IF YOU COULD DO IT, to make a clear cutting and distinctive beat/melody all while crossfading back and forth between two circles of vinyl that you have to continually check to see if they are on time with each other? Think not. (I didnt even mention knobs for they enter into a completely new zone of comprehension beyond your patterns of thought... Digital effects coupled with an equalizer! Holy moly! Thats reverb, compression, resonation, delay, filters, highs, lows, mids, vocoding, and countless countless more.)

Perhaps you should try finding out what those things are. But you probably dont know how to use Google. (lol)

You remind me of an old republican man (baptist of course) who refuses to accept technology as a creative canvas for an artist to express him/herself. Welcome to the 21st century pops.
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Sep 2006 @ 5:03pm

Re: Re: Re: Thats retarded!
"And you're saying that just that one song that they collabed with the DMC "Walk this way" gave all the band members the creative spark they needed to continue to come out with chart toppers? (Not that those damn charts matter)"

Creative spark, doubtful. It isn't like each Aerosmith album is an artistic step foward. They do what they do.

However, that song did bring Aerosmith in front of a younger audience that likely would have passed them by.
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Sep 2006 @ 5:05pm

Re: Re: Re: Thats retarded!
But then agian there is the subject of content. Would you have any idea of what to mix on those tables, IF YOU COULD DO IT, to make a clear cutting and distinctive beat/melody all while crossfading back and forth between two circles of vinyl that you have to continually check to see if they are on time with each other? Think not. (I didnt even mention knobs for they enter into a completely new zone of comprehension beyond your patterns of thought... Digital effects coupled with an equalizer! Holy moly! Thats reverb, compression, resonation, delay, filters, highs, lows, mids, vocoding, and countless countless more.)Gee...wherre do I sign up?
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Sep 2006 @ 5:05pm

Re: Re: Re: Thats retarded!
But then agian there is the subject of content. Would you have any idea of what to mix on those tables, IF YOU COULD DO IT, to make a clear cutting and distinctive beat/melody all while crossfading back and forth between two circles of vinyl that you have to continually check to see if they are on time with each other? Think not. (I didnt even mention knobs for they enter into a completely new zone of comprehension beyond your patterns of thought... Digital effects coupled with an equalizer! Holy moly! Thats reverb, compression, resonation, delay, filters, highs, lows, mids, vocoding, and countless countless more.)Gee...wherre do I sign up?
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Sep 2006 @ 5:10pm

Re: Re: Re: Thats retarded!
Yep Jahova,
You represent all that's right about the left.

You remind me of an old republican man (baptist of course) who refuses to accept technology as a creative canvas for an artist to express him/herself. Welcome to the 21st century pops.

Isn't this normal leftist mindset? While defending one point of view you totally slam another. Good way to change people's views. BTW, my step son plays a 55 gallon oil drum with an electric drill. No kidding.
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Jahova, 20 Sep 2006 @ 5:15pm

really?
And if I sample it will you sue me twenty years down the road?
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nonuser, 20 Sep 2006 @ 5:26pm

that octaves riff on guitar?
heh, pretty clever that they copied that and nobody even noticed. That album was a huge crossover too, it was probably the first hip hop album that white people bought and listened to.

They could've just as easily dubbed over something similar in the studio and it would've been just as big a hit. Probably some kind of an inside joke that they left it in.
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kantankerus, 20 Sep 2006 @ 5:27pm

my step son plays a 55 gallon oil drum with an ele
great, next we'll have Sunoco demanding a part of the profits !!!!! UH-OH...do i see Black & Decker ????
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Jahova, 20 Sep 2006 @ 5:28pm

Oh really?
And to say I've "totally slammed another" view of thinking is just absurd. To define ones views within a bipartisan government by choosing either-or side is rediculous.

To have an open mind is not to have a definition of ones views (thus keeping it open).

I was merely pointing out that people who dont embrace or at least acredit technology as a viable means of anything (artistic or creative) has got thier socks on backwards.

I know plenty of people on both sides of this radical brainwashing (leftist or rightist) media extravaganza. But just because I make a negative comment towards one side I'm immediately labeled as the opposite. Get a grip quick kids! I am against the government as a whole, not just one side or the other. (Next you'll tell me to leave I suppose! How stereotypical!)

Rebuttals?
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thatChrisGuy(sampled), 20 Sep 2006 @ 5:37pm

Retarded? Yes!
I lost many brain cells just reading through this stuff! LOL

I'm thinking that the suit can be traced directly back to the retards at the RIAA. Their biz model should be required high school reading as they seem to have found the ultimate license to print money. Bastards!

Both The Knack and Run DMC deserve their places in music history, without the footnotes about this BS!
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Sep 2006 @ 6:05pm

I wonder if Aerosmith knows they used "Walk This W
Sure Steven Tyler there in the Run DMC video, but the lawyers could easily claim a drug-incuced state of altered conciousness that prevented them from realizing that RunDMC was bogarting their licks. Especially an efficient law firm like this one!
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Robert, 20 Sep 2006 @ 6:10pm

It's free advertisement for everyone, watch them milk it.
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The voice of reason, 20 Sep 2006 @ 6:24pm

Re: Show me the money
Whatever happened to REAL artists?
They're still here. You're not listening. Closed-minded people like yourself tend to do that.

You know, the ones who live a poor life but are fulfilled by the art they create?
It is nearly impossible to release music for general consumption without a studio, or at least a home DIY setup. Both options are very expensive. Are you ready for recordings to decrease in volume? On another point, where are said Poor Artists(tm) supposed to go to get their music into the hands of the listeners (other than community radio)?

I think we have a serious problem with money if all anyone can think of is "where is my slice".
You, of course, can live for free, I'm sure. No-one has to pay for the roof over your head, the food on your plate, or the clothes on your back. If that's not true, then why would you expect others to live that way?

Simply put no-one creates art out of thin air.
That is exactly from where art comes.

It is a by-product of life and therefore relies on society as a whole to influence and create it.
Influence, yes, byproduct of other things, yes, but if your statement held water, everyone would inherently be a fantastic musician.

You wouldn't be playing your guitar if someone before you didn't invent it.
True. So true. Same applies to pencils, paintbrushes, hammers, cars, computers... the list goes on.

Artists owe what they create to soceity...
No, they don't. That's moronic, closed-minded, and is a self-centered means of justifying your ends...

and to think that we should pay an arm and a leg for what our forefathers invented is truly insane.
What is it that costs an arm and a leg? Needs specifics, not FUD...

There is nothing that is truly original...
Yes, there is. You are original, or are you a clone of some other hateful, self-centered, whiney, mentally-constipated pleeb?

and all these sue happy artists...
Nearly all of us have never sued anyone. Most lawsuits originate in the boardroom, not the sound room.

need to get over their ego
Well, you and I agree on this one. Like Lead Singer's Disease, and Malmsteenism.

and let music be free the way it was meant to be in the first place.
So, given that one needs money (from somewhere) to eat, sleep, and survive in modern city society, where should artists get their income? Why do you insist that music was meant to be free? If all music was live, improv performance, then perhaps that business model would work. However, it requires substantial amounts of money to get recorded music out and available.

If this meant taking the money out of the Music Industry, so be it.
Easily said. Can you help us understand how "The Music Industry" can do that? A simple 30-page essay would probably suffice.

We could concetrate on things more important than "who stole my line I stole from someone else"
Agreed. However, don't use this as an argument as to why you're cheap and want everything handed to you for free.
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Sep 2006 @ 7:55pm

Re: Thats retarded!
The only thing retarded is your logic...

Areosmith couldn't get arrested when the RUN DMC version of Walk This Way came out, they just put out that "Done WIth Mirrors", an album, by their own admission, nobody listened to, cared about or even bought. That band was a bunch of aging drunks still singing Dream On at county fairs and selling pieces of their equipment to buy food..

Learn your facts you stupid inbred..
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jefe, 20 Sep 2006 @ 7:56pm

Infringement
In their defense, Run DMC never actually produced anything that could remotely be called music.
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Sep 2006 @ 7:56pm

For those that are wondering the sample is of 4 guitar notes that lasts for less than 5 seconds.

"And yes it's true -- all students graduating from 'Law School' should be forced to wear timed-explosive neck collars...."
Yeah, timed to explode when the accept their diploma
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Guru80, 20 Sep 2006 @ 8:06pm

Someone associated with Knack must be on skid row and thinks they found some easy money. If it has been going on for 20 years how can you possibly have a case (rhetorical question, I know they can and will make one).
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Marilyn, 20 Sep 2006 @ 10:56pm

Re: Show me the money
Reed,
Bravo ! Well said.
Tired of the sellouts myself. So much for "keeping it real" eh ?
G'day mate !
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Sanguine Dream, 21 Sep 2006 @ 5:22am

Okay...
Well I never knew who sung "My Sharona" so it doesn't matter to me. Now I consider myself a casual music fan and listen to different genres here and there but never becoming a hardcore fan of any one artist or genre. And quite frankly I'd can't think of another song by The Knack. This is real bullshit. Run DMC split years ago. And isn't one of the three of them dead?
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Greg, 21 Sep 2006 @ 5:46am

Making music on computers....gee...do I have to take lessons for that????

Gee...how about the turntablles...how long do you think it will take me to master playing the turntables and turning a few knobs???

hey i can play piano you just mash your hands on these white things. how hard can it be.

In all seriousness, try it and let us know how that goes. Turntablism is harder than it looks, and it looks mighty hard.
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Sep 2006 @ 6:44am

Why blame the RIAA?
Why do people assume the RIAA is behind this? There was no mention of them in the post or the links. If you want to bitch about the RIAA at least do it when there is a valid point.

(Also the RIAA represents the labels for both bands so it wouldn't make any sense to get them fighting)
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chris (profile), 21 Sep 2006 @ 7:05am

oh the poor artists!!!
where should artists get their income?

do shows, sell t-shirts, do appearances on talk shows or commercials, sell collectible or high quality versions of your free works. web comics do it all the time. if you aren't that industrious, then get a grown up job.

look at webcomics like megatokyo, penny-arcade and PVP. they give their comics away online for free. you can read every comic, from thier first strip to the one they put up today online, for absolutely nothing.

they sell all kinds of stuff to make money. their sites sell analog versions, in the form of prints and books, they sell tshirts and posters and other stuff too. they also sell ads on their sites, and penny arcade hosts a convention every year as well as raising hundreds of thousands a year for their child's play charity.

not only do they make enough to live, and probably live pretty well, they employ their friends and loved ones in the business as well, all this without ever charging admission to their website or for a single digital comic. the art is free, and yet it still makes money.

AND, they come out with new stuff 2-5 times a week, not once every 2 years like musicians do.

so if you ask me if musicians need to make a living, i say hell no. they let "the industry" do that for them. they live the life that working people only dream about. if you are successful enough to be famous as a musician (or actor, or writer) then even if you live below the poverty level, you still get to be a star. you get to do what you are good at and please a bunch of fans.

a thousand people have never applauded me when i fixed a computer. no one ever throws a hotel key wrapped in a pair of panties when i rescue thier data. i don't get fan mail or even hate mail. so if you want to be a star *and* make a nice living, i say you are selfish and want everything handed you on a silver platter.

if anyone deserves to make a good living, it's people that put their lives on the line every day: solidiers, cops, and fire fighters. or maybe people who save people's lives: doctors, nurses, and paramedics. or maybe people who make the world a better place: aid workers, environmentalists, conservationists, and teachers.

you know, people with grownup jobs.
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It's Picky, 21 Sep 2006 @ 8:14am

Re: Re: "...someone representing The Knack"
Whoaaaaa. Dude. Get off your high horse. Since when did playing an instrument in a band become a requirement for being a musician? There are plenty of vocalists, composers and arrangers who are unquestionably damned fine musicians, but who do not play any instruments (or who at least do not play any as part of their public art).

Not to mention, vocalists DO have an instrument -- their voice is their instrument. So um, Run DMC using vocals, albeit perhaps not the vocals you prefer, were still musicians by your own definition, as they did in fact had instruments -- their voices. Perhaps even by your own absurd definition, as vocalists they were greater musicians than say Eric Clapton (guitarist) or Neil Peart (drummer) as the members of Run DMC never parted with their instruments, their voices being inseparable from themselves and all....
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Done With Mirrors, 21 Sep 2006 @ 8:18am

Re: Re: Thats retarded!
I bought Done With Mirrors on tape back then, and upgraded to CD when that came around. Let The Music Do The Talking rocks off that.
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The Knack Daddy, 21 Sep 2006 @ 8:23am

Re: ONLY IN AMERICA,,, give them a break!
Excuse me, you're not any better off using quotations or not, putting them in quotations doesn't make your opinion any less libellous.

And by the way, are you licensed to be using those quotations? I have a patent on that particular style of quotation mark, and I think you owe me royalties for even thinking of using them. Plus damages for using them without permission. Plus damages for using them outside of my brand standards, which is further corrupting my brand and diluting my brand simultaneously.

But since I'm a nice guy, I'll waive the damage charges if you just send the actual royalty fees to me. Calculate them at $2 per each instance of usage of quotation marks. Thanks!

Send prompt payment to:

The Knack
1001 N. Wiltshire Road
London, UK
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satan, 21 Sep 2006 @ 10:01am

Nobody
Nobody listens to either of those groups anymore, so what's the point?
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Anonymous Coward, 22 Sep 2006 @ 8:16am

Why do people blame lawyers? Are there not judges to determine the case? Are their not peers that determine the case? Its not really the lawyers fault, they just argue the case. The people you should blame include judges and juries. Guess what, if the judges and juries didn't award money in these cases, the lawyers wouldn't file lawsuits, because they know it would be a waste of time.
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Reed, 22 Sep 2006 @ 8:32am

Re: Re: Show me the money
"They're still here. You're not listening. Closed-minded people like yourself tend to do that."

Closed minded? Close minded is someone who thinks that art=money, check yourself before you wreck yourself.

"There is nothing that is truly original..."

"Yes, there is. You are original, or are you a clone of some other hateful, self-centered, whiney, mentally-constipated pleeb?"

No I am not original, and to think that my thoughts and feelings are somehow unique in a world where billions of people live it just silly. Get over yourself, your songs/art isn't original in any sort of way. You just can't admit that you owe you inspiration to society. It's ok, an ego is hard to get over!

"Artists owe what they create to soceity..."

"No, they don't. That's moronic, closed-minded, and is a self-centered means of justifying your ends..."

In my opinion your completely wrong. They of course owe what they create to society. Art and music is like taking a mirror to society. It highlights our lives, and it defines who we are. If it weren't for society art and music wouldn't exist! How do artists not owe their works to society, or would you have us take every great piece of music and art and lock it up so no-one can see it? And if you did that with your money and your copyrights what would happen to the next generation of artists. Yes, they would stagnate and that is exaclty what has happened in my opinion. One only has to listen to the prattle coming out of the radio to realize that it ain't original. The Modern Music Industry has done us no favors with their copyrights and big money. It has degraded art and destroyed other abilities to enjoy it.

I could go on and on, but that is rather pointless. Lets just say we completely disagree about how music exists and what should be done with it. I don't think we can define how good or bad a piece of art or music is just by how much money it makes.
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coby, 16 Dec 2006 @ 6:56am

run dmc
yo u niggas are crazy rappers i luv ur songs. keep tha gud work up. wen i first heared djnabs died i cried man he waz tha best. so are u 2 run dmc. yo my favourite song is christmas in hollis and its tricky niggas. my bro says u guys are tuogher than lether u both are. and djnabs rest in peace bro ull never ever die ull be in our souls r.i.p
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Mar 2007 @ 3:53pm

Re: When was the last download of a Run DMC song?
no i downloaded that song today
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