Does The US Government Pay Royalties When It Blasts Music As A Weapon?
from the just-wondering dept
There have been plenty of stories about how the US military uses music as a weapon. For many years, the military has blasted certain songs, hoping to annoy certain people. It's not clear that this "acoustic bombardment" is particularly effective, but it hasn't slowed down its use. The Register has an article quoting someone suggesting that musicians who are against the war might want to use their copyrights to stop the U.S. military from using their songs. No matter what you think of the war or the use of music in this manner, it doesn't seem like this would be a particularly effective effort. At most, it would just force the government to switch to other music -- and there's no shortage of music out there that people might find annoying. However, it does raise a second question that isn't clearly answered in the article: is the U.S. government paying performance royalties when they blast music in this manner? It certainly would seem to qualify as a "public" performance of sorts. Or, as with some patents, does the government itself get to decide when it can ignore the intellectual property laws it forces everyone else to use?Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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Or, even more effectively, a randomly changing sequence of square waves.
They'll be begging for mercy.
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Re:
On a serious note, it would just sound like a loud hum, or with random a loud hum that starts and stops probably similar to a hearing test.
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Re:
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War Music
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To be honest, I find it a bit surreal; they are using something which, to Muslim extremists, might possibly embody some of what they apparently find wrong with Western civilisation - I'd venture that it only serves to reinforce their perceptions, so those in charge are to be congratulated for their clarity of thinking. Still, you're not gonna use the speeches of Bush, Rumsfeld and Bush are you? That'd just have 'em rolling in the aisles...
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unwanted Public Performances ...
In fact, maybe we could ship some of those youngsters over with their cars and CD collection and have them drive around Sadr City ... let 'em do what they do best.
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annoying noises
something about 70-80 hz would be confusing if it was played for long periods of time, as because of the mechanics of the sount its disorientating. the waves are longer than the distance between your ears, so you have no sense of direction for the sound.
either that or pink noise
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Music Types
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Brown tone
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I have an even better idea...
Then again, I think congress would get upset because it would be a form of torture...
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Then again, I think congress would get upset because it would be a form of torture...
So very true...
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Wagner is public domain
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DMCA problem?
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My recollection is fuzzy, so I may have that wrong. I remember, however, asking the question specifically in reference to an album made by one of the military bands.
The international aspect is interesting - once you enter a foreign country, you are no longer the provider of the copyright, the other country is. Whatever treaty is in effect may have some bearing on royalty payments.
But given that we're talking about use of music in a PsyOps manner, we can assume that some form of hostilities are underway. War has its own set of rules.
Best the musician can probably hope for is a bunch of publicity when they gripe about it, but the way copyright legislation is going, who knows.
Maybe Congress will add a "Would you like your music used in war?" check box to the submission forms in the next copyright extension. That bill will also be the one that requires us to leave our HD tvs on at all times and activates the internal cameras installed in every set. :)
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Music as a weapon
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Re: Music as a weapon
I beg your pardon ?
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I hope someone moves forward, would love to see an artist serve a C&D on someone holding an M-16.
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"Play some rap music"
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wtf
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i think however blasting metallica in someones face with some big speakers would be annoying as hell...
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however the comment above has a point... screw the music... lets see some real blastin
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Yea, next thing you know they will try to charge us for the oxygen we breathe while listening to music just because it keeps us alive so we can listen to their shitty product. As if that makes any more sense.
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music as a weapon
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lol pseudo-intellectuals...
This is no different than suing a kid over playing a song on a boombox. End of story.
Besides, since when are enemy combatants "consumers" subject to exposure rights?
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Response on music as weapon
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Re: Response on music as weapon
Why stop at music? Why not put hidden cameras in their homes and perhaps you could blackmail them in some manner. These ARE NOT MY SUGGESTIONS !!!! THEY ARE OBSERVATIONS 1!!!! WHY CAN'T PEOPLE SEE WHAT IS GOING ON AND WHAT THE FUTURE IS GOING TO BE INSTEAD OF WORRYING IF THEY HAVE TO EAT TURN INSTEAD OF FILET MIGNON?
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