Singer At New Media Conference Turns Off Audience Member Cameras
from the new-media,-huh? dept
You would think that someone who had "embraced" new media would understand the value of viral content, but that's not always the case. Derek Coward writes in to let us know of a bizarre incident involving a cover song singer who goes by the name Richard Cheese, who apparently sings "cheesy" loungey versions of hard rock songs. There's a podcast called Coverville that (not surprisingly) focuses on cover versions of songs. For his 500th episode, the host, Brian Ibbott, put together a concert at a new media trade show. He found some musicians who specifically allow their music to be used in podcasts without royalties (i.e., those who recognize the value of free promotion) and had them play a concert -- and Cheese was one of the headliners.At a new media trade show full of podcasters and bloggers, one thing you should expect is that they'll have cameras, and they'll be taking photos and video. That's what they do. But, apparently this upset Cheese greatly, and he started walking around, grabbing people's cameras and turning them off. He later spit on someone who continued to film his concert, and yelled at the guy to turn his camera off. Considering that this guy's entire act is based on building on the works of others, and he understands the promotional benefits of having his music in podcasts, it does seem rather odd that he would be so upset about some folks videotaping him that he would then take their cameras, turn them off and even spit on people. Compare this to the other musician (who actually does write his own music) we mentioned recently who was taking fan made videos of his performances and stitching them together into a virtual concert.
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.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: cameras, covers, coverville, new media, podcasts, richard cheese, videotaping
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Quite fitting his first name is Richard...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Just wow.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Cover Songs Pod-Safe?
So if he's making the music freely available for reproduction on podcasts, how does he satisfy the requirements of the compulsory rights (isn't it $.08 a copy or something)? And how does he provide synchronization rights, when the original composition is not his to offer?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
And, for the uninitiated,
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: And, for the uninitiated,
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Wait...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Hes afraid of ASCAP
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Hes afraid of ASCAP
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Mike is clueless?
In all fairness Cheese did have a point; recording live performances without permission is much the same as taking a camcorder into a cinema. It was his behaviour that made him deserve all the flak he's now taking; utterly disgraceful and completely unprofessional.
He then follows it up by sending legal threats and takedown notices to people who’ve hosted video of his actions rather then his performance, something that clearly falls under fair use and newsworthy content.
The funniest part of the whole mess has to be when his manager claims Richard’s 'privacy' was violated during his 'public' performance.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
LOOSER
Probably was a publicity stunt. I mean there has been worse, bands pissing on the crowd. Not to justify the tool in any way. The guy is living in fantasy land to think, people really care about him and his covers.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I made my living as a musician for 3 years, before I decided to head back to college and make real money and this type of behavior is ridiculous. Without the fans, I would have been stuck eating ramen noodles and pizza.
I just don't understand how people like this can be such assholes.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Richard Cheese responded
http://www.geeknewscentral.com/archives/008190.html#comment-944082
Further, it seems a video someone posted in the comments has been taken down, possible misuse of DMCA takedown here?
http://www.geeknewscentral.com/archives/008190.html#comment-943611
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Richard Cheese responded
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Yup, a real dick
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Crap
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Its Part Of The Act
Seriously, this is a non-story most likely.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Its Part Of The Act
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Wow
"Everything is a lie! Stop posting blogs! Oh, you better take down the videos that prove that you're not lying or I'll sue!"
Oddly though, I thought video tapping an assault on someone, especially by a performer, was considered news worthy and protected....?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Hmm..
I think it is a perception issue, just like the riaa, but with video... he kind of gets it, but not completely.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Doesn't sound like he belonged there in the first place..
There's no reason I could ever see myself trying to film a clown like that, but if I did and he tried to touch my camera or worse yet, spit on me, he'd better be flanked by at least 2 bouncers or he would be hitting the floor hard.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
No wonder
Maybe that's why no one knows who Dick Cheese is.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
I believe the DSM IV has a term for being unable to distinguish between actual presence and a recording.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Trent Reznor
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Er, at which point the theater ushers would attack and spit on the perpetrator?
No, this was not like a cinema. This was a live event at a New Media conference. A crappy recording of a live event isn't a substitute for the event, it is a memory of the event.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Let's clear this up
The performer list included Jonathan Coulton, Natalie Gelman, Chance & The Choir, Dr. Floyd and Richard Cheese. All of the other performers were fine with being recorded (and actually encouraged it), and Richard Cheese's contract stated that I couldn't record his performance and air it in my podcast. That's completely fine, and is a preference per artist. Because we weren't dealing with physical tickets for the show, Richard had flyers that we posted around which included that people couldn't record the performance.
Richard was the final performer of the night, and some people easily may have missed the flyers, and continued having their cameraphones out. Richard made a few comments as he came out about turning off video cameras, but some people may have taken it in a joking way. I don't agree with the practice of grabbing phones out of people's hands, and especially not throwing it at them. I would have asked that he handle it differently. I paid for security to be at the show, I could have easily asked them to get involved had I been notified of what was going on.
Let me clear up the spitting situation. I've seen Richard Cheese perform at the Hard Rock Hotel before. You get the whole lounge act, which is more than the music. The "character" of Richard Cheese is a surly, arrogant lounge singer, and there is a behavior that goes along with it. When you hear "spitting" you tend to think Sid-Vicious-style gobs on the audience. During his act, which he did at the Hard Rock as well, he'll grab a mouthful of water from his martini glass, and then spit a small stream of water through his closed teeth at the front row of the audience. An offensive move for someone who hasn't seen the show before and doesn't know what to expect, and even more shocking when it is described and not seen.
Looking back, unleashing Richard on an audience that wasn't expecting him may have been a bad choice for the show. His music is obviously compatible with my podcast, but the live performance may not have been compatible with the attendees who had come to expect performances similar to the prior artists.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I would run for the bathroom and then proceed to a emergency room and demand a hepatitis and aids test of the performer. Spraying anything from ones mouth onto ones audience is like wow.
Also taking anyone's personal property from them without there permission or even the act of trying to take it away is the poorest of poor form.
He should have just stopped and asked the audience to put their cameras away.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
How did he get away with not getting an assault charge??
Let him try to take my camera from me...I might get arrested, but I can assure you he will be pulling beer bottle glass out of his temple..(along with my shoe from his a$$ and my fist from his face..)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]