New Danger Mouse CD Released As A Blank CD-R Due To Legal Fight With EMI

from the now-that's-creative dept

Fri, May 15th 2009 12:27pm — Mike Masnick

If you follow copyright issues, you're no doubt aware of Danger Mouse. He's the DJ who got quite a lot of attention a few years back for creating one of the very first mainstream mashups -- mixing the Beatle's The White Album with Jay-Z's The Black Album to create the rather unique The Grey Album. Of course, one of the main reasons why the album became so well known was because EMI sent cease-and-desist letters to everyone who posted copies of the album, and then to anyone who posted that they were going to participate in the "Grey Tuesday" protest. The whole thing seemed pretty silly. It's not as if anyone listening to The Grey Album would find it a substitute for either of the other albums.

Since then, of course, DJ Danger Mouse has gone on to even more mainstream success with his Gnarls Barkley project, a collaboration between Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo Green. However, it looks like DJ Danger Mouse has another album that he's been working on, in association with Mark Linkous (of Sparklehorse). Yet, due to ongoing legal troubles with EMI, he can't actually release the music. So he's come up with a rather creative solution. Found via Andrew Dubber, the news is that the next album will be released as album artwork with a blank recordable CD.

Yes, a blank CD-R.

There is no music on it. Because if there were music on it, it would get him in more trouble with EMI. Yet, if you have that blank CD and all the artwork, you certainly could (not that they're suggesting you do...) find that music elsewhere and burn it to the CD. The statement from Danger Mouse reads:

Danger Mouse's new project Dark Night Of The Soul consists of an album length piece of music by Danger Mouse, Sparklehorse and a host of guest vocalists, along with a collection of original David Lynch photography inspired by and based on the music.

The photographs, which provide a visual narrative for the music, are compiled in a limited edition, hand numbered 100+ page book which will now come with a blank, recordable CD-R. All copies will be clearly labeled: 'For Legal Reasons, enclosed CD-R contains no music. Use it as you will.'

Due to an ongoing dispute with EMI, Danger Mouse is unable to release the recorded music for Dark Night Of The Soul without fear of being sued by EMI.

Danger Mouse remains hugely proud of Dark Night Of The Soul and hopes that people lucky enough to hear the music, by whatever means, are as excited by it as he is.

In some ways, this is reminiscent of what the band Green Day did many years ago, offering up blank CDs with artwork for fans who had downloaded the music from unauthorized sources. Yet, in this case, it's even more interesting since there are no authorized sources at all for the music. It'll be fun to see how EMI reacts. Update: Meanwhile, the folks at NPR alert us to the fact that they're hosting a streaming version of the album for anyone who wants to hear it.

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Filed Under: blank cd-r, copyright, danger mouse, legal fight, music
Companies: emi

47 Comments

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R. Miles, 15 May 2009 @ 12:42pm

I can see EMI's response now.
"By providing the blank CD-R, 'DJ Danger Mouse' has perpetuated copyright infringement by telling people 'Do with it as you wish'.

This action appears to mock our previous attempt of protecting the original artists' rights. We have no choice but to use legal recourse for an injunction to cease immediate distribution of the blank media."

Personally, I think a blank flash drive would have been better. Who the hell uses CDs anymore?

Good luck, Danger Mouse. You can bet EMI's going to get their panties in a bunch over this one.
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Tgeigs, 15 May 2009 @ 12:48pm

This looks like good ol' fashioned civil disobedience to me. It'll be interesting to see the blustering response.
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Just Another Moron in a Hurry, 15 May 2009 @ 12:53pm

Cash In Hand
Where can I buy this CD?

And did anyone else notice that CD is also the initials for Civil Disobedience?
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Chronno S. Trigger, 15 May 2009 @ 1:03pm

Re: Cash In Hand
I was looking for the same thing. The album comes out Summer 2009.
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Tgeigs, 15 May 2009 @ 1:05pm

I am so going to rip that CD and put it up on filesharing sites. Imagine the DL time on the entire album...
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Ima Fish, 15 May 2009 @ 1:07pm

I'll wait and buy it when I can find a cheap used copy.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 May 2009 @ 1:33pm

Cease & Desist
Those cease & desist letters worked a treat, it only took me 10 seconds to find songs from the Grey Album on youtube.

I'm going to buy this blank CD-R as a protest against EMI.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 May 2009 @ 1:47pm

Re:
Ok, maybe I missed the sarcasm, but why would you by a used CD-R??? Oh wait a minute, you mean after someone else has burned the music on to it for you. Ok, now I get it. Good plan, assuming anyone is willing to give up their copy.
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Sanketsu, 15 May 2009 @ 2:07pm

Awesome, now I've got something to blow $50 bucks on. *^_^*
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Cecil Green, 15 May 2009 @ 2:07pm

pretty awesome.
the booklet of david lynch photos makes it well worth the price. great idea.
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hegemon13, 15 May 2009 @ 2:16pm

Inducement
My guess is, EMI will go after a charge of "inducing" copyright, a la Grokster.
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The Truth Beacon, 15 May 2009 @ 3:07pm

Re: Re:
"Ok, maybe I missed the sarcasm, but why would you by a used CD-R??? Oh wait a minute, you mean after someone else has burned the music on to it for you. Ok, now I get it. Good plan, assuming anyone is willing to give up their copy."

You idiot... It's a joke that you are obviously too stupid to get... Read it again a few times, and you will realize that he's treating it just as a normal album which he has little interest in other than the political statement...
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Anonymous Coward, 15 May 2009 @ 3:57pm

emi will irradiate or damage the disk on the way out the door.
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anonymous, 15 May 2009 @ 4:09pm

Re: Cash In Hand
ssshhh, dont tell anybody

http://www.filedropper.com/darknightofthesoul2009
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Peet McKimmie (profile), 15 May 2009 @ 4:38pm

Oh, *DJ* Danger Mouse...
I jumped at this story because I thought it was about "Danger Mouse", the much-beloved UK cartoon character from the 1980s voiced by national treasure David "Del Boy" Jason.

Please be more accurate with your titles in future.
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Xanius, 15 May 2009 @ 4:44pm

Re: Oh, *DJ* Danger Mouse...
Same with me. Should definitely have said DJ danger mouse, I wouldn't have cared as much and been let down by that.
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Sirknz, 15 May 2009 @ 5:33pm

Re: Re: Oh, *DJ* Danger Mouse...
He's the greatest, he's fantastic, whenever there is danger he'll be there!
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Mike, 16 May 2009 @ 6:45am

LOL! Gotta love it!
What a wonderfully creative way to stick it to EMI. And to the litigious folks at EMI, let me just say, "Good luck with trying to litigate over this- you're gonna need it."

Mike
http://thedeathpsychic.com
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Mike, 16 May 2009 @ 6:47am

LOL! Gotta love it!
What a wonderfully creative way to stick it to EMI. And to the litigious folks at EMI, let me just say, "Good luck with trying to litigate over this- you're gonna need it."

Mike
The Death Psychic
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any, 16 May 2009 @ 7:57am

Re: DL time
anywhere between 2 minutes and 29 hours?
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Anonymous Coward, 16 May 2009 @ 8:53am

Re: Oh, *DJ* Danger Mouse...
Crikey
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Brian, 16 May 2009 @ 10:22am

Re:
Umm, the download time on an entire album wouldn't be long at all. Perhaps 5 minutes. This isn't 1995.
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Melvin, 16 May 2009 @ 11:18am

the sexpistols wrote a song about emi i think..
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Jim, 16 May 2009 @ 12:03pm

blank CD-R
I want blank CD-R
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John, 16 May 2009 @ 3:11pm

Re: I can see EMI's response now.
Who the hell can plug a flash drive into their car.
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Dresden Black, 16 May 2009 @ 3:40pm

Re: Cash In Hand
"And did anyone else notice that CD is also the initials for Civil Disobedience?"
I might instead suggest that 'CD-R' could stand for 'Cease & Desist - Refused!'
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Orgillian, 16 May 2009 @ 3:45pm

Don't think 160kps mp3s are CD/album quality
Nice strategy but he'd best be giving it away losslessly somewhere for it to mean as much...
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Oxidd, 17 May 2009 @ 6:33am

Re: Re: I can see EMI's response now.
Uh I can... my cd player in my car has a usb port. USB Key, portable harddrive (wd mypassport), they all work.
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es, 17 May 2009 @ 8:21am

Re: Cash In Hand
also cease and desist
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Arne, 17 May 2009 @ 8:26am

Re: in their car
A lot of people actually, many car stereos now have USB input to do exactly that.
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Pete, 17 May 2009 @ 10:59am

Re: Oh, *DJ* Danger Mouse...
Me too! Unfortunately, its just another irrelevant moron who can't write an original piece of music to save his life.
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Jared (profile), 17 May 2009 @ 1:10pm

Re: Re: I can see EMI's response now.
I can. I have a USB port on my head unit and I have a 16 gig thumb drive full of .mp3s I listen to. In my car.
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Hugh Brown, 17 May 2009 @ 6:03pm

Interesting AND subversive ....
Love it!

Keep up the revolution, boys!
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neal, 19 May 2009 @ 12:01am

He'll never get away with it
I hope he gets sued by the estate of John Cage
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will pomroy, 19 May 2009 @ 3:53pm

Re: Oh, *DJ* Danger Mouse...
why bother posting a response you twat?
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Carl, 20 May 2009 @ 8:12am

Uhhhh...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gray_Album

http://books.google.com/books?id=1ONyncVruj8C&pg= PA131&dq=ipod+copyright&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=0_0#PPA132,M1 - the last paragraph

I think you're off, by five years.
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anonymous, 21 May 2009 @ 12:38pm

Do with it as you wish
http://rs355.rapidshare.com/files/235190882/Danger_Mouse___Sparklehorse_-_Dark_Night_Of_The_Soul__20 09_.rar http://rs355.rapidshare.com/files/235190882/Danger_Mouse___Sparklehorse_-_Dark_Night_Of_T he_Soul__2009_.rar http://rs355.rapidshare.com/files/235190882/Danger_Mouse___Sparklehorse_-_Dark _Night_Of_The_Soul__2009_.rar
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Other John, 21 May 2009 @ 3:36pm

Re: Re: I can see EMI's response now.
Um. I can :-)
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Steven, 21 May 2009 @ 10:58pm

Re: Re: Re: I can see EMI's response now.
I can actually plug a flash drive into my car
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IanK, 25 May 2009 @ 12:45pm

Re: Re: Oh, *DJ* Danger Mouse...
How about jazz, or pop, or nearly ANY music created in the past 20 years? Music has ALWAYS been about taking what has come before and turning it on its head. I dare ANY "musician" out there to attempt to create something akin to what Danger Mouse does. To dismiss it shows more about the listeners prejudiced views of what music is thanthe skill that created it. Taking different musical elements, combining them into a new form takes just as much skill as playing scales on the piano. I've played guitar for almost 20 years, I also have recoreded bands and runa project studio and I can tell you that I have heard more talent in the electronic/mash-up/remix scene than in the hundreds of pop/rock acts that come across my desk. Sorry Pete, but YOU are the irrelevant moron here.
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dave, 28 May 2009 @ 4:20pm

Jeez...this writer sucks. Really badly written. "posted copies of the album" Where??? Online????? say it then!!!!
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Mike Masnick (profile), 28 May 2009 @ 5:20pm

Re:
Sorry to have not lived up to your standards. But it's rather amusing that someone would complain about the writing choices of another when choosing multiple punctuation marks.
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Touray, 30 May 2009 @ 6:37am

Re: Re:ha
ha haa, he didnt think you actually read these.
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steve, 17 Jun 2009 @ 6:02pm

bought it allready
i bought the "album" and then proceeded to torrent the album.. its quite good!

danger mouse should be proud!
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Jon Ostrow, 1 Jul 2009 @ 11:45am

Good Idea... But Takes Away From The Music
I like the message that Danger Mouse is trying to send to all of the major record labels, and I think it is about time artists start truly standing up to the labels. But, I think that this 'protest' may be a little too powerful. The music that Danger Mouse has created for this album is now going to just represent a 'protest', which I can imagine was not the original intent for the music. Its just too bad that it came to this, because the music of Danger Mouse will be lost in this process of this all.

That being said, I praise Danger Mouse for standing up to the labels and making the voice of the artist heard. Well Done!
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etot, 16 Jan 2010 @ 10:42am

شكرااااااااااااااااااااااااااااا
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Lara Jane | Ultimate Lifestyle Project, 21 Mar 2010 @ 3:48pm

Brilliant!
I love Danger Mouse's resourceful and creative approach to counteracting the major record labels.
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