The joys of the music biz, part 480
Sighted in Alan McGee's column on the Guardian "Dub be good to me: Curious about dub reggae but don't know where to start? Here's five classic albums to get the riddims started."
One of the albums listed is by dub maestro Scientist, called 'Scientist Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires'.
"... Rockstar Games licensed the Vampire album for their Grand Theft Auto game, but Scientist received no compensation from the deal and sued the company.
He ultimately lost because he engineered the album but didn't produce it, so isn't considered the owner of his work - setting a dangerous precedent in the world of dub, where engineering is the key to creation. Rockstar Games successfully argued that with the extra profile its game gave the album, Scientist had already been compensated."
4 comments:
there's a fair bit more to the story than that. its pretty easy to check THE FACTS online rather than just regurgitating what has been said by a grumpy old man with a colossal chip on his shoulder,
ah, anon posters. If you know the facts, please point to them on da interwebs. Its not regurgitating, its quoting. And remember, grumpy old men rule the world. Sad but true. And leave your name next time.
from Jamaica Gleaner, 2005
Greensleeves Records wins copyright case
published: Thursday | May 19, 2005
Germaine Smith, Staff Reporter
REGGAE GIANTS Greensleeves Records recently won a copyright infringement case brought against them by one of Jamaica's leading mixing engineers.
Hopeton Browne, known in the business as the 'Scientist', lost his bid after an approximate two-year fight in U.S. courts. Browne had challenged Greensleeves for the recording and composition copyrights of five tracks which he worked on for the video game, 'Grand Theft Auto 3.'
REGGAE CLASSICS
A release from Greensleeves stated that the tracks come from the album Scientist Rids The World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires, which was released in 1981, and which is now available as part of the Greensleeves Reggae Classics series.
The tracks were produced by the renowned Henry 'Junjo' Laws, and had been reportedly licensed by him to Greensleeves. All five tracks, Dance Of The Vampires, The Mummy's Shroud, The Corpse Rises, Your Teeth In My Neck, and Plague Of Zombies, were mixed at King Tubby's Studios back then.
Both Lawes and King Tubby are deceased, so that meant that Browne's claims could not be validated.
According to Greensleeves Records, the court found that Browne was not the owner of either the recording or composition copyrights. Greensleeves' Managing Director, Chris Sedgwick, claimed that the company went to trial because Browne's claims were unreasonable.
DISMISS THE COMPLAINTS
"Basically, Scientist was claiming to own copyrights in songs and recordings as a result of being the mixing engineer. Although we always felt these claims were ridiculous, we had to defend ourselves all the way to trial and are delighted to have got the right result," he said in a release.
The case was heard in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, located in Manhattan, and was presided over by U.S. District Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbau.
Checks with the records office of that court confirmed the judgement made against Browne. A clerk there stated that the judge ordered that the plaintiff (Browne) dismiss the complaints against Greensleeves.
Others who reportedly testified at the trial include King Jammy's, who worked with King Tubby's at the time, and Chris Cracknell, Greensleeves' artist and repertoire director.
Dub Engineer ‘The Scientist’ Fears For His Life As He And Record Label/Producer Jah Life Receive Death Threat From King Jammys Henchman
see
http://www.westindiantimes.net/ent/etnws/92.html
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