[Barras]

I think this is clever and “catchy” how they`ve mixed the voice of Al Dupree from PAMS #28 Happiness…the Dutch TV commercial features a 22 second edit of this…

http://www.vitaminwatervansourcy.nl/#/homepage

Here`s the mp3 version…

http://jinglemad.com/e107_files/public/1242985643_3680_FT71687_happiness.mp3 filename:happiness.mp3

[LenGroat]

That is BRILLIANT… sounds different, is lively & contemporary, but has a nostalgic feel..

+ it's probably much cheaper to licence an old PAMS track than a song!

[bossjockMember]

Superb. As an edit freak myself, I appreciate clever and creative edits and mixes. Interesting how a classic PAMS cut works so well in this example – there's life in those old favourites yet! Thanks for sharing!

[JAM / PAMSMember]

Yes, it's clever and catchy… but completely illegal. They have obtained NO rights from us to use this copyrighted material in any way. They will wish they had.

it's probably much cheaper to licence an old PAMS track than a song!

It probably would have been… if they had made that effort. Now, I'm not so sure.

[Bigdave]

Yes,it's clever,but here's Rules One and Two,that really,the producers of the remix should have considered…

1.Didn't you think for one moment you can use copyrighted material without permission?

2.It takes nothing to pick up a phone,send an email or fax,or even Ichat,and some people may consider it courteous. So,next time,please ask Jon if you can use a PAMS cut before ripping it to your sampler…because,in these cases,illegal sampling & remixing equals cease and desist.

Finally,to borrow Al's lines,money won't bring you happiness,but it may buy the makers of this song some legal advice…because they're going to need it.

[Barras]

Didn`t realise I was opening a can of worms when posting about this TV commercial – I just assumed that this production company did have permission from Jon in Dallas…someone in Holland will be sweating now.

[bossjockMember]

David Barras said “….someone in Holland will be sweating now”

And so they should!!

[IainJohnstonMember]

Perhaps its just my antique PC struggling with flash objects – but that link of David's to the Dutch “mineral water” site just gets a “black-level” blanked screen this morning!

(No doubt they've had a “knock on the door” from their local Top Format rep on behalf of Jon)

BigDave – is there not some legal thing about sampling whereby it IS permissible to sample & re-use an “element” WITHOUT Copyright consent, provided that the element is LESS than such-and-such notes/beats/seconds in duration?(Although thats clearly NOT the situation in this case, which really is blatant).

[Matt_Barton]

I get the blank screen too….as an anorak I would have liked to hear the audio, but as an IP lawyer I'm all for copyright enforcement

Iain – as far as I know, technically ALL samples should be cleared for use or a licence obtained – I don't know of any “minimum element” for requiring copyright consent.

[IainJohnstonMember]

Thanks Matt! was something I'd maybe heard about quite some time ago (something to do with an American musician who had wanted to sample & use a brilliant snare-drum sample he heard on another artiste's record – only to find that HE himself had actually originally created it years before and he was now hearing it after it being re-processed & re-sampled through n-amount of generations!)

As for IP/copyright enforcement rules – just shows we have a lot of very useful people from many different disciplines on JM! :^)

[Barras]

Matt & Iain,

I initially posted an “mp3” version of the TV commercial too, so if you cannot view the commercial, at least you can hear it…

http://jinglemad.com/e107_files/public/1242985643_3680_FT71687_happiness.mp3

I think it has now been established that the sampling in this case is “illegal” as the copyright obviously is with JAM-PAMS, however, as far as using bits of music…I was under the impression that TV companies in Great Britain can use about “seven seconds” of a song/piece of music and they don`t have to pay any copyright fees. If the “bit” they use has a duration of longer than “seven seconds” they do have to pay copyright…

[Barras]

Wixy1360 wrote:
Perhaps its just my antique PC struggling with flash objects – but that link of David's to the Dutch “mineral water” site just gets a “black-level” blanked screen this morning!

(No doubt they've had a “knock on the door” from their local Top Format rep on behalf of Jon)

Must be your PC as it`s still there…

[kcmike]

The website works for me as well.

Here's the youtube link to the commercial if you can't get it on the website:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXtryszofaY

This is all such a shame because it's a really great song and it would have been so easy to make a quick call to Dallas for consent and clearance.

[Matt_Barton]

I was under the impression that TV companies in Great Britain can use about “seven seconds” of a song/piece of music and they don`t have to pay any copyright fees. If the “bit” they use has a duration of longer than “seven seconds” they do have to pay copyright…

Hi David

I heard something similar when I worked on a university RSL many years ago (before the station had a fully computerised playout & logging system) – if we played anything for less than 15 (?) seconds we didn't have to log it and therefore avoided MCPS fees…but I could be completely wrong about that.

Sampling is a bit different: you could take much less than 7 seconds of a song (e.g. the famous riff from “Under Pressure” by Bowie and Queen) and make a whole new song out of it (“Ice Ice Baby” by Vanilla Ice). It would seem very unfair to be able to do so for free, and make some money from someone else's creativity…and indeed Mr Ice/Van Winkle got into hot water over this I think.

Back on topic: thanks for posting the MP3, David; I like it actually!

Matt

[steve37]

The song is called 'Happiness' by A. Skillz feat Krafty Kutz. It appears to have been released by Finger Lickin' Records in December 2008. See http://www.fingerlickin.co.uk/store/product_info.php?cPath=29&products_id=1143

A quick Google shows it to be available at many on-line stores, even Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Happiness/dp/B001KZ6I82

The producers of the TV commercial probably just licenced 'Happiness' rather than commissioning it specially for the commercial.

I wonder where 'A Skillz' physically took the sample from?
Either
1) he's a jingle collector and took it from his own collection – in which case he'd know all about PAMS so there's no excuse for not obtaining clearance from Jon;
Or:
2) he doesn't know anything about jingles and maybe found one of those old LP's of generic jingles (no call letters) in a 2nd hand record shop? In which case he probably hasn't even heard of PAMS and doesn't know they hold the Copyright. Of course this doesn't excuse using the sample. If he didn't know whether it was copyrighted he shouldn't have used it.

[IainJohnstonMember]

The following legal statement is shown on the “Terms & Conditions” page of the Fingerlickin' Records website, and I quote…

“The copyright in the material contained in this website belongs to Finger Lickin Records. Any person may copy any part of this material, subject to the following conditions:

The material may be used only for non-commercial purposes;
The copies must retain any copyright or other intellectual property notices contained in the original material;
The products described in this website may be the subject of other intellectual property rights reserved by Finger Lickin Records. or other third parties. No licence is granted in respect of those intellectual property rights;
Images, pictures, videos, logos and graphics on this site are protected by copyright and may not be reproduced or appropriated in any manner without written permission of their respective owner(s).”

(Emphasis in bold highlighted by me).

Note that the Website INCLUDES the “offer for sale” of the offending item, including as a download; therefore they are “offering” the track that includes the PAMS material as if they had the right to include it within their own “production”.

So clearly, if I (hypothetically) was to “sample” something from Messers Skillz & Kutz “work” and use it without THEIR consent, I could be sued for Copyright Infringement by them. So they must also be liable for lifting the PAMS material.
No excuses.

If the offending “record” is indeed on public sale, (including via Amazon?), whether by download or vinyl from the Fingerlickin' website, then I do sincerely trust that JMW will ensure that the “Publishers” of said record will make a generous donation to the charity of Jon's choice.

PS – the “seven second” Copyright-free thing – apparently this is one of the ways that “Ringtone Suppliers” are able to “sell” a clip or synthesis of a tune/etc from a Copyrighted popular piece of music without (?) having to pay the Copyright owner. As an aside, one of the biggest (and most profitable) Ringtone Suppliers is owned by …. a Tory Member of Parliament – no surprises there (“its within the rules”!)

Another PS – I used to work for a well-known US mobile phone manufacturer – their built-in Ringtones were totally awful generic/”traditional” tunes – because they point-blank refused to use any Copyrighted music item as a ringtone because they considered it to be clear breach of Copyright. 'Nuff said.

[martinlesterMember]

Wixy1360 wrote:

If the offending “record” is indeed on public sale, (including via Amazon?), whether by download or vinyl from the Fingerlickin' website, then I do sincerely trust that JMW will ensure that the “Publishers” of said record will make a generous donation to the charity of Jon's choice.

It is for sale on Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Happiness/dp/B001KZ6I82

but so is Ray andersons ripped off
Radio 1 (Pams Jingles) CD

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Radio-One-Jingles/dp/B00000DB22/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1243183868&sr=8-4

and Pirate Radio Jingles from the Sixties
more PAMS

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pirate-Radio-Jingles-Sixties-European/dp/B0000083P3/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1243183868&sr=8-1

[theniceguy]

and HMV

http://hmv.com/hmvweb/advancedSearch.do?ctx=12;1;63;-1;6&searchType=12&label=JUMBO

[Barras]

It`s still there…

[Author]

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