[Rumori] Thrift store recordings
The Evolution Control Committee / tradeMark G.
ecc at pobox.com
Thu Feb 17 12:50:25 PST 2005
At 02:23 PM 2/16/2005, you wrote:
>I don't know if this subject has been brought out
>before but are recordings from donated tapes found at
>thrift shops protected by copyright? If I found a tape
>that someone donated with sounds of him talking or
>whatever, could I "release" it as part of a found
>sound series? I was considering starting such a
>series but was uncertain about legalities or
>illegalities of doing that.
Having contemplated doing similarly with loads of great material found
in the thrift piles, I've mulled over the issues a bit. As best I
understand things, any (any!) recorded material is now -presumed- copyright
unless explicitly stated otherwise. Never mind the fact that it would be
impossible for you to locate the "author" of the found work; never mind
that the authors themselves gave away the master recordings to the thrift
store (and hence, the public). The author didn't say-so, so it's a no-go.
Now, let's talk about reality. How many copies ya gonna press of your
proposed compilation? 300? 500? Maybe even 1,000? What are the chances
any of those will reach someone that got included on it? Even if it
happens, will they care? I've also thought that the chances of this
happening are actually LOWER than random chance, because the type of person
who would carelessly donate their answering machine cassette to the thrift
store is sociologically not the kind of person that would buy and listen to
a CD of found sounds for fun.
In short, do it bubba. Compile it, put it out. Take the
infinitesimally minor risk to share your finds and bestow joy upon those
who would appreciate such niche entertainment. I'll buy one!
- TradeMark G.
P.S.: Anyone in Las Vegas or Kansas City? Your first chances to see The
ECC live are coming up... details at: www.evolution-control.com
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