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15 Info. & Comm. Tech. L. 1 (2006)

handle is hein.journals/infctel15 and id is 1 raw text is: Information & Communications Technology Law, Routledge Vol. 15, No. 1, March 2006 Taylor&FrncisGroup United States Copyright Law and Digital Sampling: Adding Color to a Grey Area ANDRE SIROIS & SHANNON E. MARTIN Department of Communication and Journalism, University of Maine, USA ABSTRACT This study evaluates the current application of United States copyright law in music sampling cases and used the Danger Mouse's Grey Album as a case in point. The following research questions structured the investigation: Are the current applications of United States copyright law appropriate for digital sampling in an international intellectual property environment? Is the practice of digital sampling stealing or recycling? How might the American legislature change copyright law to more clearly guide musical artists on the use of digital sampling? The research includes a review of sampling and its history, international and American copyright history, and the applicable elements of the Copyright Act of 1976, as well as interviews with legal professionals and musicians. The research suggests that the Copyright Act of 1976 is not adequate to address the technology and practices of digital sampling musicians, and that Congress needs to act precisely to amend the law and meet international legal standards. Introduction Throughout the history of the United States, copyright laws have been modified in order to accommodate new practices, technologies and international expectations. A recent revising of American copyright law resulted in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act' and in part protected music from file-sharing on the Internet using Napster or Kazaa. The international rise in popularity of rap music over the last decade has begun to test the copyright infringement standards for digital sampling. The issue received national attention when Brian Burton (aka Danger Mouse) released his music CD, The Grey Album in 2004. The controversy focused on the fact that Burton, without permission of the Beatles's copyright holder EMI, lifted the melodies, drums and rhythms of the Beatles's famous album, The White Album, and made his own instrumentals with digital equipment. Then he put the vocals (a cappellas) from Jay Z's new popular album, The Black Album, over the instrumentals in a technique known as blending-a practice that is popular among hip-hop DJs/producers (Werde, 2004, p. 32). EMI reviewed Burton's album and sent a cease-and-desist letter because the Beatles do not allow sampling of their music. This forced Burton to stop selling, manufacturing and distributing the album, as well as having to destroy all copies. In the wake of this, nearly 170 websites sitting on Internet servers located around the globe decided to offer the album for download on the last Tuesday in February 2004, coined 'Grey Tuesday'. Accordingly, EMI sent all the websites ISSN 1360-0834 print/ISSN 1469-8404 online/ 06/ 010001-32 © Taylor & Francis DOI: 10.1080/13600830500514903

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