Slashdot Mirror


Eminem Sues Apple for Sampling his Samples

EvanKai writes "To celebrate Grey Tuesday, Eminem sues Apple to show his support for hiphop and sampling. CBS MarketWatch is reporting that 'Rapper Eminem's music publisher is suing Apple Computer Inc., claiming the company used one of the hip-hop superstar's songs in a television advertisement without permission. Eight Mile Style filed the copyright infringement suit late last week against Apple, Viacom Inc., its MTV subsidiary and the TBWA/Chiat/Day advertising agency.' While the ad in question no longer appears, several similar ads can be found here. I can't believe Chiat Day failed to clear the use of these songs with Pink, Mariah Carey, and The Who... or whatever major label actually owns the rights."

42 of 690 comments (clear)

  1. My by TheKidWho · · Score: 1, Funny

    My name is what! My name is who!

    Damn now im getting sued for $10,000,000!!!!

  2. Turns out... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    The ad agency bought the song from iTunes for $1 and assumed they could use them.

  3. Re:free.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny
    I thought RIAA had something up their asses...

    Avril Lavigne?

  4. Re:Would it be cheaper? by UnixRawks · · Score: 5, Funny

    Even so, the sampling could use more cow bell.

    --
    I
  5. Hooray for unowned IP by suntoucher · · Score: 2, Funny

    Ah, the classic SCO strategy...

  6. Miata by mrpuffypants · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's a good thing that eminem is suing Apple for the lost revenue. Maybe now he can buy that cute little Miata that he's had his eye on...

  7. Dude, Chill by kannibal_klown · · Score: 4, Funny

    It was a 10 year old girl singing the song (acapella) for like 8 or 10 seconds. Hardly a sample or anything.

    However, laws are laws, as stupid as some of them may be. Apple should have known better.

    Thanks to that 10 year old girl, he won't be able to buy his own gold-plated shark tank this year. :(

    1. Re:Dude, Chill by DjMd · · Score: 4, Funny

      "This month he was hoping to have a gold-plated shark tank bar installed right next to the pool, but thanks to people downloading his music for free, he must now wait a few months before he can afford it."

      and it was Lars Ulrich our favorite fan of MP3s...

      Great South Park ep.
      "Man must learn to think of these horrible outcomes before he acts selfishly or else... I fear... recording artists will be forever doomed to a life of only semi-luxury."

      --
      DJMD - The fourth man - Planetary
  8. my lawsuit... by zorcon · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm sueing Apple for using my silhouette!

  9. Re:Would it be cheaper? by Alan+Partridge · · Score: 3, Funny

    Eminem rules? Who told you that? The world is REALLY ruled by those crazy lizard people who run the oil companies, set up Israel and all that shit. I think they're called the illuminati or something.

    --
    That was classic intercourse!
  10. just for that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'm going to delete all 103 eminem tracks off my hard disk.

    Take That Marshal!

  11. Settlement by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny


    Maybe they can reach a settlement like Mike Rowe did... hey one of those cool new iPods and 50 songs would be sweet
    </sarcasm>

  12. Re:The Register by zfractal · · Score: 5, Funny
    The kicker is it all rhymes!

    Very appropriate for these times.

  13. Re:Eminem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... and in related news, the Mars Candy Company is reportedly suing Eminem for trademark infringement to the "tune" of $10M.

  14. Re:Sweet Jesus by DroopyStonx · · Score: 5, Funny

    Gotta love the laws that state that satirical works can be used without permission of the original artist.

    If I was Weird Al, I'd make an entire album of Eminem satires just as a big "F you".

    --
    We have secretly replaced these Slashdot mods' sense of humor with a rusty nail. Let's see if they notice!!
  15. Riiight... by st0rmshad0w · · Score: 2, Funny

    This is the same guy who, during a concert, gave a fan what was supposed to be a $45,000 (or some ridiculous figure) necklace to show he didn't care about money or material things. The only problem was the necklace was actually worthless crap.

    Can't we get Mars candy to sue him for using Eminem? Everytime I hear him mentioned I suddenly want snackfood.

  16. Sampling... by FS1 · · Score: 4, Funny

    May I have your attention please?
    May I have your attention please?
    Will the really stupid intern who did not license the music from the original artist please stand up?
    I repeat, will the really stupid intern who did not license the music from the original artist please stand up?

    We're going to have a problem here..
    Y'all act like you never seen a slashdotter before
    Jaws all on the floor like Intel, like AMD just burst in the door
    and started whoopin their ass worse than before
    they first were ..... i think ill stop before ruffle any more feathers.

    Please im not funny so make sure to mod me down to -3 offtopic, thanks again!

    --
    A Fatal OE Exception has occurred, Sig will now reboot.
  17. Re:Would it be cheaper? by eln · · Score: 4, Funny

    Oh come on, everybody knows Eminem is really pulling the strings. The Illuminati is just a front.

  18. Eminem Lyrics by digitalgimpus · · Score: 2, Funny

    Think he's going to rap about killing Steve Jobs?

    Might have a new target besides his own mother.

  19. Re:Funny... by DoctorScooby · · Score: 2, Funny

    Similarly, I was about to buy a Dell with Windows XP, then I saw the Microsoft commercials with people flying around after using Windows XP. It was then that I realized that you had to be on drugs to use Windows.

  20. Re:Commercial vs Creative Use by GoodbyeBlueSky1 · · Score: 5, Funny

    I think Eminem's main concern here goes one step farther. He may not want his songs used in commercials without permission, but imagine the look on his face when he realized he was being outrapped by an 8 year old with an iPod!

    --
    why? forty-two.
  21. More Quotes From Eminem on This topic by ericlp · · Score: 3, Funny

    Later Eminem was quoted as saying:

    "Yo the little ***** shouldn't have been singin my m**** f****** song. Anybody else I'd ah f***** them up good if I wasn't such a punk ass loser."

    Word.

  22. Re:Still Waiting on Lawsuits... by DroopyStonx · · Score: 3, Funny

    Ah yes, the famous:

    "No no, their song goes: doo doo doo do-do-do-doot and mine goes: doo doo doo do-do-do-doot CHICKA CHICKA"

    The "technically mine was different" story.

    --
    We have secretly replaced these Slashdot mods' sense of humor with a rusty nail. Let's see if they notice!!
  23. CNN by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    CNN had this story early this morning. Slashdot is sampling CNN's samples.

  24. Um OK by Effugas · · Score: 2, Funny

    This is ridiculous. The ads contained a cover of the songs being sung, and like every other cover you hear, there's a compulsory license you can pay to get the right to perform someone else's music.

    There was no sampling. Sampling is when I record what you say and play it back. Covering is when I just reperform it.

    I agree with what some other people said -- Eminem suing Apple? I should download his audio on MP3 and show the whole world how he's got...oh crap, now I'm being sued.

    --Dan

  25. Re:"Every million I make, another relative sues" by ziggles · · Score: 2, Funny

    He also hasn't tortured and killed his wife yet. Sheesh, that guy needs to start being honest with his lyrics! :P

  26. Re:How ironic! by AvengerXP · · Score: 2, Funny

    "Copyright occurs at conception"

    What if i'm pro choice?

    --
    Trolls dont like to be Flamebait, because they burn so well. Protect our Troll heritage!
  27. Re:Would it be cheaper? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I've got a fever...
    and the only cure for it...
    is MORE COWBELL!

  28. Re:The Register by Oliver+Wendell+Jones · · Score: 5, Funny

    "The kicker is it all rhymes!
    Very appropriate for these times."

    Wow, you're a poet and weren't even aware of the fact!

    --
    A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing -- Emo Phillips
  29. Re:Would it be cheaper? by Geek+of+Tech · · Score: 3, Funny
    Pay for Eminem's emotional distress? Might as well give him the whole company... and an IOU...

    --
    Stop the Slashdot effect! Don't read the articles!
  30. Re:Would it be cheaper? by Geek+of+Tech · · Score: 3, Funny
    >> Everyone who was born before 1980, I would guess.

    Nah, It's gotta be more than just CmdrTaco and four other slashdotters...

    :P

    --
    Stop the Slashdot effect! Don't read the articles!
  31. Re:Sweet Jesus by trentblase · · Score: 3, Funny

    Wait, so today Slashot is considering one poster's opinion to be that of the entire community? I'm confused.

  32. Re:The Register by DragonMagic · · Score: 2, Funny

    But will Apple pay for its crimes?

    --

    Human nature is the same everywhere; the modes only are different. -- Earl of Chesterfield
  33. Re:The Register by Wordsmith · · Score: 4, Funny

    Anybody want a peanut?

  34. Eminem is really tough. by Geburah · · Score: 2, Funny

    Tupac took on Notorious B.I.G...

    Jay-Z took on NAS...

    Eminem takes on Apple computers, a skinny-bald-vegen-DJ, and a hand puppet.

    Eminem is the greatest! Ive never seen an artist with so much talent! Sheer brilliance! Such mind boggling creativity! I LOVE HIM!

    (sigh)

    Im gonna go take a shower then kill myself.

  35. How much "originality" is there? by Tripster · · Score: 5, Funny

    I saw an interview with Robert Plant on VH1 Classics a couple of months back, in it he stated that really there is only so many notes to go around, everyone copies someone at some point in their careers.

    Musicians (and actors) as gazillionaires is a relatively new thing in our society, I think a lot of them are really losing it though. In the old days musicians were paid much like the rest of us, for doing a job, ie, playing music for an event or for a group.

    Do I think Eminem deservers $10mil to compensate for some 10 year old girl blurting out his "creation"? Heck no, give the guy a couple of hundred bucks at most, but move on.

    These folks would be more than happy to collect royalties off us all when we hum their tunes in the shower.

    It's time we brought some of these "stars" back down to earth a little. It's a never ending cycle and it's the consumer who is burnt because of it, is any actor worth $20million for 3 or 4 months work on a movie? I don't think so myself, but because some suits in Hollywood think so we're now paying $10 a ticket at the movies, meanwhile these "stars" pump out garbage like Gigli.

    And WTF is with Britney Spears? I saw some video of hers yesterday and she's selling nothing but sex appeal, her singing stinks and she has little talent, but I guess wriggling yer bum is worth millions in the US. How about getting her to put on a concert where she actually stands still and sings her songs rather than runs around lipsyncing everything.

  36. Re:Would it be cheaper? by soulsteal · · Score: 2, Funny

    I've got a fever and the only prescription is more cowbell.

  37. The issue boiled down... by HarveyBirdman · · Score: 4, Funny
    ...so even rap fans can understand.

    A little girl in a commercial sang a small part of a song written by some overrated guy who does that rap stuff.

    The singer is suing for some stupid amount.

    He should lose because he's a dickhead.

    He won't lose, however, because we have a legal system constructed by, for and of the dickheads.

    I hope this helps. :-)

    --
    --- Ban humanity.
  38. Re:How ironic! by nomadic · · Score: 2, Funny

    "hey I wrote that you fruity bastard!"

    Ahh, the Fruity Bastard Doctrine. A powerful legal construct.

  39. Re:My understanding... by digitalcowboy · · Score: 5, Funny

    You failed to specify, using an instantly made up and barely decipherable acronym, whether:

    1) You are a lawyer
    2) You are not a lawyer
    3) You intend to be a lawyer
    4) You are married to a lawyer
    5) You know a lawyer
    6) You know how to spell lawyer

    Without a disclaimer, I'm left to conclude that you MUST BE a lawyer (or, more likely, a high ranking judge) and as such I will be citing your Slashdot post in a case I currently have before the Federal appeals court.

    If I lose, expect to be sued.

  40. String? I'm afraid not... by WIAKywbfatw · · Score: 2, Funny

    I think you'll find that the artist that you're referring to is called Sting, as in what bees do, rather than string, as in old frayed rope.

    On the other hand, copyright fees earnt by cover versions, etc is money for old rope, as they say here in Britain.

    (I'll save the "I'm afraid not"/"I'm a frayed knot" gag for another time.)

    --

    "Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue." - David Brent, Wernham Hogg
  41. Grey Album Torrent? by frission · · Score: 2, Funny

    is there a torrent file for the grey album? all of the mirrors seem to be overwhelmed...