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Australian Record Industry Goes After the Red Cross
cavaroc writes "Wired is reporting that the Australian record labels are now threatening the International Red Cross for being a beneficiary of Sharman Networks. They said they'd politely ask them to cooperate, but that if they didn't cooperate, 'It would be incredibly disappointing if we had to sue them.' My favorite quote from the article: 'We never take a case against technology, we will take cases against people who use technology to take away our artists' property.' They're expected to sue themselves sometime early next year. ;-)"
Have you ever had occasion to read a recording contract?
My guess is no - I haven't either. If either of us did, though, we would inevitably find 1 of 2 possibilities to be true.
Possibility 1: The contract is designed to confuse the artist into signing away rights that they naturally own, or to simply be so unreadable that the relevant terms are lost in the legal gibberish. This enforces the view that the contract is bad, but exonerates the artist of any wrongdoing as they were intentionally decieved.
Possibility 2: The contract is clearly laid out without any trick clauses. In this case, the artist is knowingly giving away certain rights to have his work published. Fair enough. In that case, their rights are not being taken away, they are being given away. Thus, it isn't a "deal with the devil" as you claim.
If you're dealing with the devil, you probably won't know it till you're in too deep. We can only make it worse pretending that you should have known better.
A strain of paranoid prevention can be worse than the disease, whate'er the intention.
"Oh, well, if you don't want to sign this now, I have another band coming in in fifteen minutes who is going to sign. Sorry, but I can only take one of you." Such a simple pressure tactic usually attributed to used car salesmen, but when you've worked so hard to just get to this point, this pressure can be overwhelming. After all, if you refuse, there's probably another two or three that make music very similar to you that will be willing to sign on the spot. What is forgotten by these bands often is that this is no longer music at this point. Now it's business, and business will try to squeeze out every penny they can possibly get regardless of your wishes.
I used up all my sick days, so I'm calling in dead.
If you want to control the terms of the publishing of anything you create, you'd better not need to ever have it published. That way, when the pressure sales tactics come out, you shrug and say NO.
As soon as you need to have a record deal, or a publishing deal, you've lost any bargaining position whatsoever.
Creative Spelling Copyright (2002). May use without Persimmons