This is my letter sent to those imbeciles who run Lodlow Music (aka The Richmond Organization):
"Greetings, all the way from Australia!
Well, I felt obliged to look you fine folks up at "The Richmond Organisation" or "Ludlow Music" through the MPA website (http://www.mpa.org/agency/370p.html) and offer you just one or two lines on the story that I've read about you objecting to the use of Guthrie's "Our Land" by the JibJab parody. I'd be mighty appreciative if you sent this directly to whoever is responsible for this issue. Larry Richmond is a name that springs to mind. So is Kathryn Ostien. Mr Richmond is on record stating his view that he regards derivative works as "damaging and dangerous"- in the Robbie Williams case, so it's safe to assume that he is a driver behind this embarrassing decision.
Gentlemen, I can only conclude that there's something in the water over your way. You lost the battle as soon as you listened to the wiener on your payroll who said "Hey that's *our* song. Those scurrilous satirists can't be allowed to exercise their first amendment rights! Show me the money!"
Gad! Whoever of you who have chosen to chase this has generated a huge amount of bad publicity for you- vastly outweighing any potential gain. For pete's sake, Woody Guthrie wouldn't have cared less who sang it (or how) 60 years ago. You didn't earn the creative rights to that song, you merely paid for it, and anyway, the copyright should have rightly expired decades ago. Your shirt-necks are all too tight. No! I'm being far too kind. Your kind of lawyer-ese, small thinking, greedy shit-stirring typifies all that is bad about the stagnant, corrupt music industry. You're greedy and stupid. You barely deserve the time I'm taking to write this letter, except that it makes me feel better knowing I've vented my spleen. That, and the fact that your type don't last long in the world.
Not being in America, I can afford not to take sides about the political parody that the JibJab people have brilliantly put together. However, I can see a weasel from a mile away. Rather than call JibJab and threaten litigation, why don't you call and thank them for having the humor and creativity that you lack?
Do you remember the books "Eon" and "Eternity" by Greg Bear? In those books, an alien race called "Jarts" held it as their sole goal to "preserve" all the data in the Universe, basically by "downloading" it into a hyper-massive archive. I would suggest that this is an ideal analogy to use in positing the goal of this anti-DMCA religion and that the term "Jart" should be used in association with it.
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This is my letter sent to those imbeciles who run Lodlow Music (aka The Richmond Organization):
"Greetings, all the way from Australia!
Well, I felt obliged to look you fine folks up at "The Richmond Organisation" or "Ludlow Music" through the MPA website (http://www.mpa.org/agency/370p.html) and offer you just one or two lines on the story that I've read about you objecting to the use of Guthrie's "Our Land" by the JibJab parody. I'd be mighty appreciative if you sent this directly to whoever is responsible for this issue. Larry Richmond is a name that springs to mind. So is Kathryn Ostien. Mr Richmond is on record stating his view that he regards derivative works as "damaging and dangerous"- in the Robbie Williams case, so it's safe to assume that he is a driver behind this embarrassing decision.
Gentlemen, I can only conclude that there's something in the water over your way. You lost the battle as soon as you listened to the wiener on your payroll who said "Hey that's *our* song. Those scurrilous satirists can't be allowed to exercise their first amendment rights! Show me the money!"
Gad! Whoever of you who have chosen to chase this has generated a huge amount of bad publicity for you- vastly outweighing any potential gain. For pete's sake, Woody Guthrie wouldn't have cared less who sang it (or how) 60 years ago. You didn't earn the creative rights to that song, you merely paid for it, and anyway, the copyright should have rightly expired decades ago. Your shirt-necks are all too tight. No! I'm being far too kind. Your kind of lawyer-ese, small thinking, greedy shit-stirring typifies all that is bad about the stagnant, corrupt music industry. You're greedy and stupid. You barely deserve the time I'm taking to write this letter, except that it makes me feel better knowing I've vented my spleen. That, and the fact that your type don't last long in the world.
Not being in America, I can afford not to take sides about the political parody that the JibJab people have brilliantly put together. However, I can see a weasel from a mile away. Rather than call JibJab and threaten litigation, why don't you call and thank them for having the humor and creativity that you lack?
Sincerely,
Nathan Zamprogno,
Sydney Australia."
Do you remember the books "Eon" and "Eternity" by Greg Bear? In those books, an alien race called "Jarts" held it as their sole goal to "preserve" all the data in the Universe, basically by "downloading" it into a hyper-massive archive. I would suggest that this is an ideal analogy to use in positing the goal of this anti-DMCA religion and that the term "Jart" should be used in association with it.
baliset@zeta.org.au