pass this on to anyone who might be interested... best, km
February 24, 2004 | For Immediate Release
U of Iowa Professor to Join Copyright Civil Disobedience Planned February 24th
Contact:
Kembrew McLeod ? kembrew@xxxxxxxxxxx
Phone ? 319-621-4620
Also:
Downhill Battle (www.dowhillbattle.org)
Holmes Wilson - hw@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Phone: 508-963-7832 / Fax: 775-878-0379
Grey Tuesday (www.greytuesday.org)
DOWNLOAD THE "GREY ALBUM" AT BOTTOM OF PAGE
DOWNHILL BATTLE (February 24, 2004) ? In defiance of dozens of cease-and-desist
letters already served, University of Iowa professor Kembrew McLeod will join a
large coalition of websites in an online protest that will offer free downloads
of a critically acclaimed album that is being censored by a lawsuit threat from
EMI Records. The action is an act of civil disobedience against a copyright
regime that routinely suppresses musical innovation. The Grey Album, which
remixes Jay-Z's Black Album and the Beatles' White Album, has been hailed as an
innovative hip-hop triumph, but EMI sent cease-and-desist letters to any Web
site that offers it for free.
This Tuesday, "Grey Tuesday," a coalition of hundreds of sites, including the
non-UI-affiliated Kembrew.com --
http://kembrew.com -- will offer free
downloads of the Grey Album, and turn their pages grey, to take a stand against
a copyright regime that serves neither musicians nor the public interest. "Grey
Tuesday will be the first protest of its kind," said Downhill Battle co-founder
Holmes Wilson, "The major record labels have turned copyright law into a
weapon, but participants in this action will be ignoring EMI's threats and
insisting on the public's right to hear innovative new music."
"EMI isn't looking for compensation, they're trying to ban a work of art," said
Downhill Battle's Rebecca Laurie. "The record industry has become a huge drag
on creativity and it's only getting worse -- it's time to take a stand." The
Grey Album has been widely shared on filesharing networks such as Kazaa and
Soulseek, and has garnered critical acclaim in Rolling Stone (which called it
"the ultimate remix record" and "an ingenious hip-hop record that sounds oddly
ahead of its time"), the New Yorker, the Boston Globe (which called it the
"most creatively captivating" album of the year), and other major news outlets.
"It's clear that this work devalues neither of the originals. There is no
legitimate artistic or economic reason to ban this record, and this is just
arbitrary exertion of control," said Nicholas Reville, Downhill Battle co-
founder. "The framers of the constitution created copyright to promote
innovation and creativity. A handful of corporations have radically perverted
that purpose for their own narrow self interest, and now the public is fighting
back."
The reporters and news outlets that reviewed the Grey Album have obtained it
illegally from filesharing networks. "If music reviewers have to break the law
to hear new, innovative music, then something has gone wrong with the law,"
said Laurie. "Remixes and pastiche are a defining aesthetic of our era. How
will artists continue to work if corporations can outlaw what they do?" said
Reville. "Artists, writers, and musicians have always borrowed and built upon
each other's work -- now they have to answer to corporate legal teams." College
and noncommercial radio stations will also be participating in Tuesday's action
by playing the Grey Album in its entirety (possibly along with the Jay-Z and
Beatles sources).
###
Well, things just got more personal. Downhill Battle has received a cease and
desist letter from EMI?s lawyers and we?ve heard from many of you who have
received something similar (probably identical). It 's a letter that's
intended to scare us and it really illustrates why this protest is so
important. We?ve spoken with lawyers about this situation and we want to share
with you the response that we?ve sent to EMI?s lawyers. It explains how we
plan to proceed and why. Feel free to copy entirely or use portions of this
letter in your response, if you choose to make one. You also may be interested
in reading more about your fair use rights at:
http://www.eff.org/IP/
eff_fair_use_faq.html and more generally about the issue of censorship and
cease and desist letters at: www.chillingeffects.org. Please let us know if
your plans for tomorrow are changing (we completely understand if they are).
-Nick, Holmes, and Rebecca
Mr. Jensen and EMI:
We have received your February 23 email concerning our plans to make the Grey
Album available on our website.
Despite your letter, Downhill Battle will be posting the Grey Album on our
website tomorrow. Your efforts to suppress this music stifle creativity and
harm the public interest; we will not be intimidated into backing down.
Downhill Battle has a fair-use right to post this music under current copyright
law and the public has a fair-use right to hear it. Opposing EMI?s censorship
campaign is precisely the purpose of Tuesday?s protest and we won?t waiver from
that goal.
The current legal environment allows the five major record labels to dictate to
musicians what kind of music they may and may not create and allows them to
prevent the public from hearing music that does not fall within their rules.
For people to make an informed decision about whether the major record labels
and existing copyright law serve the interests of musicians and the public,
they need to be able to hear the music that is being suppressed. The Grey
Tuesday protest is about ensuring that this music is widely available so that
the public can make informed decisions. Copyright was created by Congress to
?promote the progress of science and the useful arts.? Your actions violate
that purpose. Any lawsuit against us will bring more attention to both the
protest and the need for serious copyright reform, and we expect to win any
case on fair-use grounds.
Our posting of the Grey Album on Downhill Battle is a political act with no
commercial interest and fits well within fair use rights. Lawyers have advised
us that we can ignore your demands number 2, 3, and 4 that are listed at the
bottom of your letter. EMI has no legal right to make these demands and we
will not comply with them. Furthermore, if EMI attempts to disrupt our protest
by sending takedown letters to participating websites, ISPs of participating
websites, or any upstream ISPs, we will file a counter-suit against you. We
consider any attempts to stifle this protest to be an abuse under section 512F
of the DMCA.
Sincerely,
Nicholas Reville
Holmes Wilson
Co-Founders
Downhill Battle (downhillbattle.org)
*******************
kembrew mcleod
1218 college st.
iowa city, ia 52245
kembrew-mcleod@xxxxxxxxx
319-341-3583
"What is corporate fraud? Corporate fraud is what happens when cool, indie
fraud loses its cred and becomes totally lame." - Jon Stewart