McCain Camp Sued for Stealing More Music

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I recall awhile back some here (and nationally) taking Obama to task for a similarly designed emblem that resembled the Presidential Seal. They called Obama "arrogant".

Apparently though McCain's arrogance doesn't allow for facsimiles. They go out and steal the genuine article. First were the ads that used (without permission) the faces of Hilton and Spears.

Now Jackson Browne has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for McCain's unauthorized use of his music. And that's not the first incidence of theft of music and copyright infringement. Apparently he's used music by Abba and Mellencamp without their permissions.

A McCain campaign spokesman called the suit "a big to do about nothing".

Yeah, if you call copyright infringement, the use of another person's artistic endeavors without approval, and implying the endorsement of these individuals (through the use of their music and images) "nothing".

John McCain Sued by Jackson Browne

"What are you doing?"
"Screwing the earth."

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Well yeh, people never base their voting decisions off of celebrity endorsements.

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Whether they do or don't isn't the point. The McCain camp is using the music for a purpose. The purpose is the connection people have with the music and the theme and or mood that they are trying to portray with a particular selection.

So if that use is without the endorsement and or authorization of the artist or the celebrity whose image they are invoking then it's fraudulent.

Here's what the courts (and Browne's lawyer) apparently think of such unauthorized use:

"Not only have Senator McCain and his agents plainly infringed Mr. Browne's copyright in 'Running on Empty,' but the federal courts have long held that the unauthorized use of a famous singer's voice in a commercial constitutes a false endorsement and a violation of the singer's right of publicity," Lawrence Iser, Browne lawyer, said.

"What are you doing?"
"Screwing the earth."

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I was using sarcasm to add to your appropriately smartass statement about copyright infringement being nothing.

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Yes... One would think with all of McCain's apparent recent "celebrity" he'd have artists lining up offering use of their music.

"What are you doing?"
"Screwing the earth."

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I sincerely hope the Jackson Browne song in question was "Running on Empty"

BAHAHAHA IT WAS!

Now THAT is funny.

EDIT: It was in direct attack to Obama's statements about car maintaince vs offshore drilling...nevermind...not quite as funny. But still.

"Every religion has a unique perception about what is considered a living being. Many feel that upon conception, the organism is just as human as you and I. Judaism, in particular, would argue that the fetus is not viable until it graduates from medical school."

Does McCain really want to win this?? He has the biggest bucket of nuts and bolts for campaign management I've ever seen! Edina Monsoon could do better. From the green backdrop on, it's been one fuck-up after another. What's next? Posing him in a tank like Dukakis?

Funny, the RIAA is now after McCain ? I'm surprised they aren't the one's identified as suing McCain ? I guess this is the next step after downloading the mp3 from an illegal peer to peer file share ?

I think it's a stretch that Jackson Browne thinks that the use of his music is misleading for an endorsement of McCain, but the best he has is that it's uncompensated use of copyrighted material in that infringement. All that other nonsense, just a tool, and in the end, Jackson Browne may get a decent settlement in terms of money.

boy who the hell else is gonna get on the bandwagon, this is just an attempt to get more money for there work then it deserves. I don't think they should have used music without permission for sure. But isn't there a certain amount of seconds of music your allowed to use before you need permission. Did they go past acceptable usage.

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I think any artist (or any person for that matter) who subscribes to a certain ideology has a right to object to the unauthorized use of his/her work... especially when the use is to the benefit of ideology contrary to one's own.

"What are you doing?"
"Screwing the earth."

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Well, don't forget that it is largely the record company, not the artist himself, who owns the song. There cannot be a major label artist who owns 100% of the rights to a hit album, unless he buys back the distribution rights....which would defeat the purpose of signing a record contract i nthe first place.

This likely doesn't matter in Browne's case, as I'm sure he owns some rights, but, for example, Robert Plant sold all his rights to Zeppelin's catalog to Atlantic years ago. Other than convincing Page to stake his claim and using his cachet as Robert Plant, he can't control shit of what Zep music is used where. Even if it runs counter to his personal beliefs. That is really what "selling out" means in the music industry. So really, artists have less of a right to cry foul than you may think. Sure, the record companies might acquiesce to keep their artists happy, but the fact is a major label recording artist doesn't really legally have shit's worth of a say. Most own less than 25% of the royalty rights.

EDIT: ^And that's if they wrote the song themselves. If McCain decides it'd be a good idea to use Toxic in an ad Britney Spears has absolutely no say in anything other than complaining about the use of her image, which won't go too far in all likelihood. Again moot, because Browne writes his own songs. Just pointing out that what you're saying is great as some principled notion, but that's simply not how the music industry functions.

This is actually what I want to go into. I find it to be interesting stuff...and very sobering to a kid who once wanted to live the rockstar dream himself.

"Every religion has a unique perception about what is considered a living being. Many feel that upon conception, the organism is just as human as you and I. Judaism, in particular, would argue that the fetus is not viable until it graduates from medical school."