Amen Brother, stuck in an invisible public domain
Witness the 40 year evolution of the Amen Break, a famous 6 second drum sample of the 1969 B-side track “Amen Brother” by The Winstons, which is lingering in an invisible public domain.This video by Nate Harrison is a thorough and fascinating disection of the samples widespread appearance in tracks by NWA to Mantronix, countless electronic releases,a weird track by Porno for Pyros Perry Farrell, to the blatant lifting by sample library and music licensing company EastWest all the way to Jeep Ads.
Nate, 9th Circuit Judge Alex Kozinsky, and I agree that “overprotecting IP is as harmful as underprotecting it. Culture is impossible without a rich public domain.”
I especially believe this as the CEO of a music licensing company. The ecosystem that exists between business and art was established the very first time when there were enough people in a tribe to feed an artist, so the artist could create and not hunt or farm. That critical balance, creates a thriving and diverse culture on any scale through it’s economic and artistic exchange.
If artists and inventors can not freely create because copyright-based businesses are unwilling to support reasonable copyright ownership terms and useful mechanisms such as Creative Commons, this ecosystem will suffer as will the global cultural community.
Clearly stated: Copyright owners and representatives should not over or under protect copyrights and always be mindful of their cultural impact.
Hope you enjoy the video.
