|
Fluffy
Administrator
USA
10739 Posts |
 Posted - 10/04/2008 : 09:59:07 AM
|
I am guessing most of you have seen this or at least heard about the controversy by now. If not I wanted to share it:
The above is fake, not really sent by Heart, but created by a Seattle-based alternative newspaper called The Stranger from "New Column" section which is usually a spoof.
As a longTIMe fan of Heart I was shocked to hear that song played as the "theme song" for Sarah Palin. I have read many interviews with Heart over the years and couldn't imagine they would allow that song to be used by the RNC knowing Palin's views. After a little research Sadly, I found that they can use the song without Heart's consent. Here is the rest of the story.....
Ann and Nancy Wilson, the frontwomen of the rock band Heart, are demanding that the McCain campaign stop using their 1977 song "Barracuda" at political rallies after the song was played in honor of vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin on both Wednesday and Thursday nights. Does the McCain campaign have to honor the Wilsons' wishes?
Not if the campaign has the correct license. Like thousands of other songs, "Barracuda" is distributed by the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, meaning that any entity that is licensed with ASCAP can play a song without getting the artist's explicit permission. This license can be held by a venue, like a club or a sports arena, and apply to all events that take place there. In this case, the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., would be the holder, but a representative tells the Explainer that the venue's ASCAP license applies only to sporting events for the Minnesota Wild and the Minnesota Swarm, the professional hockey and lacrosse teams, respectively; otherwise, it's up to the people who use the premises to get their own. A spokesperson for the Republican Convention said the event did have an ASCAP license separate from the one for sports.
Assuming the licenses were all in order, the Wilson sisters probably don't have much legal recourse. But it would be a much different story if the campaign had used the song in an ad or a promotional video. While an ASCAP license covers the right to perform a song, you need a separate "synchronization license" from the publisher to put the song in an ad. Some artists ask for stipulations in their contracts with publishers that prevent their songs from being used for political advertisements or any other causes they find objectionable.
THE CONTROVERSY
On Tuesday morning (September 9), the 1977 hit played before McCain and Palin showed up for an outdoor rally in Lebanon, Ohio. Heart's Ann and Nancy Wilson initially complained when it was played at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, before Palin's appearance last Wednesday and after McCain's speech on Thursday. Palin gained the nickname "Sarah Barracuda" while on her high school basketball team, and Republicans are likely using the rock anthem to remind voters of the Alaska governor's reputation as a tenacious leader.
"The Republican campaign did not ask for permission to use the song, nor would they have been granted that permission," read a statement from Heart's camp. "We have asked the Republican campaign publicly not to use our music. We hope our wishes will be honored."
But after McCain finished his speech accepting the GOP's presidential nomination tonight, Palin joined him on stage, and the song was used again: Heart's "Barracuda" played as balloons fell. With that elephant in the room, Heart's Nancy Wilson felt compelled to personally respond. "I think it's completely unfair to be so misrepresented," she said in a phone call to EW.com after the speech. "I feel completely f---ed over." She and sister Ann Wilson then e-mailed the following exclusive statement:
quote:
"Sarah Palin's views and values in NO WAY represent us as American women. We ask that our song 'Barracuda' no longer be used to promote her image. The song 'Barracuda' was written in the late 70s as a scathing rant against the soulless, corporate nature of the music business, particularly for women. (The 'barracuda' represented the business.) While Heart did not and would not authorize the use of their song at the RNC, there's irony in Republican strategists' choice to make use of it there."
The Republican Party did in fact obtain the necessary license to use the song, which can be played when a venue pays a blanket fee to ASCAP, the organization that protects music copyrights.
While the Wilsons are clearly upset, "Barracuda" co-writer and former Heart guitarist Roger Fisher (Nancy's ex) has a different outlook. He's happy to receive the publicity, he told Reuters last week, and he pledged to give part of the royalties from the song's use to Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's campaign.
|
Peace & Keep the Faith
Fluffy         
"THE MUSIC BUSINESS IS A CRUEL AND SHALLOW MONEY TRENCH-- A LONG PLASTIC HALLWAY WHERE THIEVES AND PIMPS RUN FREE AND GOOD MEN DIE LIKE DOGS. THERE'S ALSO A NEGATIVE SIDE..." -Hunter S. Thompson |
|
Getting to the HEART of McCain & Palin
