videos papers links
Acknowledgements
THE MEDIUM IS THE MIX video was enabled by the work of The Center for Social Media (at American University) and the McLuhan Program in Culture and Technology (at University of Toronto). Please visit the links from this page.
Fair Use of Media Materials
My first attempt to post the Epilogue of the video was blocked by YouTube because of a possible copyright violation. On 1/12/2009 I submitted a dispute form, as I believe my usage of the media material constitutes a Fair Use (more information below). The video was re-enabled by YouTube a day later. PLEASE see the link in the sidebar to the "Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Online Video"... The fact that YouTube contains a mechanism for invoking Fair Use in cases where it is appropriate is noteworthy.
YouTube Dispute Claim, Statement of Fair Use
1/12/2009
Dear YouTube,
It is my contention that my use of the song “Take Me to the River” (composed by Al Green, recorded by Talking Heads) in my video, “McLuhan Remix: Epilogue 3/3” is LEGAL under the FAIR USE CLAUSE of the US Copyright Act of 1976, which allows for the rebroadcast of copyrighted materials for the purposes of commentary, criticism and education. Below I have listed a summary of reasons that support my opinion; please feel free to contact me if you need more clarification.
Summary of reasons why my usage constitutes a FAIR USE:
#1. This is an educational video on the subject of REMIXING. At approximately 24 seconds into the video, I make the point that “Take Me to the River” was an old blues song that was reworked by Talking Heads. This is an IMPORTANT message in my video for the audience (specifically, my college students) that it was intended for. I have noticed that my students often make the mistake of assuming that that the person/group who recorded a song, was also the originator of the song. “Take Me to the River” is a classic example of a song that is often attributed to Talking Heads (whose recording of it made it famous) although it was NOT composed by Talking Heads (but rather, by Al Green). I believe that I cannot make this important critical statement, without a FAIR USE of this media material, and by blocking the distribution of my video on YouTube; the copyright holder and/or YouTube are impeding my ability to make my statement in an educational context.
#2. This video was made for educational purposes, I am currently employed as an Assistant Professor, I have published two papers previously on the topic of remixing, and I am currently awaiting publication of my third paper on the topic. This is an important reason, because the video “McLuhan Remix” was NOT made for entertainment purposes, and does NOT serve as a SUBSTITUTE for the recording of “Take Me to the River” by Talking Heads. My usage of this media material does not present any possible damages or reduction of sales to the owner of the copyright. Rather, it is my contention, that because I do not obfuscate my usage of the media material, that my video will only bring more publicity and sales of the media material to the copyright owner. Furthermore, I would like to mention that in March 2008, I received an email from a representative of Todomundo (David Byrne’s studio) with instructions on how to purchase educational rights in order to use the media material from the album “Stop Making Sense”. After some consideration of the offer, I decided against trying to obtain educational rights because, it is my contention that as my usage of the media material constitutes a FAIR USE of it, I do NOT have to pay for educational rights to use the music because “Take Me to The River” is NOT being used as background music, but rather as a key example that is essential to the critical statement that I am making. Additionally, if I applied for educational usage of the material, it would open the possibility for the copyright owner to refuse my request, which is why (in my opinion) FAIR USE is available to journalists, artists and scholars (like myself). I believe that I should be able to make a critical statement about preexisting media material, regardless of whether the copyright holder agrees or disagrees with my statement in a society (such as ours) that affords one the liberty of free speech.
#3. My objective with this video is to initiate a discussion, and this discussion takes place within a larger discussion involving a web-based community. YouTube enables blog-like discussion of its videos, by giving viewers the ability to comment and respond to the video postings. Furthermore, it allows me to link to my website (http://www.McLuhanRemix.com) and from there to other websites within this discussion (such as: http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/). As a teacher of digital media, it is very important that I discuss with my students and colleagues what I think constitutes Fair Use, and what does not. I believe my use of “Take Me to the River” in my video “McLuhan Remix: Epilogue 3/3” constitutes a Fair Use of the material, because it is NOT intended to be an entertainment product or one that produces income as an advertisement. I also realize that my opinion is not the law, and I want the copyright holder to know that I remain open to discussing this matter. Finally, I chose this particular song because David Byrne (one of the artists in Talking Heads who recorded the song) is a pop star that is recognized within this web-based community (alluded to above) and that although he may, or may not be the copyright holder, as he is an artist and writer, he might be amenable to Fair Use of the material if he is willing to look carefully at its usage in this particular video, and consider my herein stated reasons. These reasons are intended to be a summary statement. Again, I remain open to discussing this matter; please feel free to contact me by email or phone.
Best Wishes, Jamie O’Neil (aka Kurt Weibers).