November 25, 2008

REALLY? THIS IS WORTH IT TO YOU?

I have been feeling nostalgic for my middle school years lately and have been listening to The Wall often. I checked the wikipedia entry today, just to see what it says. I noticed something interesting:

For "Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)", Pink Floyd needed to record a school choir, so they approached music teacher Alun Renshaw of Islington Green School, around the corner from their Britannia Row Studios. The chorus was overdubbed twelve times to give the impression that the choir was larger. The choir were not allowed to hear the rest of the song after singing the chorus. Though the school received a lump sum payment of £1000, there was no contractual arrangement for royalties. Under 1996 UK copyright law, they became eligible, and after choir members were tracked down by royalties agent Peter Rowan of RBL Music, through the website Friends Reunited, they sued. Music industry professionals estimated that each student would be owed around £500.

Does anyone else find this sad? It's not enough to say that you were a kid who got to sing on a Pink Floyd album? Instead, 15 years later, you sue the band to get 700 bucks.

And I love the idea that some "royalties lawyer" went hunting around for these forty year olds to let them know that they could sue.

I think we have collectively lost our everlovin' minds on this planet.

Posted by: Sarah at 08:00 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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1 I would have been happy just to have met the band!

Posted by: bx19 at November 25, 2008 10:45 AM (qCCr/)

2 I assume the chorus recorded their part separately without meeting the band. I bet the "royalties agent" is making more than £500. I wonder what the school did with the £1000 back in the day.

Posted by: Amritas at November 25, 2008 11:46 AM (+nV09)

3 This reminded me of the dust up over the Cosby Show's opening. Dr. Cosby had made a generous donation to Hale House because he believed in their mission. He wanted to use the mural as the backdrop for the opening credits to DRAW ATTENTION to the charity. Pretty nice,huh? You'd think! HOWEVER--- The kids who painted the mural demanded to be paid and were nasty about it. Dr. Cosby had to then pull the opening and switch back to the Apollo Theater open from the previous season. I am all for people getting paid for their work,it's this bizarre greed that I don't get!

Posted by: MaryIndiana at November 26, 2008 07:30 AM (SRyvm)

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