BBC article: Digital DJs unaware of copy law

[elbows]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4609378.stm

Covers a new licence thing that came into effect in the UK last September.

I can see why some people would moan or have no clue about this stuff, but it would of helped the article if the BBC had made any reference to the fact this isnt the first sort of licensing scheme to cover the playing of such stuff in public, its the digital aspect thats new.

If they think they have it bad, spare a thought for the VJs eh. I know that if I could pay ?200 a year and be able to play hollywood & tv clips without looking over my shoulder, I would be over the moon!

[dansmachine]

If they think they have it bad, spare a thought for the VJs eh. I know that if I could pay ?200 a year and be able to play hollywood & tv clips without looking over my shoulder, I would be over the moon!

Exactly.The DJs are lucky again.

[holly]

?200 a year?! Frackin DJs get off so cheap!

I was reading last months WIRED magazine that said someone approached Universal(?) and they wanted to charge $700 per second of movie!!!

[sleepytom]

Yvonne Duffield, of Sedition DJs agency, said: "Generally I'm just a bit confused about it. It does seem quite a harsh amount to charge especially as young DJs cannot afford to pay a lot of money for vinyl so they rely on downloads."
WTF i mean come on i don't actaully know anyone who hasn't stolen music off the internet but claiming that young DJs can't afford to buy records and so should be allowed to play out in clubs with (stolen) mp3s licence free is utterly stupid! whats next? "bars don't really make much money so they shouldn't have to pay PRS"???

[Anyone]

?700 per second, I suspect that's for using the sample on primetime TV?

[Anyone]

I think up and coming DJs should have a "single use" licence,
alowing them to play their MP3s or watever
so the license cost say ?7 for one night of public performance

[holly]

?700 per second, I suspect that's for using the sample on primetime TV?
The guy claimed he wanted to make an "art piece" which would only be seen by friends and family but never published or publicly shown. Universal doubtlessly thought this was a crok and charged what they knew they could get from their usual buyers.

[Hambone]

IMO, all the more reason to originate your own content!

Motion, AE, FCP, Combustion, Flash, 3d packages, your own camcorder, etc. They're all out there, easier to learn than ever, and waiting to be used. Why not do something original, rather than rehashing someone else's work?

Why plagiarize the effort and talent of others, unless you can't generate your own?

Unfortunately for most DJs, the general public expect to hear tunes they know, but VJs have a much more open artistic license for originality. Use it!

No license needed for original content.

[KillingFrenzy]

I think your overestimating the "general public".
To a certain degree I think VJs being somewhat marginalized into fairly arty communities allows original content useage. The more mainstream VJing goes, the more mainstream the expected content will be. My assumption is that the latter is more descriptive of the "general public."

[Hambone]

Not for me. Never. I think I'd rather slit my wrists than VJ a pop video!

Honestly, VJs becoming corporate marketing lemmings is a sad state of affairs, and a reflection on how screwed up our society is.

I will continue to generate my own content. I like to lead, not follow. Dare to be different. If that means making less cash, so be it.

/rant

[holly]

The more mainstream VJing goes, the more mainstream the expected content will be.
huh. I never thought of it quite that way before. Helps to explain AddictiveTV and others. Sampling may be the key to larger audiences.

[KillingFrenzy]

Let's put it this way.

Top 40 Hip Hop Night that I VJed for.
No response to the following:
showing original footage
complex colorful stuff
live visualizations
Maya Deren footage of Tai Chi
What I would call "Arty" kung fu.

Response to:
Starsky and Hutch footage of Huggy Bear after the new movie came out.
The Star Wars Kid
Pootie Tang
Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and other "Chop Socky" style kung-fu

So what I learned was that the imagery may or may not have power in and of itself. The FAMILIARITY is in and of itself a selling point.
For example, to me the Maya Deren stuff is much prettier then a Bruce Lee movie. But it was the Bruce Lee movie that people knew and loved and talked about later.

I'm not saying I like it. And I'm not saying I really want to be a "mainstream" VJ (that top40 night paid well, but got old real fast). What I am saying is that the mainstream isn't going to enjoy Autechre if you play it for them before the baseball game. "Who Let the Dogs out" is more likely going to get recognized and woofed at. So I think the "General Public" do have an expectation for recognizable video content as well. I don't think it has been met yet, and coming up with decent licensing ideas is the answer. My expectation is that corporations will expect sound and image to be synced and license products as such. The vagueries of unsynced video and sound are quashed by just demaning that the video match the sound.
Now, that mainstream shit doesn't fly at a variety of shows I do. It is completely unnacceptable in the Glitch/IDM community. Hell, they're pissed if you generate a recognizable shape. In the indie rock scene, old home movies and non-sequiter travel films are good form, but CGI is a taboo. The Psy-trancers around here like to be shocked, and hypnotized, but a Stan Brakhage film would confuse the hell out of them I think these diverse sensibilities are much more satisfying, and much more acquired tastes, and I love playing to all of them. I think they demand a more educated audience (educated in the sense of the visual elements of the genre's) The general public is unlikely to dig this deep, and unlikely to just accept such things when they're forced upon them. I leveraged a lot of weirdness into the Hip-hop gig, but all said and done that was mostly for me and not very mindful of making the audience happy.

[Hambone]

I'm probably too close-minded, as I'm only doing my own stuff. It is all just show-biz after all, and perhaps the challenge is to create for a particular audience. Your diverse works sounds really interesting!

I don't intend my VJing to be something that people just sit and watch. To me, it's just another effect, like lighting. I carefully choreograph colors, shapes, etc between the audio, video, lighting for synergy, like punctuating a cymbal crash with an earthquake video effect and a strobe flash. I use lots of live video feed between multiple cameras, too. My main agenda is to get people up and dancing, not to sit and watch the screens. It's not a show or a concert.