3 ms·

I grew up during a time when the principal way to see older movies was on broadcast television. Not only chopped up for commercials, but, as I later learned, wi

by pbnjeh 3y ago

I grew up during a time when the principal way to see older movies was on broadcast television. Not only chopped up for commercials, but, as I later learned, with many critical moments removed. Years -- decades -- later, when I returned to some of these on disk or unedited streaming, I was surprised to discover how much I'd missed. Not just nuance, but entire cultural portrayals and statements that had been "washed away" by the banality of commercial television. I was both pleased to discover these "new" (to me) pieces of interest and more thorough reflections of culture, and rather disappointed to observe how -- for me at least -- the cultural conversation had been quasi-lobotomized in the interests of some externally imposed lowest common denominator. A part of public, commercial copyright should be that the covered work, as provided to and subsequently incorporated into the public culture and dialogue, cannot be removed from public access (if still for a "reasonable" fee). There are TV shows I cannot meaningfully discuss with others who did not see the original broadcasts, because the music that played an essential and culturally relevant / connected role -- as important as the role of a principal character -- has been swapped out due to "rights" issues. Sorry, nope. You contribute to such a cultural icon, and your contribution lives on in perpetuity. Let whatever contracts be negotiated within that context. Sound trivial? We are talking about shows that would affect observable traffic -- on roads, in public establishments, etc. -- because "everybody" was home watching the show. (And who knows how much productivity was "lost" to water cooler conversation, the following morning?) You don't get to just "disappear" culture...

Dracophoenix 3y ago
> There are TV shows I cannot meaningfully discuss with others who did not see the original broadcasts, because the music that played an essential and culturally relevant / connected role -- as important as the role of a principal character -- has been swapped out due to "rights" issues. The only show I know of that suffered such a fate is Clone High. Any examples of other such shows?
- LocalH 3y ago
  WKRP in Cincinnati From Wikipedia: > The show's use of Blondie's "Heart of Glass" was widely credited with helping the song become a major U.S. hit, and the band's record label Chrysalis Records presented the producers with a gold record award for the song's album Parallel Lines. The gold record can be seen hanging on the wall in the "bullpen" set in many episodes. > The songs were often tied into episode plots, and some pieces of music were even used as running gags. For example, the doorbell at Jennifer's penthouse apartment played "Fly Me to the Moon" (which was later replaced by "Beautiful Dreamer" for copyright reasons). > Wilson has commented that WKRP was videotaped rather than filmed because at the time, music-licensing fees were lower for videotaped programs, a loophole that was intended to accommodate variety shows. Music licensing deals that were cut at the time of production covered only a limited number of years, but when the show entered syndication shortly after its 1982 cancellation, most of the original music remained intact because the licensing deals were still active. After the licenses had expired, later syndicated versions of the show did not feature the music as first broadcast, with stock production music inserted in place of the original songs to avoid paying additional royalties. In some cases (such as during scenes with dialogue over background music), some of the characters' lines were dubbed by soundalike actors, a practice evident in all prints of the show issued since the early 1990s, including those used for its late-1990s run on Nick at Nite. > The expense of procuring licenses for the original music delayed release of a DVD set for years.[44] When a Season 1 set was finally released, much of the music was again replaced and the soundalike vocal dubs were present. Some scenes were shortened or cut entirely, but some deleted scenes that had not been included in the original broadcast were added.
lern_too_spel 3y ago
That is a fairly arbitrary restriction to impose on rights holders. You would have to justify that policy with a tangible public benefit. If I'm producing something for ephemeral entertainment purposes, I don't necessarily want to take on the cost of securing all rights for public performance of that product in perpetuity, and consumers are not necessarily willing to pay for it.
- tarboreus 3y ago
  If it's not worth maintaining, then let the copyright go. Squatting on it seems to go against the purpose of copyright, and you get the worst of both worlds.
  - lern_too_spel 3y ago
    If I can still make money on an impaired version of the original, why should I be forced to let the copyright go?

by pbnjeh 3y ago

Dracophoenix 3y ago

> There are TV shows I cannot meaningfully discuss with others who did not see the original broadcasts, because the music that played an essential and culturally relevant / connected role -- as important as the role of a principal character -- has been swapped out due to "rights" issues. The only show I know of that suffered such a fate is Clone High. Any examples of other such shows?

LocalH 3y ago
WKRP in Cincinnati From Wikipedia: > The show's use of Blondie's "Heart of Glass" was widely credited with helping the song become a major U.S. hit, and the band's record label Chrysalis Records presented the producers with a gold record award for the song's album Parallel Lines. The gold record can be seen hanging on the wall in the "bullpen" set in many episodes. > The songs were often tied into episode plots, and some pieces of music were even used as running gags. For example, the doorbell at Jennifer's penthouse apartment played "Fly Me to the Moon" (which was later replaced by "Beautiful Dreamer" for copyright reasons). > Wilson has commented that WKRP was videotaped rather than filmed because at the time, music-licensing fees were lower for videotaped programs, a loophole that was intended to accommodate variety shows. Music licensing deals that were cut at the time of production covered only a limited number of years, but when the show entered syndication shortly after its 1982 cancellation, most of the original music remained intact because the licensing deals were still active. After the licenses had expired, later syndicated versions of the show did not feature the music as first broadcast, with stock production music inserted in place of the original songs to avoid paying additional royalties. In some cases (such as during scenes with dialogue over background music), some of the characters' lines were dubbed by soundalike actors, a practice evident in all prints of the show issued since the early 1990s, including those used for its late-1990s run on Nick at Nite. > The expense of procuring licenses for the original music delayed release of a DVD set for years.[44] When a Season 1 set was finally released, much of the music was again replaced and the soundalike vocal dubs were present. Some scenes were shortened or cut entirely, but some deleted scenes that had not been included in the original broadcast were added.

lern_too_spel 3y ago

That is a fairly arbitrary restriction to impose on rights holders. You would have to justify that policy with a tangible public benefit. If I'm producing something for ephemeral entertainment purposes, I don't necessarily want to take on the cost of securing all rights for public performance of that product in perpetuity, and consumers are not necessarily willing to pay for it.

tarboreus 3y ago
If it's not worth maintaining, then let the copyright go. Squatting on it seems to go against the purpose of copyright, and you get the worst of both worlds.
- lern_too_spel 3y ago
  If I can still make money on an impaired version of the original, why should I be forced to let the copyright go?