James Newton v. Beastie Boys

[Alec Ramsdell]

> Please distribute to raise awareness and support of
this important
> Artists' Rights and Cultural Hegemony issue!
>
> -James Newton loses to Beastie Boys: Amicus
>
> support requested!   URGENT!!!!
> (This story can found at
<http://www.jazzhouse.org/lobby.html>)
>
> From: James Newton (renowned jazz musician) --
>
>        For the last two years I have been involved
in a suit because
> the Beastie Boys sampled a part of my composition
"Choir" and did not
> contact me for permission. They did not change in
any way what they
> sampled from "Choir". It begins with the sampled six
and a half
> seconds and loops in the song over forty times.
"Pass the Mic'" has
> appeared in CD, MP3, LP, and DVD formats.
>
>         The law clearly states that to use someone
else's music one
> must contact and receive permission from both the
record company and
> the copyright  owner."Choir" was registered with the
copyright office
> and ASCAP in 1978. My publishing company JANEW MUSIC
controls 100% of
> the rights. The Beastie Boys contacted and received
permission from
> ECM Records, which released my album Axum which they
sampled in 1992,
> and ignored me.
>
>         The case went up for summary judgement one
month ago and Judge
> Nora Manella of US Federal Court ruled against
me!!!!!!!!!!! She
> stated as a fact of law that my music was not
original! The six and a
> half second sample consists of three sung notes
C,Db, C and a held
> flute harmonic C2, as a result of the combination of
voice, harmonic
> and a balanced distribution of each a series of
shifting multiphonics
> are created. The judge ignored the multiphonics
because they weren't
> written on the score and said that there are just
three notes in the
> score which aren't protectable. If you go to the
Beastie Boy's DVD of
> the piece "Pass the Mic" to signify the song there
is only my flute
> sample and a drum beat. The judge consistently used
European paradigms
> to judge my music. An aria from Purcell's "Dido and
Aeneas" and Cole
> Porter's "Night and Day" were examples of what is
protectable. "Choir"
> is about four black women singing in a church in
rural Arkansas. This
> work is a modern approach to a spiritual. As you
well know, one would
> be hard-pressed to find multiphonic fingerings in
most jazz scores,
> even when multiphonics are used!!!! If I'm writing
for a classical
> ensemble I'll write out the multiphonic fingerings
because of how
> notation is used in that culture of music.
>
>         The urgency of this letter is that after
unjustly winning the
> case the Beastie Boys have filed a motion with the
court for me to pay
> their legal fees of $492,000 after they stole my
music. I have already
> spent a considerable amount of money for a creative
musician and
> college professor. This would, of course, send me
into bankruptcy, and
> I stand a chance of losing my home and all that I
have worked for
> through the years. If you can spread news of this
judgement around, it
> will help my cause greatly.
>
>      The more newspapers, magazines and journals
that this is
> placed in will help. Please inform us of any press
that appears so
> that we can use it in our legal endeavors. My
lawyer, Alan Korn
> (aakorn at igc.org <mailto:aakorn at igc.org>), and he can
give you the
> information of where to send Amicus letters.
>
>         This decision is a dangerous one that would
affect jazz
> composers and other composers that choose to write
in other ways.  The
> strain on this trial and subsequent rulings have
been immense. It has
> curtailed much of my artistic output because of the
seriousness of
> this situation. This is a time when I have to now
ask for your help. I
> am fighting for my rights and the abilty to express
myself in my own
> and any other cultural perspective that I choose as
an artist.
>
> Yours in music and freedom,
> James Newton

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