telecommunicationbreakdown

i think everyone who cares about copyright should know this song, because in a way, this song is an important part of copyright history

prior to 1991, Negativland was mildly successful for an indie band. they were popular in culture jamming subculture for their eclectic brand of pop culture sound collages. however, despite their niche nature, several years prior, they made national news when it began to be reported that a teenager killed his parents with an ax after listening to their song Christianity is Stupid. this was a fabrication of the band, but no one bothered to check the story and it blew up anyway. this gave the band a new burst in popularity

in 1991, they decided to release a remix EP featuring a mix of U2's hit song, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For combined with a leaked profanity-laden rant by radio host Casey Kasem

due to the packaging, the band U2 claimed that it violated their copyright. the band wanted to fight this in court, as they claimed that this was under fair use, but rather than fight it, the band's label immediately stopped selling the EP and settled the issue

suffice to say, Negativland were pissed. they were already a group of commie pinkos who believed in an extreme approach to copyright, but this only further radicalized them. while copyright was a minor part of their ethos before the U2 incident, it quickly became one of their driving focuses. they spent the next two years trapped in a legal battle with their label that finally ended with their freedom, and once they were free, the band began focusing on copyright

while their first release after leaving their label was the appropriately named and themed Free, they would soon after release a book and accompanying album, Fair Use: The Story of the Letter U and the Numeral 2. the book detailed their lawsuits with U2 and their label as well as information about copyright and how the original release fell under fair use

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