LutherRocks has left a new comment on your post "Bethany Rap Video:More Proof That Straight White G...":
I think really there are two issues here...one, I don't think there is any 'artistic' property being stolen here. They aren't taking the song as their own. This kind of stuff has gone on for decades. Is it wrong? Probably in the narrowest sense, but if no one is getting sued over it and losing, the general consensus is who cares? Its (sic) not much different than you changing lyrics of songs for parody when poking fun of synod officials here. Do you ask permission to do this?
The bigger issue to me is the choice of material and the way they carry on in the video. The Bethany vid is tame in comparison to the WELS one, but still....is this prudent behavior for Christian students many of whom are destined for ministry.
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GJ - One could also call this the Moral Equivalence fallacy. For example, a Marxist nun excused Liberation Theology by saying "America had a revolution." Sure, we killed British women and children in their beds, threw bombs into inns. I heard in one class that the Boston Tea Party "might have been called terrorist" at the time.
"Everyone does it" is another fallacy (ad populum), the one used by DP Englebrecht to excuse the plagiarism in his benighted district.
When I publish my delightful song parodies, I am not copying the songs themselves but using their themes to make a point. For example, "Let It Snow" lends itself to a Global Warming parody during a ferocious blizzard. I use the rhythm of the lyrics and count out syllables so the words fit the music. I was writing them long before Weird Al, who is a genius at it, but I never monetized them.
I am quite sure Weird Al gets permission, because he uses the licensed music. Long ago, one TV show ("That Was the Week That Was") used song parodies. I remember them not singing their "Goldwater" song because they could not get permission to use the "Cold Water" music to it.
One concept involving this issue is the reference. Joe is probably quite aware that original music can "quote" other pieces. Recently, Men At Work suffered a huge loss for using too long of a quotation from Kookabura, which is still under license. I believe some nogoodniks bought up that company just to sue MAW, and the bad guys won big time.
Even when I use a few words in a row during a parody I am not doing more than quoting it. Besides, I am not turning it into 100% theft and calling it mine, as WELS pastors Ski and Tim Glende do on a regular basis.
I quote entire blog posts verbatim and give credit. I do my best to distinguish between my words and the words of another. I have run into trouble only twice. One blogger wanted to be paid for her post, so I deleted it. Another blogger said I was short-circuiting the trip to his URL, which was a fair objection. After that I simply linked his post and added a few words.
The "fair use" doctrine means I can use material for scholarly purposes and commentary. If I had ads, that would limit me. Besides, I cannot imagine blogging against unionism and having an ad for Fuller Seminary show up. Or - "Get an online theology degree here!"
If the WELS or ELS students wanted to show creativity, they could perform public domain music or ask for written permission. Ripping a sound track and stealing it is bad enough. Picking an orgy-themed video, as the Bethany students did, is even worse. I had trouble watching the original, trying to pick up what it said with words and images. My impression was that the girl was reflecting the same attitude back at the rapper. However the video is interpreted, the choice is bad.
I find it strange that Lutheran college students find garbage like this worth so much lame labor. The secular culture of hedonism does not need more cheerleaders. They still have Hef at age 84.
Need I say it? The rap culture is heavily involved in violence and hard drugs. Objecting to that makes me unhip, not cool, and legalistic.
