Are tribute bands illegal?

[DrummerJustLikeDad]

I THINK OZZY SHOULD SUE THIS GUY.............

He’ll have to stand in line behind Jimmy Page and Sherwood Schwartz.

 

[bigbonzo]

He’ll have to stand in line behind Jimmy Page and Sherwood Schwartz.

Does anyone actually know whether he did or did not get permission to cover this song?

 

[Drdrumdude3009]

So, is a drag show a female tribute act?

 

[robthetimekeeper]

I don’t see a list of gear ….???

I don't see it when viewing on my phone. When using my laptop, it is at the bottom of every post DanRH makes. It looks like this:

http://danhertlein.com/
http://thedrdband.com/
http://bigjangleband.com/
email is [email protected]

Kits
Craviotto Maple (Natural finish) - 24x14/13x9/16x16
Jenkins-Martin Bleen Blue (fiberglass) - 22x14/24x14/10x8/12x8/13x9/14x14/16x16
Rogers Holiday Blue Onyx (Maple) (Dayton's) - 22x14/13x9/16x16
Yamaha Absolute Hybrid Maple - (Polar White) - 24x14/22x14/20x16/10x7.5/12x8/13x9/14x13/16x15
Yamaha Club Custom (Kapur) (Orange Swirl) - 22x15/24x15/20x15/10x7.5/12x8/13x8/16x15
Yamaha Recording Custom (birch) (Surf Green 2016) - 22x14/10x7.5/12x8/13x9/14x13/16x15
Yamaha Stage Custom Kit (birch) - (Natural Maple finish) - 20x13.5/8x7/10x7.5/12x8/13x9/14x13 (Only used in my studio)
Premier Genista (birch) - (Florida Kit 2014) - 20x18/12x8/16x16

Snares - Craviotto Maple 14x7, Noble & Cooley 14x4.75 Alloy Classic, Oriollo Phantom (aluminum) 55 (14x5.5) & 65 (14x6.5), Yamaha RC 14x8 (birch), Yamaha Club Custom 14x5.5 (Kapur), Yamaha Absolute Hybrid Maple 14x6, Jenkins-Martin (fiberglass) 14x6.5 Rogers Holiday wood Powertone 14x5, 14x6.5 Ludwig CopperPhonic (raw finish), Gretsch COB 4160 14x5, Summit Single Ply Red Oak 13x6.5, Pearl Marvin "Smitty" Smith Copper 14x4, Rogers (new) Powertone 14x6.5, Tama Peter Erskine Jazz Spruce and Maple 14x4.5

Cymbals - Gigging/Recording - 21" Sabian HH Raw Bell Ride/22" Paiste 2002 Ride/15" Paiste Sound Edge 2002 Hats/14" Paiste 602 SE Hats/17" Paiste 2002 Crash/18" Paiste Thin Crash 2002 Crash/20" Paiste 2002 Crash/18" Sabian Ozone Crash/16" Sabian AAX Ozone Crash/16" Sabian Monarch ASR Ozone Crash/18" Paiste PSTx Medium Crash

Other Instruments -
Keyboards: Hammond A101 with 122 Leslie, Roland Juno-DS Synth, Yamaha MX49 Synth
Guitars: Fender Player Strat HSS, Gretsch 2655T Streamliner, Yamaha APX600 Acoustic
Bass Guitars: Fender Player Jazz Bass, Sire U5 short scale Bass
Amps: Fender Champion 40 for guitar; Fender Rumble 25 for bass.

Roland SPD:One for gigging
Yamaha DTX720K Kit for practice

 

[Piggpenn]

I THINK OZZY SHOULD SUE THIS GUY.............

I actually liked that rendition. First time I could understand the words. I might like that song.

 

[swarfrat]

When Postmodern Jukebox covered it, it was the first time I understood and liked it. It's a totally different song.

 

[JDA]

she forgot her pants.

 

[swarfrat]

she forgot her pants.

She's got an incredible voice. On the Danish edition of The Voice, she had the judges smashing the button on the first note before she even got into the song proper.

 

[drums1225]

Are or should? They should be illegal. Make and play your own music.

I do write/collaborate on/co-write original (non-commercial) music, but then those pesky bills arrive and my mortgage company doesn't accept my musical gratification as payment.

Raise your hand if you've made a sustained living playing your own original music. Anyone? I'm not talking about drummers who are sidemen for original artists, I'm talking about songwriters/band members whose own original music has provided them with a stable source of income over an extended period of time.

As much as some people don't like to hear it, music is art, but it's also a business. The truth is that the market for tribute bands is huge and the public buys tickets in large numbers. It follows that working musicians covet these gigs because the work is great (performing arts centers, theaters, casinos, corporate events), pays well, includes travel (if you like that sort of thing), and if you're lucky enough to play the music of a band or artist you like/love, it's musically rewarding as well. I play in Chicago and Billy Joel tribute bands, and they were both childhood favorites whose music I never covered in all my years of playing in cover bands, so it's a treat to play their music with great players, get paid well for it, and get to travel all over the country.

Many "A list" sidemen in the NYC area are playing in nationally/regionally touring tribute bands. The Billy Joel tribute band I play with features 2 (and sometimes 3) members of Billy's actual band. If you're not into tribute bands, I get it, but make no mistake: many top tribute bands are as good or better than the bands they pay tribute to.

 

[Samir]

If you see a pair of dudes standing in the back of your next dive bar gig, dressed as Jake and Elwood, hiding behind dark sunglasses… that would the CIA uniform adopted in 1984 for a special task force to take out criminal cover band cartels in your local area.

They blend right in so look out.

Or it could be the Alabama Blues Brothers--a pretty killer cover/tribute band.

Alabama Blues Brothers | Book or Hire Alabama Blues Brothers Band | Great tribute band for your private party, corporate or special event | Invite this rendition of Jake and Elwood and the Blues Brothers to your special event!

Prime Source Entertainment is an official booking agency for the The Alabama Blues Brothers Band. Based out of Huntsville, AL,they are on of the top Blues Brothers tribute bands in the US. Book the Alabama Blues Brothers for your next private party today.

primesourceentertainment.com

 

[Samir]

They're from my neck of the woods. And they've been doing the tribute thing the right way and for a loooong time. (Going on 30 years). Phil Collins even brought his kids to one of their shows so that they could experience how Gennesis did it back in the days... They pay licensing fees and have gone through the propper channels to receive a green light from the member of G (or their lawayers/managers).

See, to me this is the way to do, literally 'paying tribute' to the original artist in more than just artform.

 

[Samir]

I got this from an e-book "Hack the Music Industry"
Music Copywrite law:
"The right to make derivative works based on the original - A derivative work is one base on one or more pre-exis1ng works. Some examples of deriva1ves are translations, arrangements, the translation of a book or an album into a motion picture, samples, and remixes. As a rule of thumb, a work becomes a derivative as opposed to a reproduti1on if it transforms, recasts, or adapts the original. For this reason, a cover song that does not change the composition is considered a reproduction, not a derivative."

****Edited****
I wanted to add the following from the same source:
"The right to publicly perform the work (composition copyright) - This right applies only to the composition copyright. It grants the right to publicly perform the composition. Any time you hear your favorite song being played publicly, be it in a TV show, on the radio, or by a cover band at a local club, the composition owner is being paid. The Performing Rights Organizations such as ASCAP, BMI and SESAC (US) are responsible for issuing public performance licenses for the composition and collecting the fees on the songwriter’s behalf. "

Thank you for these details. I've always wondered how the local cover bands could just play whatever covers they wanted at the local venue where I was a photographer.

 

[Samir]

The biggest issue from the side of a creator is when the person copying/tributing your work is getting more compensation than you are--that's when the rub is the wrong way.

I haven't experienced this with music, but I have experienced it with my photography being used without license--and it stings when a magazine is getting big revenue from advertisers and your photo is on the cover and they will wiggle out of paying you a dime via 'innocent infringer' clauses. It makes you stop wanting to create, because as someone posted earlier 'music is a business' and so is everything else when it comes down to it, so if your costs aren't covered or it's not worth it to you financially, you'll stop.

If I was a musician with published works and then these works were being performed/copied/tributed without even a penny come my way while the person using them was making money off of them, I would be irked. That's my blood, sweat, and tears that someone is profiting off of because all artists know, that's what our art consists of--nothing less.

 

[DanRH]

I don’t see a list of gear ….???

Are you looking at it on your phone? You won't see the signature on the phone which is where my list is. Only on a computer/tablet.

 

[Drdrumdude3009]

The biggest issue from the side of a creator is when the person copying/tributing your work is getting more compensation than you are--that's when the rub is the wrong way.

I haven't experienced this with music, but I have experienced it with my photography being used without license--and it stings when a magazine is getting big revenue from advertisers and your photo is on the cover and they will wiggle out of paying you a dime via 'innocent infringer' clauses. It makes you stop wanting to create, because as someone posted earlier 'music is a business' and so is everything else when it comes down to it, so if your costs aren't covered or it's not worth it to you financially, you'll stop.

If I was a musician with published works and then these works were being performed/copied/tributed without even a penny come my way while the person using them was making money off of them, I would be irked. That's my blood, sweat, and tears that someone is profiting off of because all artists know, that's what our art consists of--nothing less.

I agree with you 100%.

I have a few songs that I had contributed to past bands that I know for a fact that they have made more money from said songs than I ever had performing them live. These were properly published and I haven’t seen a dime for these songs. If these clowns make records using my tunes, I will be lawyering up.

 

[JazzDrumGuy]

I notice there is not ONE picture of the lawyer who filed suit so we can determine if he's too fat, ugly and untalented to make these claims. You think this reporter would have dug up a picture of the lawyer, supposedly playing drums with Bolton.

Here's the guy's day job from his website. I googled a photo and there's a picture of him on the kit (aka Chuck, era unk.), and apparently, the person he's suing has now made amends with him.

 

[JazzDrumGuy]

Those covers of the Ozzy song were painful.... but the Gilligan's Island Song was awesome and creative......

 

[HoorayGuy]

I saw a Kiss tribute band a few years ago. Some old fat dudes. The guy doing Simmons had flab hanging out under his shirt. I enjoyed it for the lols.

 

[Hellwyck]

I saw a Kiss tribute band a few years ago. Some old fat dudes. The guy doing Simmons had flab hanging out under his shirt.

So they went for realism, then?