back to article The Romantics sue Guitar Hero for sound-alike imitation

Detroit rockers The Romantics are suing the companies behind the PlayStation game Guitar Hero over the use of one of their songs. The lawsuit does not cite copyright infringement, though. Instead, the complaint is that a cover version is too accurate. The lawsuit against Activision Publishing and others describes "the …

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  1. Martin Benson

    re: Easy Rider....

    don't you mean "the Band", not "the band" ?

  2. James

    Statement from the Wax Cylinder Industry Association

    The WCIA has long fought this scourge of "sounding like." We see it as just another infringing reproduction of our IP - one, in fact, of the most prevalent and insidious. In the simplest terms, it is an exploitation of the analogue hole which we seek to close permanently.

    Consider, for instance, the hypothetical Harry Q Musicstealer listening to his stolen goods on his (also probably stolen) iPod while travelling to work on the Tube. Overcome with an access of emotion while listening to his preferred liberalist commie-hipsterite noise, Harry begins to hum along. Soon you have a whole tube carriage of 200 people or more all singing along in one giant chorus! That's 200 licencing fees stolen from the WCIA, just in that one moment alone. This tragedy happens on a daily basis, I'm told by my underlings who aren't driven everywhere in chauffeured Maybachs.

    Consider further, that if Harry Q Musicstealer has any musical talent, there is nothing at all to prevent him transcribing our property into his brain by an insidious process known as "understanding" and playing it back at any time. Through a process known as "inspiration" he can even make derivative works, right there in his head! He can then perform these derivative works to an audience, who can also "understand" and "take inspiration" from them, and suddenly the process of brain-theft goes viral. Ultimately you may end up with thousands of different songs that sound nothing like the first-generation inspiration and are indeed effectively unrelated to them, but upon which we are not earning the fees to which we are entitled.

    The WCIA does not intend to take this threat lying down. We have a multi-point plan to prevent this process ever happening again.

    1. Ban all music

    2. Sue everyone on the basis that we need to recover the lost revenue that banning music has caused, and it was their fault we had to ban it

    3. Sue all artists for breach of contract for ceasing to produce music

    4. Lobby government for "cultural protection tax" to be paid for us to compensate for ongoing revenue that we would have earned had we not had to ban our own product.

    This plan may take some time to effect. In the meantime we are working with manufacturers to ensure that all headphones are made with only a single earpiece, to remove the "two-listener hole" currently prevalent with stereo equipment.

  3. Mr Brush
    Stop

    Give us cash...

    because you put our obscure (and licenced) song that no-one has heard of in a hugely popular game and gave us exposure that money cannot buy.

    Great, well done. Next step, cut off nose to spite face.

  4. andy rock
    Joke

    RE: Give us cash...

    "you put our obscure (and licenced) song"

    you forgot 'shit'.

  5. Ash

    Idiocy

    As Mr Brush says, you can't buy the publicity and exposure that these games provide.

    I bought the Metalocalypse DVD, and album, PURELY based on the unlockable track "Thunderhorse" on the original Guitar Hero.

    I know for a fact that I won't be buying anything by The Romantics. Activision should issue a recall for all the games sold and replace their song with some Satriani.

    Just to piss them off.

  6. Jerome

    @ Mr Brush

    Cut off nose to spite face? How about "sue nose in frivolous lawsuit, ensuring extensive coverage by gullible media outlets, resulting in even greater publicity for face"?

  7. Sir Runcible Spoon

    "the well-known and highly-successful band 'The Romantics'"

    Who?

  8. Matt

    Activision could

    just wait for the lawsuit to fail, then ask for costs, taking money from the very band they had given money to. That'll piss 'em off more!

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Pirate

    Great!

    I always wondered who did that song. I'm off to P2P it right now.

  10. mark carlisle
    Joke

    @P2P

    why stop with the song, just grab the entire game

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Joke

    To quote Arnold Rimmer....

    "You're more like me than I am." -AJ Rimmer (Red Dwarf)

  12. Paul Fleetwood
    Paris Hilton

    I'm amazed that nobody's gone after those old Top of the Pops cover complilation records

    that were around in the days before Now that's what I call music

  13. Chewy

    must be me

    but I generally prefer it when a cover version sounds like the original over a badly played version. why didn't they stop the song from being licensed if it bothered them sound much.

  14. Chris C

    Well-known?

    Really, how well-known are the Romantics? I can only remember two of their songs -- "What I Like About You" and "Talking In Your Sleep". That's it. And the only reason anyone even remembers "What I Like About You" at this point is the Amanda Bynes / Jennie Garth 2002 sitcom of the same name.

    Somebody should tell this idiots that "cover song" often means "sound-alike". A lot of bands try to get it as close to the original as they can. Very few bands try to put a distinctive edge on a cover. So when they say the defendants did not have a license to create a "sound-alike" recording, they're outright lying. Not that that surprises me at all. And how were they "damaged"? I would love to know what the 'injury to the band's "identity, persona, and distinctive sound'" is when they themselves say the song sounded exactly like their version.

    This is just a pathetic attempt by a now unknown band to try to reclaim some of the cash and fame they had at one time. And really, when you only had two hits in your entire career, you need to do everything you can.

  15. James

    @ All those asking why they licenced it in the first place

    The band wouldn't be the ones choosing whether or not to licence the mechanical rights, because they aren't the publisher. Activision would have licenced the song from whoever published it in the 80's, probably because it was cheaper than licencing the performance rights of the actual recording. That's why The Romantics are suing for as many non-copyright infringements as their counsel can think up.

  16. Red Bren
    Pirate

    @Chewy

    I think it's just you. I don't see the point of a cover that sounds (almost) exactly like the original? I'd rather hear another band's interpretation of the song, which in some instances may be better than the original, for example:

    The Stranglers - "Walk On By"

    Soft Cell - "Tainted Love"

    Rammstein - "Stripped"

    Metallica - "Whiskey in the jar"

    Oops, shot myself in the foot there, that Metallica cover was SHITE!!!

  17. OldGreeeeeg

    @James

    No.. they're suing for because like many bands.. they signed their rights away and they want a slice of the pie they may feel is theirs, but legally isn't. I can understand their feelings, but it doesn't make them entitled to anything.

  18. J
    Paris Hilton

    Again

    "well-known and highly-successful"

    Who? Where? Never heard of these guys, they must have been a local group. I suspect this "What I like about you" song is that one from a commercial for a hotel here in the US? Time for P2P... :-P

    Re: covers... Well, when I hear an established artist doing a cover in their album, I want it to be different from the original, and preferably better. Attaque 77 doing Roberto Carlos' "Amigo" (??s in your face) being very different, Sepultura doing Motörhead's "Orgasmatron" being not such a radical departure, but nice new angle anyway.

    But when I go to a bar and there is a *cover band*, I want them to sound as much like the original as possible, and not like whatever is some guys' idea of how it should sound. Two very different situations, I'd say.

  19. OldGreeeeeg

    hrmm..

    suing for because?

    I R edyookatedid.

  20. Anonymous Coward
    Pirate

    And again...

    The Romantics? Never heard of them.

  21. William Towle

    And for comparison...

    Sad.

    To anyone who said "famous?", the answer would be "in the US, yes". From what I read elsewhere, "What I Like About You" is not just featured in a sitcom of the same name, it's on a good number of "Best Of" albums, and Poison's latest covers album "Poison'd" in particular.

    @James, you've nailed it noting this is because they're not the publisher - the band have clearly had a contract from which they could still be getting royalties if the longevity of the song had been expected and the terms written accordingly ... but it wasn't, and they aren't; see articles elsewhere.

    In this particular case, Activision would have needed cover version[s] done because recordings weren't available to put the desired emphasis on the guitar parts (as required for obvious reasons).

    The versions:

    - http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/11/22/190246

    - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDI2YjZ7Ntk

    Song :) Recent shenanigans :(

  22. William Towle

    ...I'm sorry, I'll read that again

    Those URLs should read

    For comparison:

    - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VAag8Vxipc

    - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDI2YjZ7Ntk

    For other details:

    - http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/11/22/190246

    (hung over)

    W.

  23. Chris

    Really now - Artists are people too.

    There seems to be a general attitude that no one can defend their rights to their own recordings - they're all just greedy artists. We're entitled to everyone's creative output.

    This case isn't black and white no matter whose side you're on. It doesn't matter if you think the band sucks or rules. It's only fair for people to get some compensation for their work - though OBVIOUSLY not to ridiculous extremes.

    It's true however that a lot of people, products, companies very often make a lot of money off the back of other people's work.

    Companies often get cover bands to do a person's work simply 'cos they're too cheap to pay for the original. Fine - there's provision for that.

    Sometimes it's cos the band (understandably) doesn't want their original song/performance used for a coffee/life-insurance/erectile dysunction ad. Fine - that's their right. Often they have very little control over their own work.

    You, as something other than a non-professional musician who makes a living doing something impersonal may not understand their frustration. But maybe try?

    Try understand the outrage at not wanting your creation used to promote or enhance someone else's product (or at least not wanting to do it for nothing) and then finding that they simply made a cover that sounds EXACTLY the same. As in: so close that no one doubts that it IS you.

    It's easy to copy when you have a reference point someone else has made for you. If someone clones your song, such that it isn't practically discernable from the original, surely that's not just a cover version anymore? Who's to say they didn't just use your recording and claim it was a cover? Who can tell? Who can prove it?

    If you can't do it with some stylistic difference, then PAY for the original, PAY for a sound-alike or get another song!

  24. Lee Ward
    Paris Hilton

    Guitar Hero ??

    The Romantics should give Activision a 'real' version of the song so that people will be interested to buy the band's CD so they can get royalties from that. Use Guitar Hero as a marketing tool to sell their stuff to people who are either too young, or not from the part of the world who know who The Romantics are.

    As a side note.... This Guitar Hero 'thing'....It's lost on me.

    Here's a cool idea...

    Why not buy an actual guitar for the same price as the game and learn to play for real ?

    It seems the world is too lazy to bother learning real skills and start living their own life.

    They seem to prefer, playing virtual Football (Soccer), Golf, Guitar etc. All the while pretending they can actually play decent football or play a guitar. It's weird IMO.

    Turn off the TV and PC for bit each day....go outside and experience life for real.

    The PH angle ? isn't it obvious ? ;)

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