Kraftwerk Loses 20-year Copyright Battle Over 2-second Sample
To the surprise of probably no one, Germany has some of the most rigid copyright laws in Europe. So much so that Kraftwerk spent two decades trying to win a copyright lawsuit over sampling artist Moses Pelham’s use of a two-second sample of a Kraftwerk track. After years of going back and forth in court, and rescinding an original ruling, the German electronic group lost the lawsuit, with the judge’s final say being that the impact of Kraftwerk did not outweigh the sampler’s artistic freedom, and that ruling in favor of Kraftwerk over the 2-second ample would “practically exclude the creation of pieces of music on a particular style.” German sampling artists, you just keep doing your thing.
The National Announce New Project with Bon Iver and Others
On May 20th, the National released the collaborative album Day of the Dead. The 59-track Grateful Dead tribute album took the group 5 years to put together and was crafted with the mindset to not rush it, get together with artists when the groove is right, and let them cover whatever Dead track they wanted. Riding the wave of the endeavor’s strange and joyous spirit, the National has announced their next project: an Indie-ish supergroup with Bon Iver, internationally renowned pianists Katia and Marielle Labeque, and Grammy-winning sextet Eighth Blackbird. The supergroup only has one show scheduled so far (and it’s in Paris), but a collaboration like this surely cannot be restricted to a single performance.
The Strokes Open a Pop-up Record Store and Coffee House Ahead of New EP Release
The Strokes have a new EP coming out on Friday, and they’ve set up a week-long pop-up store in New York’s Lower East Side in anticipation. Billed as a record store, Installation, plus espresso bar, the space is the prime place to ponder the band’s back catalog, buy some vinyl and limited edition t-shirts, or just order a macchiato and sit in the screening area, and let the band’s videos and live performances inundate you. The pop-up store’s climax comes Friday with a midnight release party and performance.
-Taylor Wallace
