Pink Floyd kids want royalties
p2pnet.net News:- In a different kind of ‘royalties’ fight, a lawyer representing one of the kids from north London ‘s Islington Green School who were in the background choir for Pink Floyd’s The Wall album, says the Floyd owe the kids money.
“Royalties expert Peter Rowan said he was appealing on behalf of one former pupil and was working with others,” says the BBC, going on:
“The 23 then teenagers from north London have been unable to claim royalties as they recorded their vocals in secret. The single with its chorus “We Don’t Need No Education” became a children’s anthem and was a UK and US number one. The album The Wall, on which the single features, sold more than 12 million copies. The album was also turned into a semi-animated 1982 film, starring Bob Geldof of as a pop star who descends into madness.”
Music teacher Alun Renshaw took the pupils out of lessons to the nearby Britannia Recording Studios in Islington to record – without the head’s permission, says This Is London, going on:
“Today, Mr Renshaw, 59, revealed how he hid the song’s lyrics from the head. The Evening Standard tracked him down to his home outside Sydney, Australia, where he runs a vocational training course company.
“He said: ‘I viewed it as an interesting sociological thing and also a wonderful opportunity for the kids to work in a live recording studio. We had a week where we practised around the piano at school, then we recorded it at the studios. I sort of mentioned it to the headteacher, but didn’t give her a piece of paper with the lyrics on it.’
“When the song was released the Inner London Education Authority called it scandalous’. Mr Rowan said: ‘They (the former schoolchildren) are owed their money and we lodged the first claim last week. I’ve been working on it for almost two years’.”
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See:-
The Wall – Pink Floyd pupils claim royalties, BBC News Online, November 27, 2004
head’s permission – Pink Floyd pupils sue for royalties, This Is London, November 26, 2004
November 27th, 2004 at 5:26 pm
If the kid’s contract says they get royalties, THEY GET ROYALTIES.
November 28th, 2004 at 12:46 am
That’s exactly it. IF there was a contract. My hunch is: There was none… I can not imagine ASCAP, (or whomever handles the royalties distribution), screwing anyone out of anything…. There is also the question of WHY so many years have passed before making the stink about royalties!
I’m SURE Roger Waters will pay out of his own pocket, being the socially aware person he is….. I bet there is more to this story……
November 28th, 2004 at 4:30 am
Then again if there is no contract the label did not have the right to use the voices of the “23 then teenagers” in their product. Because they did not procure the rights to the performance.
Copyright is not transferred to companies automagically. Without contract, the original performer, even if unknown or under an assumed name still has the rights.
And that is why there even is a case.
And, as a corollary, I guess it’s okay to share these songs since only the legal owner can sue someone for breach of copyright and it looks like they do not have the rights to the songs featuring these kids.
As for the time delay, I believe copyright expires in like 50 years or so?
November 29th, 2004 at 7:22 pm
50 years? hahaha… yeah, that might’ve been the law, in the 1920s.. but when good ol’ Mickey Mouse was fast approaching 50, good ol’ U. S. of A bumped it up. and again. and again. i think currently, its at 150 years past death of artists (so could be 200+ years), and i bet when mickey mouse is about to turn 200 years old, the law will be modified once again.
November 30th, 2004 at 8:21 pm
Actually, US copyright terms have nothing to do with it, since the recording was made in the UK and the lawsuit was filed in the UK. From what I understand, UK copyright terms last 50 years, which is why there is a frenzy to get the UK terms extended before too many Elvis tunes hit the public domain over there.
Also, for the sake of clarity, US copyright terms last until 70 years past the death of the author/artist, or 95 years if the copyright owner is a corporation.
February 20th, 2005 at 12:41 pm