Cases study 7 : Vanilla Ice vs. David Bowie/Freddie Mercury (1991)

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Vanilla Ice vs. Queen and David Bowie (1990)


Case 
In 1981, Queen and David Bowie released the song “Under Pressure”. The song reached number one on UK music charts. 

In 1990, Vanilla Ice released his hit single “Ice Ice Baby” the beat the song was the same as “Under Pressure”. But Ice famously insisted that the two melodies are distinct because he added a beat between notes. A live version appears on the album Extremely Live, while a rap rock version appears on the album Hard to Swallow, under the title "Too Cold" 

Queen and David Bowie sued the signer for sampling the beat to the song without permission or a license. Ice later claimed that this rationale was merely a joke. Representatives for Queen and Bowie weren't laughing and threatened a copyright infringement suit. 

Interesting Facts ：Both songs, "Ice, Ice, Baby" and "Under Pressure" were number one hits. The song boosted the sales of the album which went to sell over 7 million copies. These songs were also used for holiday commercials. 

Queen - Under Pressure (Official Video)

Vanilla Ice - Ice Ice Baby

Background 
"Ice Ice Baby" is a hip hop song written by American rapper Vanilla Ice and DJ Earthquake based on the song "Under Pressure" by Queen and David Bowie, who did not initially receive songwriting credit or royalties until after it had become a hit. Originally released on Vanilla Ice's 1989 debut album Hooked and later on his 1990 national debut To the Extreme, it is his most well known song. It has appeared in remixed form on Platinum Underground and Vanilla Ice Is Back! A live version appears on the album Extremely Live, while a rap rock version appears on the album Hard to Swallow, under the title "Too Cold"

Under Pressure" is a 1981 song by the British rock band Queen which was written and recorded with the singer David Bowie. It was included on Queen's 1982 album Hot Space. The song reached number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the group's second number-one hit in their home country (after 1975's "Bohemian Rhapsody", which topped the chart for nine weeks), and Bowie's third UK number-one. 


Held
The case was settled privately out of court as it was clear that Vanilla Ice had stolen the sample without permission. Ice settled out of court with Queen and David Bowie for an undisclosed but very likely very high amount. “Ice Ice Baby” has been released in many different versions with all of the legal procedures followed. Bowie and members of Queen all received songwriting credits on the track.

Copyright Act 1987 Section 36(1)
The Copyright Act 1987 states that an infringement occurs when a person does something without the licence or permission or consent of the copyright owner.

The copyright in a work is infringed when a person who:
(i)not being the owner of the copyright 
(ii)without consent or license of the owner of the copyright,

Point of view
If you are a song writer and you hear a song on the radio and the song beat you really like it. Will you use the beat and write an original song without the consent of the original songwriters? For me, I definitively won’t do it as I know the consequence I might be facing. 

While copyright laws can protect the financial interests of artists, it's ability to protect their creative interests leaves much to be desired.

Vanilla Ice used a famous song without obtaining permission. Even after paying the price for his piracy, some still feel that it isn't enough to make up for the potential lost in credibility on Queen and David Bowie's part, as they are now recognized as collaborators to Vanilla Ice, one they did not consent in.

Other than this, I did find out that Vanilla Ice had also sang a cover to Wild Cherry's song "Play That Funky Music" without permission from him and was sued for the lack of credits. He was forced to pay approximately $500,000.

Be creative no copy !

References:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a01QQZyl-_I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rog8ou-ZepE

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/songs-on-trial-10-landmark-music-copyright-cases-20160608/vanilla-ice-vs-queen-and-david-bowie-1990-20160608

https://prezi.com/mmxlzbvfagkk/vanilla-ice-vs-david-bowiefreddie-mercury/

Comments

  1. Daily News UrduJune 22, 2022 at 4:03 AM

    Vanilla Ice is a great American rapper. He has a very humble and down to earth personality. His daughter dusti rain van winkle is also doing great as a social media celebrity. Thank for sharing this informative article with us for free.
    Keep it !

    ReplyDelete

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