Sampling: Creativity at work or a sign of disrespect?

The issue of sampling is becoming more prevalent in the music industry now more than ever thanks to the explosion of computer programs that allow for the easy remixing of music, such as serato http://www.serato.com/ . Now rather than people striving to create their own original pieces of music, it is widely accepted that remixing other peoples music is seen as a form of original expression. I have no problem with this, seeing as Hip Hop is my favorite genre of music that is based upon sampling of old music. What I do have a problem with is when this remixing and sampling becomes a blatant steal of someone else’s hard work. The example that sticks out in my mind is Eminem stealing the beat of a lesser known underground Hip Hop artist Dreddy Kruger. Dreddy Kruger is affiliated with the large Hip Hop group: Wu-Tang Clan. Wu Tang has always prided themselves on creating unique sounding Hip Hop that is unlike anything else in the genre. This is apparent by listening to some of their famous tracks that are deeply influenced through the use of old ninja movies such as Da mystery of Cheesboxin’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl6jwab3HWk and Protect Ya Neck http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GDPZpRmTg0&feature=related .

What is of importance here is that Dreddy Kruger a member of the Wu-Tang Clan is not well known in the mainstream music industry. His most popular release was the album “Think Differently Music: Wu Tang meets the Indie Culture”, the very title of this album indicates its underground appeal and its reach out to the indie movement. One of the most popular tracks on the album “Preservation” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3rKpn5p5co only has 3,000 views on YouTube. This can be contrasted against mainstream artist Eminem, whose track “Crack a Bottle” which has over 8.5 million views http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uolqQsQplB0 .

When you listen to this song it is quite apparent that Eminem has blatantly used the exact same beat as in “Preservation”, a song which Dreddy Kruger independently produced. This upsets me because in the past there has been ‘beef’ between these two artists, and this was Eminem’s way of disrespecting and getting back at Dreddy. This is clearly a sign of disrespect seeing as how Eminem’s video has over 8.5 million views and not one comment recognizes that the beat was clearly stolen and unchanged from Dreddy Kruger, whereas the limited comments on the “Preservation” video recognize that the beat is clearly stolen. What really gets me going is that in the song “Crack a Bottle” Eminem says that he “hates the game and the way it looks”, when he is clearly part of the problem, stealing a beat and not giving any credit where it is due.

It is this blatant disrespect and stealing of music that threatens the success of Hip Hop as a genre, I mean if one of the biggest names in the game can get away with this what is stopping millions of other aspiring artists from simply stealing music and making it their own. It is in this regard that I believe in the fair use policy of the copyright laws. I am not opposed to the practice of sampling as long as it is done in a tasteful manner, with the proper people getting credit and recognition that their music has been remixed to create something new. I am opposed however to the downright stealing of music where no credit is given and no remorse is felt, it was not a part of the song Eminem took but rather the whole song beat for beat.

With the deskilling of the music industry that has been created by programs such as serato, that allow for the visual matching of sound wave lengths rather than actually listening to what would work, I fear that this stealing of music will happen more often. Now that everyone with access to a computer has the capability to remix songs and label them their own, what is stopping them from just stealing music as Eminem did, I mean if one of the biggest names in Hip Hop can get away with it what is stopping a bedroom DJ from doing the same thing. I believe we must take a step back and think about what constitutes creativity versus the deliberate stealing of music that is seen as a sign of disrespect.

Until next time keep exercising social responsibility

- the ubiquitous civilian

“Eh Oh Canada Go” a national disgrace and example of social media failure

The recent advertising campaign by Pepsi and the attempt to brand a hockey cheer for team Canada has been a massive failure. This marketing campaign tried to utilize new social media to create hype around the promotion of a new corporate inspired cheer that would represent Canada at the past world junior championships in Saskatoon, and hopefully the upcoming 2010 winter Olympics in Vancouver. While it was an admirable attempt by Pepsi to reach out and embrace new social media, and alternative forms of self promotion, it ended up being a marketing disaster and an example of how not to employ the use of social media.

This marketing campaign failed on many different levels, but its biggest failure was in its utilization of social media. Firstly the idea of a corporate inspired cheer that in essence brands Canadians was doomed to fail from the beginning. This is because the idea of a cheer is that it unites a nation, it provides a common chant that everyone in the nation is aware of and supports. The cheer is used to support Canadian hockey, and in essence represents the passion that is Canadian hockey. The idea that Pepsi, an American corporation, created a cheer that represents all of Canada is flawed from the outset. By trying to brand a cheer, Pepsi was essentially trying to brand all of Canada as a Pepsi drinking and supporting nation. The very idea makes me sick to my stomach, that Canada should be represented by an American corporation, I mean even the colours of Pepsi (red, white, and blue) are direct symbols of the American flag, and in hockey America is one of, if not Canada’s biggest rival. This is just my personal opinion on the matter; I would not want to be represented by a heartless corporation that’s only goal is to maximize profits, because lets face it Pepsi is a business like any other and its main goal is too make money; not inspire an entire nation. Many Canadian citizens did not support the cheer because it is Pepsi’s way of exploiting citizens to selflessly promote a corporation that frankly does not even know what hockey means to Canadian citizens.

While this has just been a rant of my own personal opinions on the matter, there is no doubt that Pepsi failed to successfully utilize social media. Social media by definition is participatory in nature, and is known for the creation of online communities that voice their opinions. After the official release of the Pepsi cheer “Eh Oh Canada Go” an enormous online community was created that called for a boycott of the cheer. This is seen in the over 60 Facebook groups opposing the cheer, especially seen in the group that has nearly 100,000 members. http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=217528662837#!/group.php?v=wall&gid=217528662837. This number can be contrasted against the official Pepsi fan page on Facebook, which only has 130,000 fans. The Canadian citizens outrage reached further than alternative news outlets reaching mainstream newspapers such as the Vancouver sun http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Canada+junior+hockey+chant+falls+flat/2412382/story.html. Pepsi’s greatest failure was seen in the social medium of twitter. There were thousands of posts on the Pepsi twitter page badmouthing the cheer, with no response from Pepsi. The corporation instead reverted to mindless tweets about what day of the week it was ignoring the outcry of the online community. This blatant disregard for the online community connected with social media is a prime example of how Pepsi failed to utilize social media effectively. http://search.twitter.com/search?q=pepsi+cheer.

There are also an abundant amount of YouTube videos on the internet criticising the cheer and its failure to engage actively with fans. This video is just one of the many that shares this opinion http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yc7gOoGeG3E.

While it was a noble attempt to utilize social media Pepsi missed the most important facet of social media; its interactive quality that allows citizens to express their own opinions. By not responding to these opinions Pepsi failed to actively contribute to the social media campaign they created, and as such has taken away from their credibility as a major marketing powerhouse. This is demonstrated by the fact that Pepsi has given up on promoting the cheer, while giving no public statement as to why the campaign ceases to exist. If Pepsi actively sought out to explain the reasoning behind the cheer it may not have ended up this way, but the failure to utilize citizen media is what lead to the downfall of this cheer, known to many as a disgrace to Canadian culture.

Until next time keep Employing Scrutinizing Responses

- The Ubiquitous Civilian