Grateful Dead shake down NPR over including a song in an online mix

Fred sez, "Carrie Brownstein, formerly of Sleater-Kinney, now has a blog on NPR's website. She put together a mix of songs, and wanted to include a track from the Dead (since the songs are on the NPR site, she asked permission, unlike every other MP3 blog in the world). Look what happens:"

"An interesting tidbit: This mix was supposed to have the Grateful Dead on it, whose music I really love, but they refused unless we promised to do a piece on them on All Things Considered. In addition, we would need to run a feature on The Dead on the site. Here's a sentence I've never written: Someone needs to take a bong hit and chill out. Just a simple "no thanks" would have sufficed. Are The Dead really in need of publicity? Because I swear there's a dancing bear sticker on every third car I see in Portland. And now I've written a paragraph on them anyway, for free, not even in exchange for a song. Doesn't that count?!"

Link (Thanks, Fred!)

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

MORE: Copyfight

More at Boing Boing

Eurovision 2013: An American in London

The technology that links taxonomy and Star Trek

Santa’s Knee

“Dr. Garcia”…?
Santa’s Knee

“Dr. Garcia”…?
Legs

The following now appears on Carrie’s blog:

Clarification. The Grateful Dead were not involved with the decision regarding the requested track. It was the band’s label who would not give permission for the track to be used in its entirety. The label also suggested that it might be easier to get permission if we did a piece on the band on All Things Considered and on the NPR website
dannysland

When the Dead or the Airplane throw a free concert in Golden Gate Park, the attendance can hit three hundred thousand.

And when there’s no more room in Hell, the dead shall walk the earth.
scottfree

I imagine this is why you should never decide on a publicist/agent while under the influence. I think a corporate agent would have been clever enough to take whatever publicity was given.

I’m surprised they didn’t ask to be compensated in pizza. I would’ve just said, here’s the addresses, send them each a pizza.
gigarizel

I was hot to write something but Phikus in post #24 summed it up pretty well.
Phikus

It may have gotten switched around by the time the news got to me, so indeed, it may have been Phil pushing for free and Bobby pushing for fee.

I have been to a whole lot of shows and made my own merch to sell. Never have I run into anything resembling a “gestapo” and I saw plenty of people ripping off their trademarks. In the late 80′s, after “Touch of Grey” brought in a huge wave of new fans and national attention, organized crime got in the act of selling gear ripping off their trademarks, as well as bogus forged tickets, in their parking lots. This necessitated that their own people crack down on this infringement, and rightfully so. These people were leaching off of the scene and stealing money right out of their pockets. Still, I never saw any heavy-handed response, unlike the draconian drug busts that would occacionally happen with real swat team tactics. As a merch provider, you knew not to cross the line into ripping off their resistered trademarks, which did not include images of Jerry or the band, and respected it/ were treated with respect. This actually was responsible for folks getting really creative with their designs. How many dancing bears do you need anyway?

#28: That you can say that shows just how ignorant of that scene and their legacy you are. Plainly, you were one of those who followed the clique cause it seemed like a good party and didn’t really get it, and now you resent what you could never fathom. The follow up by #26 exonerates the Dead on the original point of this thread fairly well (thank you!)

Last point: I never paid more than $40 for a Dead ticket, and for four hours+ of solid music every night, they really earned it. The Dead have put more money into charitable causes like buying acreage in the rain-forest to keep it from being destroyed, helping indiginous peoples, etc. than any privately owned entity I know of. They set the bar pretty damn high for just being a rock ‘n roll band. Maybe a little research is in order before slandering them as fat greedy bastards, or would the facts have inconveniently gotten in the way of your trying to harsh their mellow. Just because you don’t understand something, doesn’t mean you should try to tear it down. What have you done for the fricken rain-forest lately?

“Sorry that you feel that way, but it’s allright…” -The Grateful Dead, Touch of Grey
Jake0748

That’s terrible. I’m glad Dr. Garcia wasn’t around to hear about this. I’m hoping it was just some newbie in their office who doesn’t know the drill. The Dead have always been famous for being willing to openly share their music.
Xopher

That is pretty weird. But Cory, you missed a chance at a pretty good pun there…could have titled this “Ungrateful Dead.”
Four Naught Four

This is awesome. I’ve spent years trying to stop people from playing Grateful Dead songs. Nice to know the band finally sees things my way.
minTphresh

the dead have become more a corporation then a rock band. i dont think it was m.g., but i do agree that b.k. prolley has a lil to do wit it. even the rest of the crew has become very shrewd, bizniz-wize. spoiling big jerry’s legacy, i b’lieve. sigh. the dead: so much noodlage they shoulda called themselves ” top ramen”. a lil musick humour.
ROSSINDETROIT

That sounds like a demand from DeadCorp Inc., not the band members. Who is in charge of their distribution these days, Sony?
ROSSINDETROIT

Good one, Xopher. I think we need a personal response on this issue from the living Dead.
Jake0748

Well Xopher, at least he said “Shakedown”. ;)
youdiejoe

I’m pretty sure it’s Warner Music Group that handles distribution.
Automatt

Greedy hippies.
dannysland

A defunct, sloppy, stoned, hippie jam band intentionally shutting off another slim possibility of me hearing them? What’s not to like about that story?

Hey, Grateful Dead: KBOO radio in Portland has Dead marathons for pledge week — can you shut that down too, pretty please?
Craigger1

It wasn’t the band members at all who rejected the use of their song. It was the record label suits who did.

Here is the clarification as posted on NPR’s site regarding the issue:

The Grateful Dead were not involved with the decision regarding the requested track. It was the band’s label who would not give permission for the track to be used in its entirety. The label also suggested that it might be easier to get permission if we did a piece on the band on All Things Considered and on the NPR website
martha_macarthur

I spent way too much time following these fat bastards around, helping to create the very atmosphere that made them rich and I can tell you that the Dead have always been like this, even when Jerry was alive.

They are greedy, all of them. I chalk it up to the fact that half of them have like 5 ex-wives and dozens of kids to support every month.

At every arena stop on every tour they would have their licensing gestapo out busting people in the parking lot, confiscating anything that might possibly resemble their “trademarks”.

They would bust people for having merch with roses or bones or possible symbols from songs, teddy bears, rainbows, turtles, tie-dyes, you name it.

It didn’t matter that the parking lot scene was what made them, they were going to take your stuff that made it possible for you to be there supporting their already rich asses.
markfrei

Hmmmmm… Carrie is my rock and roll hero. She’s got the best rock moves on stage and her guitar playing is simply amazing. IMO the Dead aren’t even worthy to share the stage with her and should have been grateful for the compliment from a far more talented (tho under appreciated) performer.
martha_macarthur

http://www.electricapricot.com
mellowknees

Hmmm…have people outside of Portland actually heard about the Grateful Dead?

Oh, wait…I forgot about Eugene.

_______________

Now that the sarcasm is out of the way…

I would agree with what’s already been said – sounds like something their “corporate” people came up with. I would hope that the actual band members wouldn’t behave this way. But, I suppose it wouldn’t surprise me, either. There are lots and lots of very established bands out there who charge waaaay too much for shows (i.e. the Eagles reunion tour) and seem to forget how they got to where they are in the first place – by making people happy!
simplehuman

That’s pretty sad. The Dead were models sharing their music freely (the taper movement) to build a fan base.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grateful_dead#Tapers

How that’s different from streaming I just don’t know.
wolfrider

1) Throughout their history the dead have made bad decision about who they put in charge of their financial and musical interests. This is what has led to that parking lot gestapo escapades, not to mention the differences in views of what the future holds.

2) Rhino controls their music now, atleast the producing of new stuff to albums

3) You can still download the shows for FREE. There is a whole community out there that loves the music and works hard at making it the best it can be.

4) I heard it was the other way around between Phil and Bob. In fact, when archive removed all the material years ago by the request GDP Phil came out saying that this was not his decision, rather that of another member.
zikzak

The band members hired those “corporate people” to do dirty work like this on their behalf. If the band doesn’t like what they’re doing, they should reprimand and/or fire those “corporate people”.

If, despite being a mega-successful band, they volunteered to sign contracts which restricted their ability to fire their “corporate people”, then they effectively abdicated their responsibility to a group of people who they must’ve known were going to do absurd, greedy things to generate money for the band and themselves.

No reason to give people a free pass just because they got a different face in their business to play the “bad cop”.
wolfrider

Not to mention the fact that when they do tour, still, their tickets are very reasonable at ~50$
Phikus

#28, 32, 34: Glad to hear you are doing something for the rain-forest. If what you profess is true, it is commendable! You are still mis-informed about the Dead’s charitable outreach if you believe they are “greedy… fat bastards.” They have still done a lot more in this regard than you or Bob Geldoff (no disrespect intended to him. I just don’t see how he could afford to match them even if he gave 100% of his money to charities.) I think you are also very unclear on the definition of “gestapo” in regards to their “busting” people as well. They would indeed confiscate goods made to illegally infringe on their registered trademarks, but no one was thrown in jail for this, much less marched into a gas chamber. People received ample warning on all official and many unofficial channels not to try to sell such goods. I was only trying to help provide some perspective, not get in a tit-for-tat with you. Sounds like you have a lot of pent-up issues to resolve. It is probably best for society at large that you live in the rain-forest.

I don’t have an invisible ball. Do you know where I can get one? (boing-boing gadgets, maybe?)
salsaman

@Beatrice M, @license farm: maybe interesting [cough] that iTunes will happily tell you the URL of the mp3 you’re streaming…;)
License Farm

Though I’m sure this is kneejerk policy for DeadCorp., the surviving band members aren’t completely innocent. I think it’s Bill Kreutzmann (one of their drummers, who unlike Mickey Hart doesn’t have quite the solo following) and Mountain Girl (I could be wrong; I know it’s one of the former Mrs. Garcias) who’ve been most instrumental in squelching “unauthorized” trade in Dead bootleg recordings. In college, 10 years ago now, I could stream whole Dead concerts, albeit via 56.6 dialup; I believe the kibosh was put on that some time ago.

It’s really too bad. I’d like to think that if the Dead were still the unit they were until Jerry’s death they’d have embraced filesharing and Creative Commons before anyone else, but we’ll never know, and their proxies are doing their bit to destroy that legacy.
Phikus

As I understand it, one of the recent splits the surviving members had was that Bob Weir wanted to give away all of their professionally recorded “vaulted” shows on the internet for free and Phil Lesh wanted to charge itunes prices for them, so the band are surely not unanimous about this. They have given away a hell of a lot more than most bands over their 40+ years of existance, even giving a whole professionally video-ed show to PBS to use for pledge drives, so writing them off as more corporate assholes is far from correct. At least they offered to barter, instead of demanding cash. I’d like to see what, say… Metallica would say to such an offer. The Rolling Stones are charging $200 a ticket for general admission seats, and though I don’t condone the Dead’s response, at least such factors should help provide a little perspective. You don’t bitch at bands for collecting a standard royalty fee for air-play, do you? This is how they make their living. Whether or not you like their music is beside the point. It is precisely because of negative stances like many evidenced here (and I’m sure this will elicit more) that they still have a need for a good PR piece on NPR.
thebluedino

ew Carrie likes the dead? time to burn my Excuse 17 record
Beatrice M

@license farm – You can still stream soundboard Dead over at archive.org and download crowd tapes.
martha_macarthur

#31 I actually live in a rain forest region and I haven’t seen you here doing anything but if you really want to know I am reforesting my property, we just got 30 more trees this week, I gave all of my kids old clothes to a very poor neighbor with a new born, I went to our new organic farmers market which I am helping to promote, I sponsor 10 acres of our most threatened region, and I will be assisting at a free childbirth education seminar tomorrow.

I bet Bob Geldof would disagree with you about the bar the Dead set for charitable outreach.

So stop spinning/dancing with your invisible ball and relax.
scottfree

I think many people involved in charity would disagree about the bar Sir Bob sets for charitable outreach.

Just sayin.
Antinous

Oh, wait…I forgot about Eugene.

When the Dead or the Airplane throw a free concert in Golden Gate Park, the attendance can hit three hundred thousand. Almost all are full on, tie-died, waist-length-hair hippies. Age range is infancy to a hundred.
vespabelle

Infants with waist-length hair? freaky, dude.
martha_macarthur

I was referring to the Dead setting a bar for bands, which is what #31 posted about, not all charities, sorry if that was unclear.