Posted on 02/20/2022 4:42:50 AM PST by grayboots
The band Heavy Young Heathens accused U.S. Olympic figure skating pair Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier of using its music without permission in a routine at the Beijing Winter Olympics, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday.
The group is suing the duo, NBC and U.S. Figure Skating, for copyright violations over the pair skating to the band’s version of “House of the Rising Sun.” Heavy Young Heathens members Robert and Aron Marderosian claimed that while “House of the Rising Sun” is based on a folk song, their rendition “is a signature song of theirs throughout the world” ― due in part to its inclusion in the movie “The Magnificent Seven” and in Ford car ads. (A version by the Animals became a rock hit in the 1960s.)
In the lawsuit, which was posted by Reuters, the Marderosian brothers allege they were not contacted by the skaters, U.S. Figure Skating, NBC and other broadcast platforms for the event. They also said that broadcasters failed to include a specific credit for them in a chyron that noted only “House of the Rising Sun.”
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Eric didn't write the song. It's a traditional song so the writing copyright has expired. As for the performance, the keyboard player for the Animals, Alan Price, listed his name as the arranger, apparently unbeknownst to the others who had no idea how copyrights work, and has been collecting the royalties ever since. Confirmed by Burdon here.
If these skaters used the actual performance of the band they're suing without permission and the band owns the copyrights, they have a legitimate case. Determination of the amount they could recover would be the bigger issue.
The skaters were not paid performers; they used the song in an amateur performance. Assuming they were purely amateaur, looking only at the two of them, is permission required? Also, the performance was in China - what is the law of China on this, as surely that would be applicable.
This sounds like a desperate grad for attention by an obscure, virtually forgotten band. Pathetic.
Their Free Skate program is going to be: “Fix You” by Coldplay & Fearless Soul
Their Free Skate program is going to be: “ Shallow” by Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper*
* “Shallow” was written by Gaga with Andrew Wyatt, Anthony Rossomando and Mark Ronson, and produced by Gaga with Benjamin Rice. It is the lead single from the soundtrack to the 2018 version of the musical romantic drama film, A Star Is Born.
What they are going to do their routines to are set at the beginning of the skating season and they have been using the same music all season. If they used this unknown band’s version then they should pay them a rights fee. It would not be much. It sounds like Aron and Robert are just looking for publicity and a small payday.
Here’s their version if you want to listen to it
*********************
God, that was one of the worst things I’ve ever heard. Overwrought and over produced crap. And the lead singer’s whiny screeching voice was too much to bear. No wonder I never heard of their version before.
The Animal’s version is perfection IMHO.
...only to find out(like me)...they're not.
I can assure you a great number of royalty interests are either:
Writer
Publisher
Producer
Or a combo that split the royalties.
I’ve purchased and own all three types.
Obviously some songwriters are also the performing artists.
They don’t need permission if that band signed performance rights away as they always do. It’s like when rock bands always whined about Trump playing a song.
Glenn Yarborough could sue Van Ronk.
I listened to the band at your link. I never heard a bad rendition of House until now.
When I first got a multi track recording capability I concluded to do a version of HOTRS. Never got around to it. Then, 30 years later I remembered and, having nothing better to do, I did it. This song has been recorded by uncountable people in a wildly divergent set of styles and arrangements over the years. And I mean WILDLY. It is difficult to screw it up because the song’s fundamentals are so strong. Take two hours worth of versions of House off of youtube and you will have music in every style imaginable.
This bunch of apparently arena Rock wannabes blow the song up to idiotically huge proportions , take a.month of sundays to get thru the intro, then stop and start it in a herky jerky way that sucks any narrative intensity clean out of it. Add in the overdoing of the chick-imitating-the-the-soul-singer-on Dark-Side-of-the-Moon thing and I didn’t quite make it to the full five minutes.
It’s strange that a song rendition trying so hard to be soulful has zero soul to speak of.
No one needs permission to record House of the Rising Sun as it’s long since in the public domain.
What if you just whip out your purchased copy of the CD with the music on it and tell the world to pack sand.
Ha!...had the same exact thought...
If the Olympic Committee or skaters simply paid the standard royalty then there would have been no issue? I seem to remember many artists insisting, in vain, that Trump not use their copy written material.
Love the Frijid Pink version.
For any Christian musicians out there - the words to Amazing Grace fit perfectly to the music of House of the Rising Sun.
The song is iconic and goes back further than records. The song itself is public domain. The only way they may have a case is the unique arrangement that is used.
The Animals is THE version.
ok
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