Copyright Threats Against Compulsive Singer Withdrawn
Written by enigmax on October 21, 2009A shop assistant has received an apology from the UK’s Performing Rights Society. The PRS had threatened the 56 year-old grandmother with a “four figure” bill for singing in her shop to customers, but has now backed down from its initial big-sticked aggressive stance, and is now brandishing a big bunch of flowers.
The UK’s Performing Rights Society (PRS) charges for all copyrighted music played or performed outside of an individual’s home. The group distributes the collected royalties to the writers and publishers of the songs. The trouble is, they have a tendency to take their music-police status a little too far.
PRS recently demanded an £80 annual fee from a corner shop to allow it to keep its radio, but a cunning plan was hatched by one of the employees that enabled it to avoid the charges.
Sandra Burt, a 56-year-old grandmother shop assistant at A & T Food Store in Clackmannan, turned off the radio and began to personally serenade her customers instead. Ha! Take that PRS!
But it wasn’t to be. The PRS got in touch and said that Mrs Burt’s singing constituted a live performance and was subject to a “four figure” annual fee. The PRS said that Mrs Burt was “getting up to mischief” to avoid paying the fine.
Nevertheless, Mrs Burt was told her activities are illegal and she had to pay.
“She could be fined for not having a live performance licence,” said a PRS spokesman at the time, “and if the fine isn’t paid, then she could potentially be taken to court.”
But now the PRS is having to eat its words, along with a large helping of humble pie and a nice groveling apology dessert. They have suddenly realized, strangely, that everything has just been one big mistake all along and have taken all the threats back. How nice.
But in reality, although she tried Mrs Burt simply couldn’t comply and has been compulsively infringing copyright all along.
“I couldn’t stop myself singing,” she told the BBC.
“They would need to put a plaster over my mouth to get me to stop, I can’t help it,” she said.
“We’re very sorry we made a big mistake,” said a note attached to a big bunch of flowers from the PRS to Mrs Burt. “We hear you have a lovely singing voice and we wish you good luck.”
I guess that makes it all ok then. How ridiculous.
Previously: YourBittorrent Continues Where MyBittorrent Left Off
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89 Responses
ridiculus really..
don’t they have anything better to do ??
Wankers.
That is all.
lol ? :D
Wow, these guys are like robots. Funny that, since we are the “computer geeks”.
Fuck me, what’s next Karaoke?
twats
They got off far too lightly.
They should be sued for malicious intent causing stress, harm to health and loss of business.
These fucking copyright mafia need a size 20 dildo shoved down their collective throats.
How the fuck dare they attempt to stop anyone using their vocal chords and singing anywhere!
May they all DIAF :=[
Lul
You can sue people for anything, and apparently EVERYTHING.
so what’s the reason behind the 180 ?
Breathing fee, Coming Soon!
@6
Because they were probably told to stop embarrassing everyone. I mean that type of action IS the basic definition of being a wanker…
This seems like a case that Lessig ought to mention in his next book about the evil of the current copyright laws. (Only that he is not going to write another book on copyright, at least he said so.)
Tis a shame they didn’t slap our manager with this ban, she fucking sings to everything and annoys all the customers.
…and this is why the pirate party is gathering momentum around the world.
Note that they only apologised after the negative publicity of their initial response.
What a bunch of c*nts.
reason #142 why people hate RIAA and all branches thereof.
reason #57 why people will NEVER pay record companies a penny again.
reason #4827 why the record corporations are total dicks!
What next? Since she has a “lovely singing voice” will one of the record companies make her a big singing icon:)
Any particular reason why they backed down suddenly?
yep, the government will soon be charging a air tax, and if you exhale to much CO2 you’ll have to be taxed some more because your carbon footprint is well over the legal limit
have they really got nothing better to do!
What a bunch of greedy sickfucks
best thing to do is to stop selling anything and everything that can view, play, be played, watched, listened to, recorded, downloaded, or burnt. wonder how the industries will get on then? after all, not only do they supposedly ‘produce’ all media, they also provide the means to do the above with as well. complete, brainless hypocrites! hitting them in the pocket is the only way they will learn!
When are you losers going to realize that the STATE are the TERRORISTS!
If you WORK, you’re part of the fucking problem!
That kind of things happen in Taliban-dominated areas of Afganistan, too.
OMgosh no way dude have they lost their minds??
Sony
http://www.anonymous.ua.tc
You could’nt make this up!
They don’t care about the music/artist’s/consumers,All they care about power/money & good publicity.Can’t wait to hear reasond mind’s twisted take on this.
Another epic fail.F*ckwits.
You pirates, we know what song you are singing in your head and you owe us $56.48 for playing it over and!
Don’t sing to loud in the shower boys and girls it could be interpreted as a public performance LoL
Just another reason why the music industry fails. What about the time where they wanted money everytime your phone called and the ringtone was copyrighted. “Mini-concert”, yah right. These guys are so funny.
I suck dicks.
To compare the Taliban to the PRS, RIAA, IFPI, etc. is an insult to the Taliban. I’m not Joking.
Don’t sing anything in your shower because if the music parasites hear you they will sue you!
they should get sued *holds out hand for money*
pfffff
wow total BS
I hope the Porn Industry doesnt do this with compulsive Wankers.
As soon as they develop a way to read people’s minds, the anti-piracy outfits will start charging us every time we think about something we do not have rights to think about. It is intellectual property after all, if you thought of it first, you own it.
=)
having to pay for SINGING!? that is quite possibly the biggest load of bullsh!t I have ever heard! (the UK ‘guilty on accusation’ three stikes plan comes a close second)
I don’t really want the Pee-aRSe standing outside when I’m singing in the shower, guess I’ll have to find something else to do.
It’s mine, and I’ll wash it as fast as I want…
Pussies.
I’ve been warning of this shit since they shut down O.L.G.A. (online guitar archive)
Which was a site full of USER CREATED tabs for almost any song out there, never accurate, never “copyrighted” yet illegal.
you can’t learn to play a song without paying the record company. You can not listen to a song with out paying, you can not sing a song with out paying.
It’s only a matter of time that you get a letter in the mail saying you own so many thousands of dollars because you walked down a busy street at noon, and possibly heard peoples car radios and stereos.
Hell, i ride the bus to work and there’s always some jackass with an ipod but huge, air traffic controller, headphones, blaring the tunes, when can I expect my lawsuit?
And they wonder why we’ve moved away from these dying behemoths ? sueing a little old lady for frakkin SINGING?
If it had ended in court, somebody should had stand up and sing something from a popular copyrighted song, and then sit down.
=P
Then we would have a drama, as the singer did not have the required license, and therefore the rest of the court had not paid for the song they just heard.
Anyone know how to fart a song?
Incredible! the shit’s getting absurd.. What’s next?
As I stand here in the shower singing opera and such.
Pondering the possibility I pull the pud to much.
Along come the PRS and slap me with a fine.
Which makes me seed some more.
she was from Clackmannan, could have done us all a favour an exterminated her instead of suing her – imagine trying to sue some from clackmannan hahahahahahahah
WHAT’S NEXT? HOW ABOUT THEM GOING AFTER PEOPLE FOR SAYING WORDS THAT ARE IN THE SONGS FOR COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT.
THEN AGAIN MAYBE WE SHOULDN’T BE GIVING THEM ANY MORE IDEAS.
They saw the way the public was re-acting and backed out. Bunch of asshats. There was a similar story like this a while back where a pub or coffee shop in Manhattan got legal threats for playing Sting cd’s without consent.
http://www.plentyoftorrents.com
This just goes to show, once more, that we really need to get rid of these MAFIAA extortionists.
anyone know why they couldn’t sue her?
@22: And if you don’t work, you become a dole muncher. A much bigger problem, yes?
And they wonder why people hate them. Some pen-pusher must have been REALLY bored that day. Wankers.
Want to come after my band next? We actually play the songs too, you might be able to get a bit more.
@36 – sorry, i thought of that already, you now owe me money. ;)
Now if i say “damn shes a sexy bitch” i will not only get done for sexual harassment i will also get potentially prosecuted for copyright infringement? It never ends.
I might even get a notice now for using the lyrics in quotation marks.
Isnt it about time someone copyrighted middle C?
Gee, it’s seeeheeems
you can’t siiihiing
without paaayiiihiing….
WHaaaaat’s neeeheexxxt?
Ok, you can put off your earplugs now :þ
Seriously, The MAFIAA gets already paid from broadcasting stations, why they also sucking non-entertainment-companies/shops dry?
“£80 annual fee from a corner shop to allow it to keep its radio”
Hahahahaha!
“Mrs Burt’s singing constituted a live performance and was subject to a “four figure” annual fee”
OMG?!?!
“We hear you have a lovely singing voice and we wish you good luck.”
This, ladies and gentlemen, is called arse-licking and if I may add – quite a poor performance. :D
PS: Go, go, granny! Show ‘em whut you’ve got. :D
THIS IS WHY I WONT PAY FOR MUSIC EVER AGAIN
Good luck with what exactly?
If I sing to a friend on a picnic, that constitutes a performance that requires a licence?! Insane.
What a bunch of corporate cock, glad to see someone taking a stance against these bastards
@7
Only size 20? I was hoping for some insanely large, non-existent size that we’d make specifically to rape their faces with.
I just copyrighted the sound it make when you guys cough
Can’t wait for that H1N1 to sue you all
asshole wankers.these greedy shysters should be taken down.
any uk stores need music you can take all you want of my art and i will never make you pay for it.
http://www.bigmeathammer.com
Total BS!
They need to abandon the planet!
It’s because she was using PeerBlock and ipfilter.dat loaded into their client which is autoupdated..
If they had any evidence they would of went to court..
The old bag was asking for it.
Imagine the nerve! How dare she sing songs which aren’t hers? She is a thief just like you pirates who make mere copies and distribute them to others free of charge without actually removing anything.
They should hang her! Her actions will destroy artists and we’ll have no more music. The poor recording industry may never recover from this.
I LOL’d. What the fuck is wrong with those people? I mean, I thought there was a limit for idiocy… I have to go telling in the pubs here they can’t hire people to SING because it’s illegal. And no karaoke btw.
Disgusting… But I have to admit I’m still laughing…
That is just ridiculous and sad.
Being completely off-topic, a person going by the name of ‘news’ posted this story as a reaction to Tuesday’s article called TorrentFreak TV S02E02, written by Ernesto. Having read it, I couldn’t help but feeling absolutely appalled by what the PRS had apparently done, and thus in reaction to that post, I wrote a comment saying:
“Those people at the PRS (Performing Right Society) ought to get their heads examined, very thoroughly!! What they are saying here is just beyond ridiculous. Organizations such as these should really be done away with permanently and as soon as possible. They’re just criminals, trying to enforce their preposterous rules upon the public.
Don’t let them intimidate you, Sandra Burt! They won’t get away with this nonsense, I’m sure.”
Well now, enigmax, you conclude your article writing “I guess that makes it all ok then. How ridiculous.” I’d say yes, ridiculous at the very least, but it sure as hell doesn’t make it okay!
You see, these people (the PRS lot) are just a bunch of hypocrites. If there hadn’t been a public outcry over the whole incident, they no doubt would not have apologized over this to Mrs. Burt or anyone else for that matter. They most likely would have followed up on their threat to take her to court, in case she would’ve stood her ground and not given in to their demands. So therefore I feel that my initial comment still holds up. Furthermore, I agree with what Andrew Robinson of the Pirate party UK wrote on his blog about the incident, namely:
“It’s tempting to look at this and declare it a victory for common sense, but the fact remains that under our legal system the PRS still have the legal right to ‘double dip’ by charging radio stations and radio listeners twice for the same thing, they still have the legal right to threaten shop workers for singing without a licence while stacking shelves, and they still have the right to force businesses to ban their staff from listening to radios. One person may have shamed them into backing down, but the central problem still exists.
This won’t really be a victory until we all have the right to sing, hum and whistle at work if we choose to do so.”
So in order for these practices to be put to a halt, it requires UK voters to vote very consciously in the next general election. And perhaps voting for the Pirate party UK will at least make it very clear to the politicians, that the people will not tolerate to be controlled in this manner any longer.
I really hate the world today, you can’t do f’all without somebody wanting to f**k it all up.
When a average brainless teenage girl dreams of herself being raped by jonas brothers, she is obviously infringing copyrights. The image on her mind are carefully created by hard-working producers of the entertainment industries. whatever you may believe her imaginations are not hers, but some other’s work..
And singing to a song? She’s not pirating – it’s worse. she’s burglarizing the music! No more “piracy iznt remove originalz’ excuses. she ruins the original and creates her modified variation from it, and distributes it to her customers. generating profit. An old hag doing more evil than average pirate..
Oxford press should charge us for speaking english words they’ve written down in their copyrighted dictionary.
You know…
The initial outrage of trying to charge a license fee for the privilege of playing the radio in her shop is as ridiculous as trying to charge her for singing. I mean, the radio stations already license to broadcast to the public. But, this has been going on for decades now. Shops and restaurants being charged fees for daring to have a radio on…so they usually just turn it off. I am surprised restaurants that have TVs in them don’t get charged license fees. It seems they should if they do for having the radio on.
This world is mad.
Everyone just go live and work on a farm and own nothing. We can all be good little serfs, grow our own food and whatever you do….DO NOT SPEAK OR HAVE AN OPINION ON ANYTHING.
Honestly, I didn’t expect it to come to this…..
We all joked about the “singing is copyright infringement” thing, and we all laughed… But the actually tried that!?
My god…
@26
dammit you caught me……where shall i send the check.
Reasoned Mind/Neo sluts won’t have a comment on this because it puts their master in a bad light!
And its $80 if you read this copyrighted text!
That spokesperson deserves to be shot from a distance with a buckshot shotgun. And anyone else for that matter thinking you can sue for singing.. please die a horrible death.. it would only make the world a better place.
*Sigh* Yet another story about justice undone.. they have a right to demand compensation for there work. It matters not whom or what there demanding it from. Sooner or later you will all realize that the dollar is more important than PR.
Just an honest miscalculation, by the thought police. A & T, of course, already pay the extortion fee for the radio they switched off, which is higher then the live performance extortion fee.
We have just had to pay the PRS £2000 because we have a jukebox in the pub. Its a joke.
Ever notice that restaurants no longer sing ‘Happy Birthday to You’ anymore? It is, ridiculously, due to copyright.
And there are many TV shows, like Bosom Buddies, released on DVD with new intro music and scenes where characters sang a bit of a song edited out, etc.
ALL HAIL THE NEW NORMAL. AFTER ALL, EVERYTHING CHANGED ON 9/11.
@63 (Reasoned Mind):
Obvious impersonator is not obvious.
Good job, I was almost fooled. 92/100.
This is ridiculous. They sue some nice lady running a corner shop for *playing the radio*?!! And then for *singing?!!!* Absurd!
well if you think about it, this is a great day for us, because the more people get to know the real PRS, the more they will hate them, even those who pay for their music should be appaled by this.
So, if you’re walking down the street and quietly singing, you’re breaking copyright law?
That about those guys who play music loud in their cars?
I think if more than 1 person can hear the radio or a CD player, then whoever controls the radio or CD player is breaking the copyright law….because it then becomes a public display, which must pay license fees.
Singing? Oh yes….definitely breaking copyright if you do not own the intellectual rights to the tune you are singing.
In fact, just like in restaurants, if you sing the “Happy Birthday To You” song at a birthday party, you are breaking copyright law.
This is only the beginning.
The next step is to sue EVERY MUSICIAN EVER because their instruments have been used in protected works.
The day I can’t play my Hammond because someone else owns the copyright is the day my gun and I beg to differ.
unbelievable absolute stupidity, this is why the copyright industry is a drain on society
@7 They should be sued for malicious intent causing stress, harm to health and loss of business.
I was thinking the exact same thing.
these guys are just freaking crazy… however i think they will go further than that if people don’t give them a kick in the ass and take such companies to court for all they own.
You don’t take it seriously, but you should.
Copyright law is taking an end-run around freedom of speech laws.
Wake up.
(Also — the current UK is the nightmare scenario of what badly implemented socialism can be…)
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