Painful but true:
Per Randy Sportak:
The Calgary radio station had to pull it down from its archives because the song used copyrighted material from the radio broadcast, the play-by-play calls of various goals, a complaint the Oilers made to the NHL, which in turn contacted the gang at Fan960.
Pointed out Oilers vice-president of communications and broadcasting Allan Watt, clips of the broadcast featuring Rod Phillips and Bob Stauffer are for “editorial or news use” by other radio stations.
“People doing Edmonton Oiler parodies is fine. Actually, it was actually fairly creative radio,” Watt said with a chuckle. “But using copyrighted material is not what any of us can do.”
…
The Oilers are well within their legal rights to point out the song should be purged from the system, but they end up looking petty. Funny thing is, by racing around to ensure broadcasters don’t run the parody, more attention is being given to the song.
I know that this story is a bit dated but I’m enjoying Allan Watt’s long running war with the internet and new media (I see him as a Hiroo Onoda figure) so I thought I’d chime in with a few points.
1. If the Fan 960 decides to present the news for their fans set to music, who is Alan Watt to challenge their editorial discretion?
2. There’s no quote from anyone at the FAN 960 and the FAN 960 is an NHL rights holder, plus the story explicitly references that the Oilers complained to the NHL, so I think we can reasonably suspect that the FAN 960 responded to NHL pressure here instead of Oilers pressure.
3. Are the Oilers actually well within their rights to insist that the Rod Phillips audio not be used? I’m actually not sure but there are exceptions in the law for fair dealing. It’s not nearly so clear cut to me, but I’m not an IP lawyer.
4. Part of Watt’s quote got clipped: “People doing Edmonton Oiler parodies is fine…unless you’re doing them from our press box or there’s anything at all we can do to make it stop.”
5. Am I the only guy who’s troubled that things like “Find a goalie who doesn’t suck”, “Find a second veteran centre” and “Make sure that your stars are signed before the trade deadline” tends to get left to whenever someone in the office can’t find something better to do, while cracking down on unauthorized press box blogging, dragging guys in shirts that say “Trade Lowe” to the Gitmo Room and leaning on the Fan 960 is a top priority? The Oilers are almost the Bush Administration at this point, with Pat LaForge being a more personable Dick Cheney; rather than sound policy producing good results, it’s a giant spin operation to try and prevent people from pointing out that bad policy has produced lousy results. (”We had good intelligence that Penner had weapons of mass destruction…”)
More to the point on the copyright issue, it’s silly here. Copyright exists to protect the rights of the owner of the copyrighted material. Nobody was going to listen to that game again. The Oilers weren’t going to release their own song mocking their effort. While there may be a technical violation here - I don’t know - the Oilers certainly weren’t harmed by that violation. They aren’t objecting because they’ve been harmed, they’re objecting because they’re embarrassed. They should be embarrassed but removing the song shouldn’t lessen the embarrassment. This is still a pretty mediocre team, spending to the cap, with some awfully mediocre parts signed for a while. It’d be nice if they focused on that for a while and let success take care of people making fun of the team.
Artists pay for “samples.”
Radio stations pay for the music they play.
So there was some theoretical money issue at play here.
I’m not at all saying that the Oilers response was right. It was killing an ant with a big bomb.
But they might also just be super-vigilante about rights issues, on the advice of their lawyers, not wanting to let anyone get anything between the cracks, not wanting to let anyone set a precedent, that kind of thing.
I mean, you start listening to lawyers too much, this is the kind of overreaction that can easily happen, you know what I mean?
Don’t have much to add other than the fact that I’m glad you put this up. The song itself is not bad, but when put in its context of the Oilers reaction, it is downright hilarious. Thanks Tyler.
But they might also just be super-vigilante about rights issues, on the advice of their lawyers, not wanting to let anyone get anything between the cracks, not wanting to let anyone set a precedent, that kind of thing.
Well, as long as journalists have carte blanche to play intellectual-property lawyer–a privilege Randy Sportak has made astonishingly free use of–allow me to point out, Dave, that you’re probably thinking of trademark law there. The Oilers are not, as far as I know, in any danger of losing their copyright in an NHL broadcast as a consequence of being slack in allowing the editorial use of it.
Still with the benefit of the doubt eh David? I didn’t even mention the incident earlier this year where they parked a zamboni in such a way as to block a CBC production vehicle after CBC criticized rhe ice.
Doesn’t this sort of thing seem to happen in EDM a little too often? I mean, annual stories in which a team blows its lid over criticism are not common elsewhere but they’re seemingly part of the show in EDM. At some point, the most likely explanation is probably the right one.
I don’t think there is any chance that the Oilers would have been able to stop this song if they had to take it to court.
In the US, fair use is determined by four factors. I think that all of them are met easily in this case. See for the factors.
In Canada, I think it may be even more clear cut. is determined from six factors. But “Quoting trivial amounts may alone sufficiently establish fair dealing.” I think using a few seconds of a 2.5 hour broadcast would qualify as trivial.
Fan 960 should have just said, “Take us to court.”
I think Pat LaForge called Gary Bettman who called Ken King who called The Fan.
As an Oiler fan, I hated the game. But the best part of a rivalry with Calgary is being able to torment Flames fans when you have the opportunity. The Oilers should have left it alone. Instead the song is getting more airtime then it otherwise would have.
but I’m enjoying Allan Watt’s long running war with the internet and new media (I see him as a Hiroo Onoda figure)
That is just a great sentence.
I’m left to wonder how much of the bag-skate coverup is because of Oilers pressure? “Hey Brownlee, Stapes, Jones, Tychkowski et al. Say it was drills or your access is gone.”
*POOF*
All of a sudden, it’s drills.
The easiest way for the Oilers organization to make this thing go away would have been to stay quiet…their antics put the spotlight on this song and it became even more popular and went viral…oh well…
I think it’s not even that difficult. If the FAN 960 has the rights to the broadcast for editorial purposes, I don’t see how this doesn’t qualify as “Editorial.” It’s a member of the media stating an opinion about the way the Oilers played. I don’t think this falls under “fair use.” I think it falls under “use that they have paid the right to have.” David, as a journalist, I’m surprised that you’re reluctant to recognize this as editorial content.
I will not bore you with all of the details, but I will say the NHL asked us to take it off the website and not play it again and we have agreed. It should be pointed out that the league was very, very, very good about the issue and asked us as good NHL broadcast partners to help them out, and we have. […]
I have a lot of respect for many members of the Oilers organization, but I am disappointed that they have chosen to try and be a bully in all of this. […]
For the record I have found it very entertaining that “up there” they always on top of what is done and said on our station, yet I have no idea nor do I care what they do.
Let me answer the question that I am sure a lot of you have “But Rob what if they did a song in Edmonton ripping on the Flames using your audio?” Please, please, please knock yourself out it’s a rivalry and it should be fun.
– Rob Kerr, FAN 960, Flames hockey host
Absolutely Tyler. Why does it seem only in Edmonton that such juvenile tattling and general overreaction occur so frequently?
Matt - thanks. Sounds like the type of comments I would hope for if it was our guys on the other end. Does this mean I’m a Flames fan now?
Does this mean I’m a Flames fan now?
Yes.
Okay… I think I’m gonna be sick.
If you’re a Flames fan now we’re going to need to re-louse you.
Hey, keen, trying to post over and over got it to bypass the… error message telling me to not post over and over again.
Maybe it’s because I’m just not a fan of the current brass but that’s a funny tune:)
relouse him? he was already lousy?
;)
as always the Oilers manage to make themselves look small in all of this
like MacTavish’s decisions this year or Lowe’s moves over the past few years you can defend one or the other but soon it becomes apparent that its not an isolated incident but a flood of issues that speak to the competence of the person in question
so too are the Oilers as an organization looking petty time and time again
Tyler. Yes, I give the benefit of the doubt. But this is clearly a stinker for the Oilers. Why not just let it go?
As Clay Davis says on the Wire: SSSHHHEEEEEEIIIII!!!!
This error message, does it say anything about cowboys or something? I know if you forget to put in your email, which many people do, it kicks you out.
For the record I have found it very entertaining that “up there” they always on top of what is done and said on our station, yet I have no idea nor do I care what they do.
The way that Kerr says he doesn’t care what’s happening with the other team is mindblowing. This guy works for a radio station that put together a song about an Oilers loss. It wasn’t delivered to them by the song fairy. Isn’t producing that song virtually the definition of caring about what goes on in Edmonton?
Tyler. Yes, I give the benefit of the doubt. But this is clearly a stinker for the Oilers. Why not just let it go?
I ask because I’m honestly curious but when does that run out? I think that you’ll acknowledge that there’s an awful lot of stuff for which the Oilers can produce some sort of an explanation but, taken together, does it stop passing the smell test at some point? I kind of think that it did a while ago, particularly when there really doesn’t seem to be a legitimate interest to protect here.
The Oilers’ behaviour towards all this perfectly innocent teasing will continue until they stop reacting to it. The franchise is like the stupid kid in junior high who has a “KICK ME” sign taped to his back and is getting repeatedly booted in the buttocks while chasing around the previous guy who kicked him in the buttocks.
Oh, I didn’t mean that YOU should let it go, Tyler. You’re entitled to blast away.
But the Oilers should have let it go, calm down, stop being such cranky pants censors here and just let the radio station play this song.
The fact is, this kind of song is part of what makes people interested in hockey. It stokes the fire of a rivalry. It helps the Oilers sell tickets.
Bad call by the NHL and the Oilers on this one.
I could see Rod Phillips not being happy with the use of his sound clips. And he’s an important voice in the org. Maybe he just wants to get paid for the work. If the Fan 960 really wants to do this, it shouldn’t bee too much money to get Rod into a recording studio and just recreate the calls. That’s the easy way to solve it.
It’s understandable that Watt would contact the NHL IMO - his relationship is with the NHL, not the radio station. No need for him to waste time communicating with a station that he has no agreement with.
The way that Kerr says he doesn’t care what’s happening with the other team is mindblowing. This guy works for a radio station that put together a song about an Oilers loss. It wasn’t delivered to them by the song fairy. Isn’t producing that song virtually the definition of caring about what goes on in Edmonton?
Well, for one, it was probably a Mike Richards thing, like most of the FAN’s joke songs, not a Rob Kerr thing. For two, I think he means that he doesn’t give two shits what TEAM 1260 or 630 CHED do to make fun of the Flames.
I don’t know. Something about the fact that this song came out of the station that is the Flames official affliate makes that station look equally in the wrong to me.
Not that it clears the Oilers, but that both parties are equally douchy.
I could see Rod Phillips not being happy with the use of his sound clips. And he’s an important voice in the org. Maybe he just wants to get paid for the work.
Since FAN 960 is a broadcast partner of the league, he’s already been paid for it.
I don’t know. Something about the fact that this song came out of the station that is the Flames official affliate makes that station look equally in the wrong to me.
Not that it clears the Oilers, but that both parties are equally douchy.
I don’t have a problem with it at all. What’s the point of a rivalry if you can’t poke each other with sharp sticks on occasion?
Image is eveything for the Oilers management and they are used to having a captive media and they control them quite well.
This is the club that tosses fans into interogation rooms when they show up for games with clothing/signs/messages they don’t like.
Remember the fellow that was put into a small room with his young nephew and forced to take off the duct tape message “Trade Lowe” after the Smyth deal? They refused to let him leave the room till the tape came off.
Let Calgary re-record the thing with a few sound alike voices, all the power to them.