WTF? Amazon is selling my songs!?

DIGItonium

Search Amazon for "digitonium." My gf found my songs and remixes on Amazon.

Apparently someone is trying to sell them under my artist name. These songs are free downloads from my website, so it's pretty messed up someone is trying to make some quick bucks. I already contacted Amazon to have them taken down. I'm not sure what else to do, though.

http://digitonium.net/

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theDreamer

If you know a lawyer you want ask him/her to send an email to Amazon and maybe the person if you can find that out.

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Horseface

It's interesting that they used your artist name. Usually people just change the name of the track and artist.

Do you copyright your work? I copyright Lyrics, Arrangement & Recording, just in case some bastard out there does anything untoward, but all I've had so far is a white label with some bad Finnish MCing over the top of my stuff, and I let that slide due to novelty value.

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Whinny!

vipor

maybe Amazon owes you some kick backs

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DIGItonium

I don't intend to make money off my work because some of the songs are remixes, but I also produced a few original tracks. Although kickbacks sound like a good idea, it's pretty messed up because the people who bought these songs were unaware the songs were free the first place.

I don't have formal copyrights with my songs. So the situation is a bit iffy. I can technically copyright my own work, but remixes are a bit of a gray line.

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blue660r01

I smell a lawsuit

Horseface

Are you getting asked to Remix by the original artists of labels? Or are you doing bootlegs?

If you're just bootlegging, there's nothing you can do.

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Whinny!

2theextreme

Dude...WTF? That's crazy!!

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DIGItonium

No I'm not asked to do the remixes. I just work on them and share them... I'm not even mainstream.

True, nothing I can do. It's pretty messed up someone is making money off the remixes and my original work.

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ChrisSlicks

A remix can be copywritten in its own right, however distribution, and performance royalties are due to the original song writer and performers.

Horseface

I don't see how you can copyright a remix in your own right if your remix contains parts of the original recording which will have been copyrighted by the original artist.

Are these remixes where you've got individual stems from the original artist (Because they wanted their work remixed by joe public) or are they of the old sample song, EQ out the bits you don't want and stick a new beat on top variety...?

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Whinny!

feelzpwr91

thats terrible

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DIGItonium

I sample parts of the song, filter a bit, and then pretty much transform/overdub it to whatever I can imagine. I only did it to learn how to lay down the tracks, re-create sounds, melodies, and transform them. This was years ago, and it started the trend of cheesy "remixes" using Fruity Loops and nasty filtering. I stopped remixing a long time ago (i.e., overdub) since overdubbing original tracks was quite unprofessional.

In 2004 I got a hold of a Yamaha workstation to do much of the work along with loading some samples and triggering them with MIDI data. Prior it was custom SoundFonts and a cheapie Yamaha.

Now I have a Motif XS and Access Virus, but I haven't worked on anything since. If I do, it'll be to recreate sounds and melodies and show them off on YouTube. People like it when I try to demo mainstream sounds with my keyboards.

I did share one of my works with the original artists... Whyte Shadow - You Are The One. They loved the remix! Remixing is fun as long as it is done right, and it's a hobby. I don't perform live or anything.

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Horseface

Nice.

I've done a fair bit of remixing for people. Always a lot of fun. I tend to avoid anything I can't do in half a day or so, unless it guarantees massive exposure, or I just like the original vocals a lot, or something.

What Yamaha were you running? I've had a W7 and an EX5. I use Logic now, but still have some hardware - TB303 and Prophet 5.

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Whinny!

DIGItonium

Oh wow you've got a couple of classic hardware I like. I'm surprise you don't have a DX-7!

I have a Yamaha XS8 and Access Virus TI. Former hardware was a Motif ES6 and a Roland SH-201. The Virus can't quite emulate the TB-303 compared to the SH-201, but it can still make acid sounds Even with this new hardware I've not had time to work on any songs, so I spend more time tinkering with sounds and emulating old school sounds. It's quite enjoyable. The Virus makes some serious wicked sounds with little effort.

As for the Amazon deal... there's not much I can do besides ask them to take it down. It's just not fair for people out there. [shrugs]

Do you still use the TB-303?

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