On-the-rise pop starlet Banks (aka Jillian Banks) took to Facebook yesterday to explain why her single "Waiting Game" was used as a cover on Neon Jungle's Welcome To The Jungle before it appeared on her own album. Her answer: the U.K. pop girl band used the song without her permission.
"It makes me feel very uncomfortable. Like my own thoughts were stolen from me and sold as someone elses," she said in her post.
Though Banks was very diplomatic, the same could not be said of some of her fans. Many of them took it upon themselves to post their displeasure with the band's move on their Facebook page.
In Neon Jungle's defense, their actions are technically legal since Banks released "Waiting Game" on an LP, making it a published song that is fair game for covers. No matter how "uncomfortable" Banks might feel, there isn't much she can do about it. Also, she will not be completely left in the cold -- Banks will be receiving royalties from Neon Jungle for the track.
Legality aside, this situation brings up the contentious issue of intellectual property rights in the digital age, and the fact that some musicians are more able to protect themselves from this type of loss than others.
In a relatively similar situation to the "Waiting Game" controversy, the Eagles recently forced the takedown of a remix of "Hotel California," made by DJ Baron Von Luxxury (aka Blake Robin). After reaching about 300,000 plays on SoundCloud without licensing the rights, Warner Music Group filed a complaint to have it taken down. Generally labels look the other way when it comes to SoundCloud (they are hoping to use the site as a vehicle for profit in the future), but this allows for cover artists to direct listeners to a separate payment platform (like Bandcamp), thereby cutting the song's creator out of the profits.
For his part, Luxxury sees his remixed distributions as vehicles of exposure for both him and the original artist.
"The whole point is to get these into the hands of DJs all over the world who then play it to thousands of people and expose these ancient songs to new audiences in a new way," he said to the Wall Street Journal. "In lieu of a thank you - or even paying me a retroactive remixing fee - for exposing their work to a new audience, they've just unceremoniously cut off my generous, selfless efforts to keep them relevant." He later backtracked and said his comments were meant to be sarcastic.
It's this attitude of thanklessness toward the original artist that, though legal, makes some of these cover artists difficult to defend. For better or worse, musicians and bands today must realize that covers of their songs can be distributed more widely and easily than ever before.
In the case of Banks, it seems she is well on her way to a successful career with or without Neon Jungle. Her record Goddess, including the original version of "Waiting Games," will be released September 5.
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