How does girl talk make money

Sampling, the use of a pre-existing clip of recorded music in a new musical work, has been common practice, particularly in hip-hop music, since the late s. Warner Brothers Records, Inc. As Public Enemy frontman Chuck D noted, his group completely changed its production style, reproducing sounds in the studio and dramatically limiting the number of pre-existing samples in order to avoid a wave of litigation.

Though courts have heard a number of cases involving sampling and copyright infringement, none of these cases have involved a fair use defense for a non-parodic use of a sound recording. Two recent cases, however, illuminate the continued problems courts have had in formulating a consistent approach to sampling and copyright.

In Newton v. Diamond, jazz musician James Newton sued the Beastie Boys for infringing his copyrighted composition through use of a looped three-note sample. Dimension Films. Diamond , no such argument was made by the defendant. The general attitudes towards sampling expressed in Grand Upright [FN46] and in Bridgeport [FN47] suggest that at least some courts would be unreceptive to a fair use argument.

Defining transformation so broadly in the context of fair use is potentially problematic as similar techniques have been common in hip-hop production for years. However, as a practical matter it is hard to blame Gillis for making a fair use argument. Under current copyright law he is left with three unsatisfying choices: continue to produce Girl Talk albums while clinging to a fair use argument; admit that Girl Talk probably does infringe copyright but continue anyway; or admit that Girl Talk infringes copyright and discontinue the project since complying with current law would be a cost-prohibitive logistical nightmare.

I played a lot of house parties where the only place I could play was in the middle of the floor or in the corner surrounded by people. There's no reason [the shows] shouldn't have the same feeling. I don't exactly remember the origins of people on stage. It started slowly, pulling a couple people up. Maybe it was photos or reputation, because around when things started to build up, it became what people knew -- you jump up there and it's a free-for-all.

That was exciting and fun. It was partially by design, but it also organically evolved. I wanted the show to feel different, to have that raw, house party energy. A lot of [the early shows] ended prematurely or cords got unplugged. It was very raw and out of control. After that, it was a matter of not doing that exact thing, trying to channel that energy into a bigger setting.

Those early years, I went through a lot of laptops, and I was not making that much money. I started covering my laptops in plastic wrap [before] every show. It takes like, 30 minutes to do two laptops. They're completely covered. I just use Scotch tape and plastic wrap. That way, if there's sweat or alcohol or blood or puke, it's not going to kill the computer -- and you can wipe it off very easily. It's a very physical show.

I started my first jog of the year, because you gotta get into shape. This show runs you down. You've got to stretch and be limber. Shows go different ways, and that's part of the excitement. It's a roll of the dice depending on the audience and people who get on stage.

We would always ask for no barricade, allow it to be a free-for-all and tell bouncers we want this to happen. If they see actual issues with people's safety, obviously they should stop it. Over the years, I brought more people on the road and made it more of a production. My tour manager still briefs security as if it was It's a very different show now, but things have the potential to get out of control.

It happens, but it's a lot more organized from our end. There was something about the late s. Now, people are a bit more trained to stare at the lights and wave their hands. Especially with people coming out to my shows. Some were people who would go to actual nightclubs. Other people would never set foot in a nightclub. There's a lot of people who didn't like the stuffiness of the club and felt more into crowd surfing or sweating like crazy.

You don't have to look cool. It has an energy of a rock show where you just lose your mind, as opposed to sit there and casually dance. It changes and evolves over the years, but the heart is still in a similar place. You're the king of mash-ups. How did you not get sued? It's a very good question. It looks at the motivation behind the work -- if it's transformative.

Click to Expand this visualization of a Girl Talk track. Tickets for the tour he kicked off this month sold out in minutes.

Behind everything is his insistence on giving every idea a chance. Gillis insists he has no intentional business model, but he also sifted diligently through the ideas of artists he admires for just the right way to release his new collage in a way that would properly hype the subsequent tour.

In the end, he decided a straight giveaway would be the best way to stay true to his fans and grow their ranks. Gillis says he makes a far more comfortable living than he ever would have made as a biomedical engineer.

He pays a crew of 10 livable wages on the road now. The toilet paper guy has a law degree. And for someone who says he never considers the sustainability of his mashup model, Gillis recites a clear mission statement.