Let's step back into reality for a moment. Do they actually have a claim? Once I've bought the album, can't I torture my acquaintances to my heart's content without paying royalties? A small enough group isn't a "public performance," I'm not broadcasting it to the entire town.<p>Further, aren't there exemptions for the federal government with respect to use of copyrighted works? Sure, you'd probably have a case against a federal agency who acquired your album only to provide copies freely to its employees, but if they stick a track in a presentation to a small group (or several small groups ... or many small groups) I'm pretty sure the courts would just throw out your case.<p>OK, enough armchair lawyering, is there someone with a professional opinion on this?
It's a pity that governments place themselves above the law. It would be nice to see the US government forced to actually pay up. It would be even nicer to see the band donate any sum awarded to an organisation like Amnesty International or Doctors Without Borders.
In case you didn't understand the subtext, the point of this is to register offense that their music was used in this way (the opposite of what they would want). It's a form of passive resistance. This story isn't primarily about copyright and it certainly isn't about money.
Musicians have made similar demands in 2008[1]. That includes Christopher Cerf, one of the Sesame Street composers. He features in a documentary Aljazeera made about this[2]. I seem to remember he also asked for royalties but was unsuccessful, but I can't find a reference to that.<p>[1] <a href="http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fhostednews%2Fap%2Farticle%2FALeqM5g64EuoVhuWIkenJw0OsqodF-EbnwD94VDHPG0&date=2008-12-09" rel="nofollow">http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google...</a><p>[2] <a href="http://www.dummymag.com/videos/watch-al-jazeera-s-songs-of-war-with-christopher-cerf" rel="nofollow">http://www.dummymag.com/videos/watch-al-jazeera-s-songs-of-w...</a>
Reddit discussion (from 9 hours ago): <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/nottheonion/comments/2p8mvd/skinny_puppy_demands_666000_in_royalties_from_us/" rel="nofollow">http://www.reddit.com/r/nottheonion/comments/2p8mvd/skinny_p...</a><p>Earlier this year they tried to bill the US government: <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/weird-news/metal-band-skinny-puppy-send-us-government-invoice-after-finding-out-their-music-was-used-as-torture-device-in-guantanamo-bay-9100005.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.independent.co.uk/news/weird-news/metal-band-skin...</a>
$666,000 is far too low. If the members of Skinny Puppy knew how Government defence contracting works, they would realise that this kind of value is a write-off, go for $666,000,000 - now that is more of a defence figure.<p>In all seriousness though, this shows extreme irony. The Government is content with passing draconian bills penalising users for downloading Game of Thrones and cutting off their Internet connections, sending Swat teams to their homes and allowing corporations to financially haemorrhage them in the "court of law". Yet, when the Government wants to use someone else's music without paying for a licence, they think they are above the law they want to so desperately put in place?<p>They definitely have a case. Copyright law forbids audio and video being broadcasted to many persons without a licence in a public place (with exception of your family and a few other exceptions). This isn't music being played in a family home, it is music being broadcasted in a US owned detention camp prison.<p>If I were in a band and found out my music was being used to torture people, I would be pretty pissed about it too. I couldn't imagine how that would make you feel knowing something you created is being used to interrogate and break a potentially innocent person locked up inhumanely.<p>I am going to be keeping an eye on this case. If the US fails to pay up, it could set a precedent for future court cases brought against small businesses and individuals being fined for playing music. And yes, there have been cases of small businesses, restaurants, cafes, etc being bullied by ASCAP into paying for licences to have play CD's or even in some cases, have a radio playing.
Actual source: <a href="http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/vancouver-band-demands-compensation-after-learning-music-used-for-guantanamo-bay-torture-1.1671312" rel="nofollow">http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/vancouver-band-demands-compensa...</a><p>This is from February.
The guard's story that told the band is interesting.<p><a href="http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/2/industrial-action.html" rel="nofollow">http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/2/industrial-acti...</a>
I did a small amount of research on this on behalf of a psychologist involved in torture trials (not testing torture, bringing people to account). The use of Skinny Puppy's music has been quite widespread.
Could this spawn a new music genre/industry (torture music)? We truly live in a bizarre world. It would certainly make for a good character background in a dystopian movie: a megacorp X office worker who produces torture music at day but leads a second life at night, rediscovering his love for music at underground bars where any type of music is being played (despite the the strict totalitarian government censorship laws).
Imagine hearing this[1] for 12 hours straight.<p>Edit: Not saying it's bad music, but perhaps after the 12 hour point the constant beat would drive anyone crazy.<p>1. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYC5VFuiblU" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYC5VFuiblU</a>