On the Podsafe Music Network's good behavior policy for members
Joel sent me an intriguing article that was critical of the Podsafe Music Network's policy for member podcast producers to swear to an oath of responsible 'Netizen behavior. Since the PMN provides royalty-free, podsafe music for open use in podcasts, the catch is that registered members who play said tracks on their own shows - myself included, hence Joel's forward - must implicitly agree to not engage in "referencing 'software piracy (warez, cracking, etc.), hacking, phreaking, emulators, ROM's, or illegal MP3 activity' or saying anything 'deemed unsuitable or harmful to the reputation of PodShow or the Licensor.'"
That's a damn shame, because I recently received via an RSS subscription probably the best mashup I've ever heard - a brilliant marriage of a recently-popular song to a timeless classic, each catering to completely different listener genres. It's an amazing work of art, exhibiting timing, creativity, and an ear for a solid beat.
But since the jury's largely out on an official opinion on the legality of mashups, I'm going to err on the side of caution and respect the PMN's boundaries to which I agreed and refrain from directly plugging the MP3 in this blog or on my podcast, or mentioning the URL where it can be found, so as not to endorse any suspect activity. And that's a shame, because I'm a musician and I work for a radio station/TV station/web shop, and I know really good DJ work when I hear it. And most of the mashups these days - since we started referring to them as such - aren't very good, being unnatural, forced blends of songs. So I wish it were more kosher to share word about really cool work when it does come about.
I'm a proud member of the PMN, and I really enjoy the service (and would like to continue to do so). I'm not a lawyer, but I've been involved with enough contract law relative to information technology to know that clauses sometimes are intentionally defensively overstated to not allow for any slippage with the constant and rapid changes innovation brings about. I'm a tad bummed, but I don't mind agreeing to such indemnification as a member; hell, it's a free service. The policy's restriction, in terms of allowing me to properly credit a mashup "creator", is a minor setback, but one I respect and will honor.
Still, while I'll step away from getting involved in something potentially messy, I'll give some well-deserved props to some very creative - albeit hereforth anonymous - work.