en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nina_Paley
2 corrections found
Because of obstacles in clearing the rights to Hanshaw's recordings for the Sita Sings the Blues, Paley took active part in the free culture movement.
The licensing problem with Sita Sings the Blues was not primarily rights to Annette Hanshaw’s recordings. Paley and Question Copyright both say the recordings were out of copyright; the costly rights issue was the underlying song compositions.
Full reasoning
Paley’s own explanation distinguishes the sound recordings from the musical compositions.
In her 2008 post about the licensing dispute, she wrote that Sita Sings the Blues used Annette Hanshaw recordings from 1927–1929 and that “The recordings themselves are not protected by Federal Copyright. The underlying compositions are.” She separately explained that her sales rep’s law firm therefore approached the music publishers to negotiate those composition rights.
Question Copyright’s interview with Paley says the same thing: the film uses songs recorded by Annette Hanshaw and “although the recordings are out of copyright, the compositions themselves are still restricted.”
So this Wikipedia sentence misstates what rights had to be cleared. The obstacle was the copyrighted underlying compositions/music publishing rights, not simply “Hanshaw’s recordings.”
2 sources
- Music Industry Killing Internet Radio, Sita Sings the Blues - Nina Paley
Sita Sings the Blues includes 11 songs recorded by Annette Hanshaw in 1927-1929. The recordings themselves are not protected by Federal Copyright. The underlying compositions are.
- How Copyright Restrictions Suppress Art: An Interview With Nina Paley About "Sita Sings The Blues" - Question Copyright
the film uses songs recorded in the late 1920's by singer Annette Hanshaw, and although the recordings are out of copyright, the compositions themselves are still restricted.
In 2002, she wrote and directed Fetch!
Fetch! is generally documented as a 2001 film, not a 2002 one. Paley’s official biography lists it as “Fetch! (2001),” and WIRED was already reporting on the film in May 2001.
Full reasoning
This date is contradicted by contemporaneous and primary-source evidence.
Paley’s official biography says she received a grant to produce “Fetch! (2001)”. A contemporaneous WIRED article from May 9, 2001 also says Paley “has created” the animated short Fetch!, showing the film already existed in 2001.
Given those sources, saying she wrote and directed Fetch! in 2002 is inaccurate or at least a year late. The best-supported year is 2001.
2 sources
- Nina Paley Bio
Meanwhile I received a grant from the Film Arts Foundation to produce Fetch! (2001), a short film incorporating optical illusions.
- 'Fetch!' Flashes Artist's Talent | WIRED
May 9, 2001 ... Comic-strip-artist-turned-animator Nina Paley has created the first animated short called Fetch!