Leo Bowers

Cool, Leo! I just really appreciate your advice and opinions. Thank you very much for your help-Beth

Love your style. Tracks sound great~ Matt

hi leo
thanks for the comment. sorry its taken me ages to get back to you.
lets get on is sounding pretty damn funky. lovin your work!

Leo, at some point we must agree that we disagree, but I'd like to move past this, and let the music flow again. At some point, if you feel I've done you wrong, I did not do it intentionally. You've written some very interesting ideas on how "fair use" can be interpreted, but from musician to musician, I've been with this song for 20 years, when it was first written, and I get sensitive about it. But, let's get this behind us and move on, and get back to what really counts, the music. I'm happy that the track inspired you to write music you feel so strongly to defend, in a way, that's a good thing for everyone. So I extend on my part a hand to shake, that we can put this disagreement behind us.

I pray people read and comprehend what fair use is and the facts of what constitutes "INFRINGEMENT" as set down by the copyright office in contrast to "Newton Bach’s" perspective of what's really going on! I won't try to interpret things to you in my own words I'll let you interpret for yourself.________________________________________________________________
§ 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use40
Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include —
(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;
(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.
The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.
§ 108. Limitations on exclusive rights: Reproduction by libraries and archives41
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this title and notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, it is not an infringement of copyright for a library or archives, or any of its employees acting within the scope of their employment, to reproduce no more than one copy or phonorecord of a work, except as provided in subsections (b) and (c), or to distribute such copy or phonorecord, under the conditions specified by this section, if —
(1) the reproduction or distribution is made without any purpose of direct or indirect commercial advantage;
(2) the collections of the library or archives are (i) open to the public, or (ii) available not only to researchers affiliated with the library or archives or with the institution of which it is a part, but also to other persons doing research in a specialized field; ________________________________________________________________________I have not added to or taken away from the mandates of the copyright office notices. You too can go to: http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html#wci In fact I recommend it!

My track will be on the session’s section of my Indaba account on Monday morning August the 4th. Until people have had the opportunity to make a relative comparison Mr. Back’s music track will stay available to the public for reference as evidentiary! I will remove his track when I am satisfied that my readers get the scope of the dilemma and learn (Educate themselves) on the facts of my involvement and that of others. When you are accepted on a session on a website the site itself is its own organization and the acceptance into the session is an informal consideration unless otherwise contracted. If you are given permission to add your performance to a session for the owner’s consideration the session owner can say yes or no to participating in what you have to offer! But notwithstanding if the fact that you participated is embodied in the form of the actual participation effort and as long as it is represented as such and does not violate the limitations of “FAIR USE” as proscribed by the Library of Congress Copyright Laws THERE IS NO LEGAL VIOLATION BECAUSE YOU DON’T STEP OUTSIDE THE BOUNDARIES OF FAIR USE. Telling your story is your right and guarded under the Constitution of the United States. Profiting from the work of others without their express permission speaks for itself. However if someone should even give you verbal permission it is wise to get it in writing and in the form of a contractual agreement before proceeding in any venture resulting in sales or for profit. You never know how someone may flip!
When dealing with musician’s sessions I suggest protecting yourself with documented evidence, the evidence that you added what you added to a session can only be proven when it is embodied in the actual performance of the session. Should an inquiry ever take place you need to be prepared with facts.
Evidentiary documentation may be posted for review and you have that right under sections (1), (2), (3) and (4) of § 107 You may also make personal copies for non-commercial use under section (1) and (2) of § 108.
Anyone coming into a session with me has the right to take the performance with their contribution as a whole to post for Education, Criticism, Feedback, News, or comments etc… without fear of reprisal because when I let you add to my work I open the door for you to use it under the terms of FAIR USE. Otherwise this site could not exist and would not! The fact that Mr. Bach is given his props for the session track along with the mention of Ivo, (Stardjazz) on the violin and that his session is portrayed as it actually appeared, is overlooked in contrast to MR. BACH’S STATEMENT THAT I AM USING THE TRACK AS MY OWN. That remark isn’t even worth addressing, neither are his motives. If you can’t judge a book by its cover, you can’t judge a man by his picture, or seeming mannerisms while running with his gander! Just read and research! Make your own decisions! That’s what the Courts would do!

In being accused of unprofessional behavior on this forum, on my session, on Leo bowers website and his Indaba page, I must respond. I'm still a little confused as to how this

misunderstanding occurred, but hopefully this will clear things up. I've always tried to be fair and honest when I host a session, and generally offer equal rights to the

resulting track for everyone who actively works on the session and becomes part of the final take.

A fairly brief review of the posts in the "two Blind Eyes" session should make it very apparent that I already have melody and lyrics, and wish for someone who can sing it. I've

had several excellent Indabians join the session, and some have offered their own very good versions of lyrics and melody, which after much review I've had to stick with my

original plans for the track. The melody and lyrics that they derived from this track is completely their own, and they can use them as they wish, as long as they DON'T use the

actual recording from my session without my permission.

Anne C. was one of the people who had offered her own version, which I said, sorry, not what I'm looking for on this track. So when Leo uploaded his own version, which I was not

able to review because I was busy in the studio for several days, Anne, apparently contacted Leo to tell him of her own experience of her version not being used. I guess this is

the beginning of the misunderstanding. The misunderstanding probably got worse by the fact that by the time I got back to Indaba after a heavy several days of recording and

mixing I had 30 emails waiting for me from Indaba, some of which were from Leo.

All I can say is that we can take this experience, learn a few things, and try to improve how we all deal with communications and their misses.

SESSION ETIQUETTE

1) Communication - Ever got so fired up on a track and uploaded it to a session, and then got upset when you didn't hear back from the session leader, I have, many times. Let's

maybe understand that everyone is not glued to their email and give them a week to respond before getting irate.

2) Use of other people's tracks - I've had this happen to me as well, did some great stuff with the track, session leader didn't like it. I can only take what I've done and use

it, but I can't take the session track without permission and broadcast it publicly.

COPYRIGHT BASICS

I want to make sure that you understand some of the basic tenets of copyright law, I received my first PA (copyright, that is) in 1985, so I have a little knowledge of the

subject.

This is a direct quote from Leo's Indaba page for his defense of the unauthorized use of my backing track from the "Two Blind Eyes" session:

"The song is not for sale by me in any way but the mix is here where it started as a reference to the past and a truth that took it to the edge. There is no R.I.A.A. violation

in posting a session as reference therefore no copyright infringement."

To the uninitiated, this may seem like a reasonable statement, and some of it is true:

1) The R.I.A.A. defends the copyrights of it's members, it is an association of record companies, merchandisers, et al, I am not a member, so I guess there would not be an

R.I.A.A. violation.

THAT IS WHERE THE TRUTH ENDS, BECAUSE USE OF THE TRACK WITHOUT MY PERMISSION IS INFRINGEMENT, AS DETAILED BELOW.

Please reference: http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html#wci

POINT 1

Copyright protection subsists from the time the work is created in fixed form. The copyright in the work of authorship immediately becomes the property of the author who created

the work. Only the author or those deriving their rights through the author can rightfully claim copyright.

POINT 2

Sound recordings are defined in the law as “works that result from the fixation of a series of musical, spoken, or other sounds, but not including the sounds accompanying a

motion picture or other audiovisual work.” Common examples include recordings of music, drama, or lectures. A sound recording is not the same as a phonorecord. A phonorecord is

the physical object in which works of authorship are embodied. The word “phonorecord” includes cassette tapes, CDs, LPs, 45 r.p.m. disks, as well as other formats.

My Summary - By uploading a mixed version of a track on Indaba, this sets the basis for "the time the work is created in fixed form", and also, the "fair use" doctrine will not

apply here because he has taken the entire backing track and uses it as his own, without permission.

Solution: Create your own backing track.

Now that's what I'm talking about! Now we're communicating! I know a little Espanola, but not half as well as you know English for sure! You Aright! Just kick it that's all. Hey everybody's got a life under the sun so I respect them all even myself! The only way you really get comfortable enough to TRUST without being screwed is to get tight with the people you deal with (Your people, My people = Our people). And since the people have the say anyway that's who we need to please. They’re the ones who buy our concepts! Not so much because we’re so good at what we do (That's Us Thinking), but they buy because we please THEM! Real people have trouble getting tight (being friends), why? Because their REAL! They don't have to hide behind niceties and fake smiles! If you're pissed you're pissed! And that's O.K. because that's real and it get's the tensions off of the everyday "BS" allot of us have to suck up to just to pay our bills and have a piece of a life! Then time makes friends tight enough to trust and they know each other so well they feel the movement as it flows! They may all talk different but they know one works for the other (THEY’RE TIGHT)! So Desculpe amigo, mucho gusto enconocerle! Excuse por favor? I don't know if I spelled that right but the meaning is for real! See, you can teach me just by being pissed! = (negatives into positives) ALL GOOD Ivo, You Alright!

To understand us better you can choose between these languages (I speak them much better then English): Deutsch, Español, Catalá, Bulgarski, Russkij, Makedonski

Yes you're really big! Hahaha! See how I'm smiling!:) I don't know how to protect my eyes in front of this shine coming from your greatness! Dealing is your talent, yes sir! I hope you see how I'm learning your lessons, you can be proud of me. So smile, baby, it's all good

I don't know a &%$@! WhoooWheee! I might get upset but the way you use the
(S word) is nasty Ivo! And you don't know English! Common big daddy you know hood talk hungh? 1st American lesson; "Don't do the mother thing" Not a good bet! 2nd; Kick it like a man you'll get more respect! Hey I have a little more respect for you already! 3rd; don’t assume that an offensive remark is anything more than a response to what you say especially when that's the case! And finally; mellow out and chill! If you're going to do the music just do it and then we talk about it, or else shut the "F" up! Naw just kidding man! Loosen up Sparkles have a good laugh it'll brighten up your day! Oh, and by the way you're Ivo you're not people, but only one person so don’t get your singulars and plurals confused and don't give me that RESPECT crap on a one way street hey? If you need a few lessons on how to deal in “English” I’ll be glad to help I’m big like that! And remember; smile when you read this, It’s all good baby!

English is not my mothers language, so maybe what I say is not allways what I think (my resources and vocabulary are not so great) so excuse me for that, but this is no reason to say that I "suck as a human being" on your page. You don't know a shit about me as a human being, so please don't get offensive. If you want people to collaborate with you - respect them.

"One Dream" is one of the most beautiful and sophisticated songs I've heard (on the radio, independent or otherwise). It is reminiscent of Stevie Wonder, but original enough to be distinguished as inspiring and new.

Backyards