Stones Throw Signs ‘MLC’ in Response to Copyright Claim

Eothen Alapatt, Stones Throw Record’s general manager, tells the story of how the label signed Matthew Larkin Cassell after the artist heard one of his songs sampled by Stones Throw producer Madlib. He writes on the Stones Throw website:

“MLC hit us up after he heard his [song], Heaven, from his superb (and superbly rare) album Pieces on the Madlib production 3.214 from Madvillainy 2: The Madlib Remix. At first Madlib had no idea he was using MLC’s work until he put two and two together and realized that his source material, a Japanese bootleg 12″ labled ‘MLC’ stood for, well, you guessed it.”

Cassell wanted to release his entire catalog digitally and on CD, and Madlib wanted access to it. Rather than the usual copyright litigation, a distribution deal was made. Compare Heaven and 3.214 after the jump:

“So, I flew to the Bay Area, hung out with the man and committed his story to tape,” continues Egon. “Even though our lawyer has been amazing with our other sample claims, Matthew and I decided early on to keep this conversation among friends, so we got down to negotiations.”

The manager is aware that not all sample clearance claims are so easily resolved, but mentions that his legal team has protected the label so far, and given access to works such as the Raymond Scott catalog, which was achieved through a deal with Basta Audio Visuals and Scott’s musical steward Irwin Chusid.

“Five months later, here we are.” He concludes. “We’re officially announcing the soon-to-be-released Matthew Larkin Cassell The Complete Works.”

Why can’t all copyright claims be handled so smoothly? I can safely say that, in this case, a claim led to something positive. An artist was signed, and more music is available to us. Perhaps this sort of deal, where the sampler’s label signs the rights holder, is more specific to the “remix” movement, as the opposite is very improbable. It would be like Cypress Hill getting signed by Syl Johnson’s label.

Still, labels and artists need to work harder to negotiate with the community that is interested in accessing and remixing copyrighted tracks. Are Stones Throw and Cassell setting an example for the rest of the industry?

Madlib’s Remix:

Madvillainy 2: The Madlib Remix – 3.214

The original by Cassell: