Girl Talk: Future of the Music Industry?

[Note: Originally published February 14 on Sakai (well, attempted to publish)]

<-------(Girl Talk is the shirtless guy in the middle)

This weekend I joined many Washington and Lee students at the Girl Talk concert. The day after dancing the night away, I realized what makes Girl Talk so much fun in concert also makes him a disaster for his label. Girl Talk makes his music through sampling, which is grabbing snippets of other songs. What makes Girl Talk a controversial artist in the music industry has to do with the industry's business model, whereby it makes money by owning the rights to music use. Any time a person uses a piece of music in a commercial way -- like in a television commercial, in a movie, or by releasing a CD -- he or she is expected to pay whoever whoever owns the music.

So, every time Girl Talk -- whose actual name is Gregg Michael Gillis -- uses clips of other artists, he runs the risk of a lawsuit. Girl Talk does not pay for samples when he makes a mash-ups. He cites the fair-use doctrine, which is a law that allows for the unpaid use of music as long as it does not make up a significant part of a song.

However, when I listen to a Girl Talk CD, ("Night Ripper" is my personal favorite), it is hard to believe that some of the songs are not significant portions of the mix. Luckily, Girl Talk’s music has not been challenged in court, but it is probably only a matter of time. As sampling and other artists like Girl Talk become more popular, the outcome of any Girl Talk lawsuit would be vital to the future of the music industry and the millions of dollars it generates each year.

--Michelle Hirschfeld