DTC 356 Blog # 5 Michael Jackson's Beat It!

In today’s digital world, there are many examples of songs that build off of other songs. They either pull samples from previous songs, or they cover them altogether. If they sample them, they may pull lyrics, musical rifts, or even segments of completed song. If the song is covered, then it may be an exact duplicate, just done by another band, or it could be remixed. Today, I am going to talk about a very popular song that has been covered over the years. I will also discuss a bit about free use and copyright laws.

First off, we have the song Beat It! By Michael Jackson. This is an iconic song, and is one of the King of Pop’s most popular. What most people do not know is that he pulled a sample from a previous song in order to create the song. The song is untitled, and Denny Jaeger created it in 1981. The sampled portion is in the middle of Jaeger’s six-minute song of synthesized electronic piano music. In the song Beat It, the sampled music is recognized in the very beginning, the first 15 seconds of the song. Despite the fact that part of one song was used in this one, the part that was used was so insignificant compared to the bulk of either song. Therefore, I don’t think that the song Beat It is truly transformative of the other song. I do believe that it is innovative. While the sampled bit in the beginning of the song is interesting, and gives the song a unique start, it could easily be removed, and the listener may not even notice it is gone. In the four minute and eleven second song, fifteen seconds is only six percent of the song. I would hardly call that completely transformative of the song excerpt. Instead, I would consider this song innovative and creative. Just as Michael Jackson pulled from another song, this song has been sampled and covered as well. It is not stealing, as that rift was only four percent of the six minutes and twenty seven seconds of the original song. It would not be enough to take significant income from the original artist. I do think it is covered under fair use.  

 Like the sample of piano synthesizer, this song has been rift and covered as well. Each time it has been covered, the artists covering it have added their own style to it. One such artist is the bad Fall Out Boy. Fall Out Boy is a pop punk band. Their version of the song has a much more rock feel to it then the original version. However, Fall Out Boy recorded the song as a tribute to Michael Jackson. The video the band created is full of references to his videos and performances, everything from the iconic Thriller dance, to the sparkly white glove. Covering songs is however covered under copyright law. This is true especially if the artists are covering the song as a tribute to the original artist. Which Fall Out Boy was. Other forms of use that can be legal are parody and satire. While it is a work of creativity, it is not original, it is simply an older song remixed and played in a new way. It is not stealing, and it is covered under fair use laws.  It is simply transformative. 

Works Consulted

"Beat It by Michael Jackson on WhoSampled." WhoSampled. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2014. <http://www.whosampled.com/Michael-Jackson/Beat-It/>.

FallOutBoyVevo. "Fall Out Boy - Beat It (MTV Version) ft. John Mayer." YouTube. YouTube, 16 June 2009. Web. 18 Apr. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sk8Pb17pcQI&list=PL43F055B69DE7633E>.

"Michael Jackson Beat It." VEVO. Vevo, n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2014. <http://www.vevo.com/watch/michael-jackson/beat-it-digitally-restored-version/USSM20800056>.

"Michael Jackson's Beat It sample of Denny Jaeger's Untitled." WhoSampled. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2014. <http://www.whosampled.com/sample/220453/Michael-Jackson-Beat-It-Denny-Jaeger-Untitled/>.