Dance For Haiti - My WordPress Site

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History, stuck on bad loop, repeated itself, with the back to back double whammy of a violent political coup (the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse on July 7th by foreign mercenaries, whose investigation is still unresolved and which left the country’s institutions paralysed and unable to deliver their most basic functions), followed by the catastrophic 7.2 magnitude earthquake that affected the entire Southern Peninsula of Haiti on the 14th of August 2021, I decided to put together a four part mix series with some of my favourite Haitian artists, with the aim to raise funds towards the country’s road to recovery.

One of the most culturally and musically rich countries in the world needs our help urgently!!

As reflected in these four mixes, totalling nearly seven hours of extremely deep and varied music (and yet barely scratching the surface), from traditional and modern 𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘢 to 𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘫𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘺𝘰𝘯, via 𝘬𝘰𝘯𝘱𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘬, 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘦, 𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭, 𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘰 𝘱𝘰𝘱, 𝘮𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘬 𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯, 𝘪𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘬, 𝘷𝘰𝘥𝘰𝘶 and 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘫𝘢𝘻𝘻, Haiti is, without a doubt, one of the most culturally and musically rich countries in the world – and it needs our help urgently.

May music continue to be one of the weapons of resistance!

•♫•♬• •♫•♬• •♫•♬• •♫•♬• •♫•♬• •♫•♬•

Part I (La Sirène):

Cedric Woo · Dance for Haiti – Pt I (La Sirène)

•♫•♬• 𝙏𝙍𝘼𝘾𝙆𝙇𝙄𝙎𝙏 •♬•♫•

– Coupé Cloué – Message
– Anderson Cameau – Mr. Trumpet
– Pie 1 – M’ Rinmin Musik
– Exile One – Funky Crookie
– Volo Volo – Do It
– Scorpio Universel – Tande (Nouvelle Version)
– Dadou Pasquet et le Magnum Band – Ça’n Pense de Ça
– Clifford Sylvain – Rara Machine
– Raoul Denis Jr – Ti Gason (Fe Respew’)
– Fedia Laguerre – Division
– Albert Chancy – Master Mind
– Claudette et Ti Pierre – Roulé Ron’ N
– Gardner Lalanne et les Loups Noirs – La Sirène
– Masterful D’Haiti – Ama Ghedon
– Safari Combo – Carida
– Gemini All Stars – Neg Kont Neg
– Compas Express – Faux Prophète
– Farah Juste – Mole St Nicolas

•♫•♬• •♫•♬• •♫•♬• •♫•♬• •♫•♬• •♫•♬•

Part II (Tèt Colé):

Cedric Woo · Dance for Haiti – Pt II (Tèt Colé)

•♫•♬• 𝙏𝙍𝘼𝘾𝙆𝙇𝙄𝙎𝙏 •♬•♫•

– Georges Loubert Chancy – Be Ready
– Farah Juste – Haïti Demain
– Caribbean Sextet – La Peson’n
– Simon Jurad & Freres Dejean – Telephono
– Anderson Cameau et son Groupe Kalalou – Mon Cadeau
– Tuco Bouzi et le Dixie Band – Tuco’s Salsa
– Les Frères Dejean – Yoyo
– Les Ambassadeurs – Homenaje A Los Ambajadores
– Digital Express – Makey Makaw
– Deutz – Vie d’Artiste
– Macho Band – Old Fashion
– Orchestre Tropicana D’Haiti – Espoir
– J.B.Nemours – Compas-A
– Les Gypsies de Pétion-ville – Reproche
– Les Difficiles de Pétion-ville – Ce La Vie
– Pie 1 – Tèt Colé

•♫•♬• •♫•♬• •♫•♬• •♫•♬• •♫•♬• •♫•♬•

Part III (Tribulations):

Cedric Woo · Dance For Haiti – Pt III (Tribulations)

•♫•♬• 𝙏𝙍𝘼𝘾𝙆𝙇𝙄𝙎𝙏 •♬•♫•

– Toto Bissainthe – Nous Gouvernerons La Rosée
– Farah Juste – Histoire D’Haiti
– Boukan Ginen – Ede M Chante
– Boukman Eksperyans – Se Kreyo’l Nou Ye
– Magic Connection Music Stars – Rara Magic (Tribulations)
– Boukman Eksperyans – Pwazon Rat
– Jean-Baptiste Bonga – Kolé Legba
– Dixie Band – Africa
– Exile One – Which One Is Me Home?
– Les Vikings D’Haïti – Vikings En Joie
– Les Fantaisistes D’Haiti – Panno Caye Nan Bois Chêne
– Trio Select avec Gesner Henry – Plein Caille
– Toto Necessite – Cail La Mandé Rousé
– Universel Channel 10 – L’Humanité
– Jan Klo’ Wenodo – Universel Compas
– Anderson Cameau – Ou Lan Magouye
– Reginald Policard – Mwen Pa Sou Biof
– Caribbean Sextet – Mete Gacon Sou Ou
– Bossa Combo – Courage

•♫•♬• •♫•♬• •♫•♬• •♫•♬• •♫•♬• •♫•♬•

Part IV (Pil Ou Fas):

Cedric Woo · Dance For Haiti – Pt IV (Pil Ou Fas)

•♫•♬• 𝙏𝙍𝘼𝘾𝙆𝙇𝙄𝙎𝙏 •♬•♫•

– Jephté Guillaume – Pitit Soley (daughter of the sun)
– Manno Charlemagne– Ayiti Pa Fore (Haiti Is Not A Forest)
– Jephte Guillaume – Kote Moun Yo
– Boukan Ginen – Neg Anwo
– Emeline Michel – Plezi Mize
– Toto Bissainthe – Souflè Van
– Farah Juste – Solé
– Solèy Lévé – Ansanm Ansanm
– Claudette et Ti Pierre – Gaçon Ce Coq
– Raoul Denis Jr – Sunshine Rythm
– Scorpio Universel – Baby I Love Your Way
– Les Freres Parents And The Neville Brothers– Konbit (Working Together)
– Masterful D’Haiti – I Am Sorry
– Skah Shah – Vinn Danse
– Trio Select & Coupe Cloue – Cribiche
– Super Choucoune Soleil D’Haiti – La Vie Aux Antilles
– Les Pachas Du Canapé Vert – Patience
– Les Loups Noirs – Pile Ou Face
– Zèklè – Pil Ou Fas
– D.P. Express – David
– Farah Juste – Gonayiv Oh
– Randy Kerber & Jowee Omicil – La Gonave

•♫•♬• •♫•♬• •♫•♬• •♫•♬• •♫•♬• •♫•♬•

———-

Frustrating but Necessary Chat about [𝐂𝐨𝐩𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦]

Looking to reach a wider audience, I also uploaded those mixes on YouTube, which I don’t usually do (mixcloud and soundcloud are more suitable platforms for that). Within a few weeks the first three parts of the series had been blocked by the lovely folks at CD Baby, who represent some of these artists’ copyrights, and who, rather unbelievably, prefer blocking and preventing the music from being heard instead of monetising the video and transferring the ad revenues to the relevant artists.

Read below (or head to FB) for the full lowdown of what happened and how incredibly backwards and outdated those copyright laws are:

“𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘦, 𝘊𝘋 𝘉𝘢𝘣𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘥”.

“I recently started publishing a series of mixes focusing on Haitian music and artists, with the sole aim to raise funds to help Haiti’s recovery efforts in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake of the 14th of August 2021. I usually post such mixes on either soundcloud or mixcloud, but for this particular project I thought it would make sense to also publish on YouTube as the platform has a much bigger audience, and this could potentially help raise more funds.

Of course I do not own any copyrights of the tracks featured in those mixes, but I’d imagined that any copyright claims on any of those tracks would generate revenue (even if extremely little) to the relevant artists through monetisation (ads) of the video.

This would actually make a lot of sense. The artists/their representative get their share, the more streams the more revenue (still very little of course) for those artists, and the more funds and donations can potentially be raised through increased exposure.

However it is far from being that simple.

Most artists don’t actually own their copyrights, and even the ones who do are usually represented by publishers who – usually – collect the ad revenues and eventually transfer them accordingly (after taking their share of course). Not ideal, but better than nothing at least.

What I didn’t anticipate is that some of these publishers choose NOT TO monetise the video (and hence to not collect income), preferring instead to BLOCK THE VIDEO FROM BEING SEEN WORLDWIDE.

No one gets paid, no money gets raised. Who benefits from this?

CD Baby has done exactly this on the aforementioned mixes, as the company happens to represent the rights of 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬, the label which is home to many Haitian artists I’ve included.

Here’s how they described themselves:

“largest global distributor of independent music, the largest publishing rights administrator in the world, one of the most trusted names in the music business, and the go-to educational resource on topics such as music marketing, rights management, and more. CD Baby is proud to work on behalf of 700k+ recording artists, helping them build a better bridge between their creativity and all the revenue sources they need to start or sustain a successful career in music.”

When I received the copyright claims telling me the video got blocked, I reasoned that this had been done automatically through bots, and that if I were to raise a dispute and explain my case with a 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨, surely the copyright strike would be taken down. After all, what’s the point of FORBIDDING people from hearing the music in question, artists from getting paid, and funds from being raised, when there is a system in place (even if biased towards big companies) that can identify the music played and assign the royalties in question to the matching publishers and label owners?

I disputed the claim, explained the case in details (there is a category loosely defined by YT as 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐔𝐬𝐞, whereby a user can use (sic) copyrighted content in certain circumstances. Nothing is really clear, but if Fair Use doesn’t come into play in this particular case, when would it ever be?

“𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘦, 𝘊𝘋 𝘉𝘢𝘣𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘥.”

How this benefits the artists, let alone the people in need in Haiti, is beyond me. Talk about a (yet another) double whammy.

YT and CD Baby are only parts of the problem here, but it’s a big one. Copyright law is so outdated it’s beyond ridiculous. One would think that it shouldn’t be too difficult to implement a system whereby the artists can get a fair share for their works, be it through a standalone clip, a DJ mix or any video using copyrighted material!

One of the most culturally and musically rich countries in the world needs our help urgently!!

May music continue to be one of the weapons of resistance!

———-

Frustrating but Necessary Chat about [𝐂𝐨𝐩𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦]

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