Viviana Duran 3578
AMM 155 0088
April 18, 2007
Final draft article #3
Cracking Down on Mixtape CD’s
Jeff Leads has an informative article, “Cracking Down on Mix tape CDs”. There have been
numerous debates and legal battles over the issue of piracy. This usually entails the issues regarding
copyright, ownership and most importantly dollars and cents. Napster and now bit torrent and other file
sharing entities are facing pressure from various film and record label companies. YouTube and its
parent company Google have recently been involved in a similar battle. Leads’ article is particularly
insightful because in it, he examines the piracy issue from a hip hop industry perspective. A pair of
prominent hip hop DJs, DJ Drama and Don Cannon, had their Atlanta studios raided. The two men were
arrested and charged with racketeering by the police. What sent shock throughout fans and music
executives alike were that it was the DJs’ production of mixtape CDs that prompted the investigation.
Mixtapes have a long history in the proliferation of hip hop culture. DJ Clue, Funk Master Flex and
others have often made very successful mix tape CDs in the past. The mix tapes do feature songs from
artist albums but usually the artist did not take issue with this.
The artist would often want to be on a prominent DJs mix tape as a form of promotion and
advertisement. Mix tapes have also been a plus for unknown artists to generate an interest and an
audience. It is very perplexing to me as a hip hop fan, that mix tape production is considered as serious a
criminal offence as racketeering. I am not sure whether this has to do with the criminalization of hip hop
by the police. There have been news reports on the existence of hip hop task force units manned by
police officers. Hip hop has from the very beginning been associated with drugs, crime and violence,
though nearly every other facet of American life has its own issues with corruption. Hip hop is a
medium, an art form that many people of color have used to escape the poverty, crime and violence in
their lives. I would not be surprised if there is some bias involved due to the association between hip hop
and poor, African American urban culture. The corporations do not care anything about artists or their
music; this is about power, control and their own wealth. There are two sides to every issue and not all
record label executives are against mix tapes. Leads do state that there are senior executives that they
have paid DJs to feature their artists on their mix tapes. It is because as previously noted this is a means
of generating an interest. The executives on this side of the fence worry that criminalizing mix tape
production will negatively affect sales especially since DJs often have access to local and niche markets
that the major labels might not appeal to.
They are also shocked as to how a person like DJ Drama, who built his career over the years
through mix tapes, could all of a sudden be arrested. DJs and their mix tapes are a part of rap music and
hip hop culture. DJs like Clue, Funk Flex are also radio station hosts. These could lead to some future
problems between hostile labels and the radio stations. If a record company is found out to be helping
law enforcement to track down mix tape “racketeers” I don’t think DJs like Funk Flex, Clue or Miss
Jones would play songs from that label. This could lead to DJs that are also radio station hosts in
addition to mix tape producers to ban together against the industry executives. The existence of hip hop
on radio would be seriously threatened. The attempt to criminalize could seriously change the growth an
evolution of hip hop. The anti-piracy issue is a very thorny. Leads should be commended for bringing its
particular effect on hip hop to a mainstream audience.