Can someone explain to me the whole Pharoahe Monch Simon Says thing?

[AntiHero]

I remember back in the the early 2000's it was everybody's favorite house party song and i know it got a lot of publicity (movies,commercials etc..) but what happened with the whole sampling thing?

Did he have to give all of the money he made to the makers of Godzilla or something?
Do you need permission to sample?

I also heard the money went from $40,000 to $400,000 .

Can someone explain to me the whole situation?

 

[Aje]

Don't have the specific details of the situation, but from my understanding, his record label – rawkus, I believe – did not clear the sample.

Yes, legally you must clear a sample with the copyright holder of the song. Since the record label never did so, eventually the copyright holder heard the song and took them (label, Monch) to court.

Don't quote me, though. Again, I don't have the full details.

 

[Yoda]

all i know is that might be the only real party track from rawkus.

 

[labelplant]

Shut the fukk up

 

[Bickin Back Being Bool]

i don't think monch and the label knew the song would get big

 

[Yoda]

Shut the fukk up

i thought it was get the fukk up,tho

 

[TheSickness]

I read somewhere that the 12" and CD were massively destroyed making that album a rarity....

 

[Art Barr]

I read somewhere that the 12" and CD were massively destroyed making that album a rarity....

really,.......


art barr

 

[labelplant]

I

i thought it was get the fukk up,tho

I think it's both but I don't remember

 

[AntiHero]

i don't think monch and the label knew the song would get big

How did the song get out to the public the way it did?

 

[AntiHero]

I read somewhere that the 12" and CD were massively destroyed making that album a rarity....

What do you mean?

 

[Motife43]

Don't have the specific details of the situation, but from my understanding, his record label – rawkus, I believe – did not clear the sample.

Yes, legally you must clear a sample with the copyright holder of the song. Since the record label never did so, eventually the copyright holder heard the song and took them (label, Monch) to court.

Don't quote me, though. Again, I don't have the full details.

Yep that's how it went. I love the whole story behind it. Monch has told it frequently, most recently in his press run for his PTSD album.

Basically....

Rawkus didn't clear it. He got served while cutting the grass at his mom's house. In the initial lawsuit all Rawkus had to do was pay something like $40K and it would've been all good, but they decided to fight it and the fee went up to $400k. Monch got off based on the defense of "I tape the Super Bowl to watch at home and subsequently let my homie borrow the tape, he then makes copies, sells, and distributes...Am I REALLY at fault?"



Breaks down the whole thing at 52 min mark on this interview

 

[Newark88]

How did the song get out to the public the way it did?

Cipha Sounds (who was working at Rawkus at the time) brought the record to Flex. Flex broke the record on the radio prime time (rewind nonstop, bomb treatment, the whole 9) and the rest was history.

 

[AntiHero]

Cipha Sounds (who was working at Rawkus at the time) brought the record to Flex. Flex broke the record on the radio prime time (rewind nonstop, bomb treatment, the whole 9) and the rest was history.

What was his reaction when he realized how much recognition he was getting?

 

[Newark88]

What was his reaction when he realized how much recognition he was getting?

Who Pharoah? Idk, you have to ask him that lol