Wu-Tang Clan and Ja Rule Both Denied

Photo by Walik Goshorn



Why couldn't the Rza or Ja Rule get The Beatles' samples cleared?

Neither was successful in their attempts — the Wu's "The Heart Gently Weeps" and Ja's "Father Forgive Me" feature not original Beatles samples, but rather reworked (or "interpolated") versions of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and "Eleanor Rigby."

"If a recording artist wanted to build a song around a Beatles sample, they have to go through three different license holders," said Janice Brock, a spokeswoman for Sony/ATV, the music-publishing company that owns the famed Lennon/McCartney Northern Songs catalog (and as such, also owns roughly 90 percent of the entire Beatles song output). "They have to go to the original master-license holder, which is EMI Records. They have to go to the Beatles themselves, who are represented by Apple Corps Ltd., and they have to go to Sony/ATV, which represents the song itself.

"It's a fairly difficult, lengthy process, which is why most people probably don't bother," Brock continued. "And as you know, the Beatles have never granted a master-license sample."

There's a certain amount of swagger that comes with even securing permission to rework a Beatles song into one of your own. After all, even that doesn't come for free. Just for reworking a pair of Beatles compositions in their new songs, both the Wu-Tang Clan and Ja Rule agreed to turn over all songwriting royalties to the original songwriters — in this case, the estate of George Harrison and Lennon/McCartney, respectfully. Also, for each copy of the Wu's "The 8 Diagrams" or Ja's "The Mirror? that is sold or downloaded, the rappers will pay both the original writers and their publishing companies (Harrisongs and Sony/ATV) 9.1 cents, an amount mandated by federal law.

That sounds like an insane amount of work, but the end project would be priceless. BTW, if you haven't seen "Across the Universe" yet, expand your horizons and do so now. Stat!

Source: MTV.com