To Remix, or not to Remix: That is the Question

In the 1600s, Isaac Newton famously stated: "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.". His quote suggests that creation requires inspiration and no innovation can truly be original. This notion can be applied to every emerging breakthrough in music, in film and even in science. Every new idea originates from collecting, combining and transforming existing materials to create something new. So where do we draw the line between a copy and a remix? The boundary can be particularly confusing when it comes to artistic industries like music.

After reaching No.1 on Billboard's Top 100 in 1990, hip-hop phenomenon, Vanilla Ice was met with a copyright infringement suit on his name. The bass line in his hit song “Ice Ice Baby” sounded an awful lot like the melody heard in Queen and David Bowie’s collaboration “Under Pressure”. Vanilla Ice undoubtedly sampled the instrumental track in “Under Pressure”, but he did not receive permission nor did he give credit to the original musicians. This particular case never made it to court and the dispute was settled privately between the two artists with an undisclosed sum of money. In this post, I’ll compare “Ice Ice Baby” and “Under Pressure” to discuss the legal and ethical aspects of Vanilla Ice’s copyright infringement case.

First, let’s lay down the parameters of what is considered plagiarism. Musical composition is protected under the Copyright Act of 1976. It is, therefore, illegal to steal the melody, chord progression, rhythm, and lyrics of a song without giving credit to the original songwriter. According to an article published by Buzzfeed, the plaintiff must prove “access” and “substantial similarity” to take legal action against another artist: “‘Access’ is a question of whether the defendant ever actually heard, or could reasonably be presumed to have heard, the plaintiff's song at some point before creating the allegedly infringing song… ‘Substantial similarity’ is a question of whether or not the average listener can tell that one song has been copied from the other.” (Ugwu).

In the case of Vanilla Ice and Bowie, no one could reasonably deny the similarities between the bass lines found in their two songs. They are nearly identical (although Ice added an extra note in between the riffs), and in an interview, it was made clear that Vanilla Ice was aware of the this; he says “Every major rap artist in the world samples music… And that’s all I did”. He goes on to explain that his record was only scrutinized because of its success and he adds that the issue was easily resolved: “All they wanted was credit and that’s all we gave them, ‘Sample by David Bowie and Queen’... It’s not a big deal”. He has a point here. Everything an artist creates is a product of influence, and this natural creative process is painted red by societal disdain for unoriginality. It seems that although the law protects the financial rights of an artist, it restricts their creative rights equally.

Aside from the groovy bass line and opening hook, “Ice Ice Baby” and “Under Pressure”isn’t really all that similar. Everything from the drumming pattern and the vocal lines in “Under Pressure”reflects the classic rock genre attributed to both Queen and Bowie; whereas in “Ice Ice Baby”, Vanilla Ice added synthesized instrumentals and a rhythmic rap line to get heads bobbing. I’d say this is definitely an example of “transforming the old into the new”. The hip-hop genre was still in its developing phase when Vanilla Ice released his rap album. He gained widespread attention with his music, selling millions of records. By transforming Queen and Bowie’s classic rock song, Vanilla Ice single-handedly transformed popular music in the nineties.

It’s also important to note that the two songs have very different lyrics holding very different messages. “Under Pressure” is a song about how important it is to love, no matter how difficult or scary it may be to love others and to be loved: “Insanity laughs under pressure we're breaking/Why can't we give love that one more chance?/ 'Cause love's such an old-fashioned word/And love dares you to care for/The people on the (people on streets) edge of the night/ And loves dares you to change our way of/ Caring about ourselves”. On the other hand, Vanilla Ice wrote his rap about having confidence in his music “All right stop collaborate and listen/

Ice is back with my brand new invention/Turn off the lights and I'll glow to the extreme, I rock a mic like a vandal/Light up a stage and wax a chump like a candle/Deadly, when I play a dope melody/Anything less than the best is a felony/Love it or leave it”. By analysing the deeper meaning in the two songs, it’s easy to see that they are both distinct pieces of music. Although the opening riffs are nearly identical, other creative elements like the lyrics and the message are different.

As Kirby Ferguson points out in his video series “Everything is a Remix”, everything is a remix! Creation happens when existing ideas are modified and compounded to produce something different, and new innovations are dependant on previous discoveries or ideas. To conclude, from a legal perspective, Vanilla Ice may have plagiarized, but ethically, it was part of a natural creative process. His song “Ice Ice Baby” was the product of adding his own hip-hop flare to Queen and David Bowie’s rock single “Under Pressure”. The resulting track was a milestone for the rap genre of music and undoubtedly went on to inspire other artists in the future.

Hope you enjoyed reading! As always, happy learning :)

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Works Cited

QueenLover14. “Under Pressure.” YouTube, YouTube, 2 Nov. 2006, www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=233&v=xtrEN-YKLBM.

Ugwu, Reggie. “Here's What Makes A Song A Ripoff, According To The Law.” BuzzFeed, BuzzFeed, 6 Mar. 2015, www.buzzfeed.com/reggieugwu/what-the-law-says-about-music-plagiarism?utm_term=.naY55Jl9xB#.oa2XXYL56E.

VanillaIceArchive. “Vanilla Ice Explains Sampling (Ice Ice Baby - Queen/David Bowie).” YouTube, YouTube, 21 Oct. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5V0Fx50ViI.

vanillaiceVEVO. “Vanilla Ice - Ice Ice Baby.” YouTube, YouTube, 4 Mar. 2009, www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=240&v=rog8ou-ZepE.