Oasis take legal action over the sale of archive recordings

An expert in music law believes legal action by Oasis is about far more than copyright or ownership of recordings.

A collection of unheard recordings involving the Manchester duo were pulled from an auction this week after the band begun legal proceedings.

Mike Waring, Partner at Knights, has advised bands, artists, artist development companies, recording studios and labels on both contentious and non-contentious matters.

He said there’s more to it than meets the eye:

Why Oasis Moved to Protect Unreleased Archive Recordings

“I would say that Oasis’ concerns appear to be twofold. First, they are likely concerned about losing control of valuable intellectual property, including unreleased live recordings, rehearsals and other archive material from a very significant and memorable period in the band’s history.

“Once that valuable material enters the public domain, there is a significant risk that unauthorised copies will rapidly appear across social media platforms, file-sharing facilities and online portals. Even if the purchaser has no right to commercially exploit the recordings, the practical reality is that unauthorised distribution of the material may be impossible to prevent.

The Legal and Reputational Risks of Unauthorised Release of Historic Recordings

“Secondly, and perhaps more significantly, Oasis would probably be concerned about the content of the recordings themselves. The archive reportedly contains over 100 hours of rehearsals, soundchecks and ‘unfiltered’ candid conversations involving the Gallagher brothers and members of the touring crew. Aside from questions of ownership and intellectual property, the claimants may reasonably be concerned that statements made three decades ago, in private and without any expectation of publication, could be judged differently by contemporary standards. The risk is that isolated comments would be extracted from their original context and rapidly distributed online, causing potential reputational damage that cannot easily be undone.

“The auction house has now withdrawn the recordings from the sale. That would be consistent with an attempt to avoid the immediate dispute and the risk of injunctive proceedings, which would appear the likely route available to Oasis. Other Oasis items remain in the auction, including an old demo tape, but the recordings are conspicuous by their absence. The recordings are by far the most contentious items because they potentially engage copyright, performers’ rights, confidentiality and ownership issues in a way that memorabilia such as guitars, clothing or tour documents generally do not.”

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