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Tim Quirk spent more than 10 years as the singer and lyricist for the punk-pop band Too Much Joy, then politely eased his way into music journalism. He’s been a regular contributor to Raygun, The San Francisco Chronicle, the San Francisco Bay Guardian, Sassy, and Teen. He’s currently Director of Editorial for Listen.com, an online music-service provider, and one half of an electro-pop outfit called Wonderlick.
Tim Quirk analyzes and argues against the current sampling clearance laws. Sampling disputes always represent a conflict between the rights and needs of an artist and those of a copyright owner – usually a corporation. In 1991 the US District Court ruled against the artist – Biz Markie – and set a precedent in finding Markie in violation of copyright law for his use of a :20 second Gilbert O’Sullivan sample. Quirk finds that current copyright law encourages artists to choose samples based on which can most easily be cleared rather than on creative merit. Quirk gives many examples to illustrate his point, and details the legal entanglements that occurred when his band Too Much Joy sampled Bozo the Clown.
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