At the beginning of 2007, the hip hop record industry in the United States shook when a SWAT team from the Clayton Sheriff’s Office raided the Atlanta recording studio of Tyree Simmons and Donald Cannon (aka DJ Drama and DJ Don Cannon).  Accompanied by representatives from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the police confiscated 81,000 CD’s as well as recording gear and other assets. 

The two DJ’s are well known for producing “mixtapes”, song compilations often connected by a theme, which showcase up-and-coming hip-hop artists, promote upcoming albums and/or respond to songs released by other hip-hop artists that made reference to the compilation’s creator. 

While these compilations enjoy great retail success, to quote DJ Drama in a New York Times interview, their legal status is in a “gray area”.  On one hand, their ability to promote new artists and records has caused the record industry to aide in their making.  Labels have been known to secretly send prominent DJs separate digital tracks of vocals and beats so these can easily be mixed or to informally pay a DJ to produce a mixtape for a certain artist.  On the other hand, most compilations are unregulated and violate the copyright of the original songs sampled,

The January seizure in Atlanta caused a stir, as it was the first time a DJ’s studio was raided. Up to that point, raids were mainly targeted at small retailers who are well know as distributors of mixtapes. 

The two DJs were each charged with a felony violation of Georgia’s Racketeering Influence Corrupt Organization law, held in jailed and released only the next day on $100,000 bonds. 

The story broke on Fox News, and continued to make headlines after it was uploaded to YouTube and was the focus of an article in The New York Times Magazine.  Comments and criticisms were abundant from both hip-hop fans and from professionals in the copyright field. 

Visit the blogs below to review the diverse opinions surrounding the issue.

The Patry Copy Right Blog

The Sound of Young America

The Technology Liberation Front