top of page
Writer's pictureFred

Miles Davis: "No One Owns Me"

That's very brazen of me to quote a man that's been dead 32 years, but let me tell you, I'd bet my house that if Miles Davis were alive today he would say that.


What's my beef with Miles Davis? None. I love Miles Davis.


Then what are we doing here?


Photographer Jeff Sedlik alleged that tattoo artist Kat Von D violated his copyright when she took a sketch of an iconic 1989 photograph taken by Sedlik of Miles from a fan and tattooed it on his body.


To me, it was a patently absurd lawsuit. Even though Kat Von D won in court, Sedlik said he will appeal. Sedlik appears to be a has-been making a publicity grab.


But enough about Sedlik, let's talk about Miles Davis. When Miles died in 1991, his estate was primarily left to children Cheryl Davis and Erin Davis, but also, in smaller amounts, to nephew Vincent Wilburn, brother Vernon Davis, and sister Dorothy Wilburn. Sons Gregory and Miles IV were excluded.


In 2006, Gregory Davis did make some money off his Dad, writing the book Dark Magus: The Jekyll and Hyde Life of Miles Davis. In that book, Gregory alluded to potentially MORE Davis children. The point is, if I enjoy Miles' music today, how much money should Davis' children make through the Miles Davis Estate? You can contact the Estate: Here. Estate Management, Legal and Publicity, all under one banner. I understand that it costs money to release re-issues on vinyl, but licensing Miles today as a vinyl figure seems almost as absurd as suing over a tattoo of a photograph.


The Miles Davis Funko Pop? I decry its existence, yet I have one in my living room. You can buy one right from the Estate.


There are a lot of people making money off of the late Miles Davis and Jeff Sedlik thinks he, too, can ride that Gravy Train.


Do I think Miles Davis would have been okay with a vinyl figure? If HE was getting paid, probably. If a bunch of lackeys and descendants were trying to cash in on his name, he would probably be displeased.


If a guy who took a picture of him 40 years ago was trying to make money off of him, he'd certainly be pissed.


 

Listen, I'm not prejudiced against photographers, my sister is very talented. Here's her website at Fine Art America:



But she's mostly a nature photographer. She might sue me for using the picture, but I don't think she's had any copyright issues with human subjects.


What if my sister took a picture of Miles without his permission and tried to sell it today? Where are the lines for an estate? Again, the Estate didn't sue Kat Von D, the photographer did. I would think that a tattoo artist would have artistic license.


What if I wanted a Donald Duck tattoo. Could I, or my tattoo artist, be sued by Disney?


I don't want to go off on a Disney Tangent, let's talk about Miles for another moment. In 1962, Miles gave a controversial interview in the pages of Playboy. You can find the interview: Here. Now does Playboy own the content? Playboy Magazine (print) doesn't exist anymore. Does the Davis Estate own the content? Miles is dead. Does Alex Haley, who conducted the interview, own the content? Alex Haley is dead. Does Peter Losin own the content? According to his website, all jazz links are licensed under a Creative Commons License.


The genius of Miles lives on in his music, but 30 years beyond his death, how much peripheral money should be generated from a dead man?


Very few people read my blog, I have been offered exposure instead of pay for my writing. I passed on that. My sister has actually had a very steady flow of traffic at her site, but sometimes pay is elusive for her also. (I pay her in exposure.) Part of our freedom is our relative lack of popularity.


It could be argued that Miles Davis is the most popular figure in jazz history. Where are the lines between when his work falls into the public domain and when the deceased human vessel falls into the public domain?


There's a lot of lawyers who have theories on that answer.





41 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

コメント


bottom of page