It’s time for brands to get better at giving credit
Checking the legal boxes isn’t enough. We must honour original creators
In a creative economy with company brands and personal brands putting out a lot of content that curates and quotes other people’s work, there’s a disappointing lack of acknowledgment of inspiration in a way that’s ethical and honourable to the original creators.
A recent example of this is the Apple launch of its iPhone 13. In September 2021, the company released a commercial featuring a soundtrack credited to U.K. rap artist Footsie, produced by Sukh Knight. The song is called “Work All Day.”
The musical hook sampled in the tune is from a 1971 Hindi song called “Dum Maaro Dum,” produced by R.D. Burman and Asha Bhonsle for the Bollywood hit “Haré Rama Haré Krishna.” The rights to the track belong to Saregama Records and the company was paid for the use of the track.
While Apple credits Footsie in the ad captions, there’s no mention of the origins of the blockbuster tune, familiar to more than one billion people, that is used for 24 seconds at the start of the ad.
Legally, a music user needs permission from the owner of the master copyright of the sound recording to sample music or use it as a soundtrack with visual images called synchronization rights. When such a licensing fee is paid for the music, a public credit is not mandatory.
Surely more needs to be done to honour original creators. Checking the legal boxes is not enough.
We’re at a time in history when we need to trace the origin of our ideas better. We need to stop hiding behind the basics and clearly acknowledge the supply chain of intellectual property the same way we’ve learned to do with our commodities and retail.
Brands need to be held responsible and go beyond what’s legally required and start to ethically honour the origin stories of ideas. At worst, this practice will cover legal obligations. At best it will unearth a wealth of storytelling and goodwill that will amplify their brand exponentially.
The superficial bibliography Apple used for its iPhone commercial is a great template for what not to do.
If a company as financially successful as Apple is superficial in its due diligence and storytelling, what hope is there to for other businesses to get on board?
Have hope, I say.
Due diligence and research are accessible to all. Brands must learn to communicate the origins of the creative work they are using to give credit to the creators and so consumers know its provenance.
A variety of tools are available for free or for a small investment that allow artists to acknowledge their creative influences. It’s not hard to put in place a clear process to track the origins of influences, such as a bibliography — a requirement in any academic thesis.
There are tools, as simple as Google and as specialized as you want available for free or little investment, that allow artists to unearth their creative influences and acknowledge them ethically.
For example, when “synchronization rights” issues are raised, overcorrect. Acknowledge, apologize (whether you’re right or wrong) and spell out how you’ve fixed any concerns.
Ignoring the origins of a fellow creative you have borrowed from is no longer an option. Nothing is original anymore. Everything is a remix of one or several things that already exist. And that’s awesome. Let’s make it more awesome by giving credit, not just to cover our butts legally, but to pay homage to our influencers for the joy of it!
Susan Diaz is the founder and CEO of Toronto podcasting firm c+p digital. She is co-host of “The 4 am Report,” a look at what keeps marketers and founders up at night, and “ABCDEI,” inclusion conversations on unlearning bias, one alphabet at a time.