fredag 3 Jul 2009, 7:09

I stumbled upon My Dear Disco's White Lies today, which showed enough potential to skim their 2008 album - Dancethink LP.

Then I noticed that track four - a Stevie Wonder cover, All I Do - is a ' free download' (0c download). Now, the album's a DIY release (i.e. not from a label we might expect to have any special leverage on All I Do), so how are they in a position to give away copies / plays of the song?

It seems like either: My Dear Disco have very deep pockets, Stevie's been kind enough to forgo royalties* or some lawyers are waiting for My Dear Disco to get very deep pockets (so they can empty them). If the band aim to get picked-up by a major and it's anything like the last option, despite what looks like some quite hefty PR, I wonder how such a liability would compromise due diligence in a label signing.

* - Clarence Paul & Morris Broadnax are also credited for the song's lyrics.

I'm not down-on My Dear Disco, to my ears they have good potential, but this looked like an odd use of a song and I've failed to find it written about elsewhere. If you know more about this release or have other ideas about the usage / licensing, please comment.