Will Lady Gaga End The Music Business? (Again...)

This was written a little over a year ago but still a good read.

Be sure to read the rest at Hypebot.com.

                            

Lady Gaga and the use of fan art

Thank you Lady A for posting this in one of your comments.

Lady Gaga's has got quite the selection of Born This Way merchandise that fans can buy at her show.  One which she tweeted are her meat bandages.  The picture was designed by a fan Joapa who calls the picture Chibi Gaga.

Joapa's drawn some really cute cartoons of Gaga and when he saw one of them used on the bandages he questioned on his blog "why didn't I get credit'?  

Joapa makes it very clear that he's honored that his work was used by Stefani but he wants her to know where it came from and naturally wants to be credited.  He also makes it clear that he's not angry with Stefani and isn't even sure if she knew it was his creation.

Fine.

But did Gaga even bother to try to find out?  Who knows.  That didn't stop her though.  She still went ahead and used the picture anyway.

No doubt after hearing about the copyright issue, Gaga's team contacted Joapa.  Using Google translate, he says this on his blog.

First I want to thank everyone who supported me in case Chibi Gaga. I was shocked when I saw the tweet announcing the product Gaga's official merchandising Born This Way Ball Tour with my drawing printed on the can of bandaids. I was somewhat annoyed when it has not received due credit for that use, but thanks to the buzz that I and others did little monsters, all ended well. This post is to clarify this. The office and merchandising team responsible for Lady Gaga contacted me and resolve this issue amicably. It was a communication failure that has already cleared up my credits and guaranteed corrigimos.Terei this product and will be paid for permission to use my drawing Chibi Gaga. My request was granted and I consider myself satisfied with the result! in the end, everything ended happily! :) The cans with the Chibi dressings are expected to be sold in 3 months! Again thank you to everyone who supported me and helped me this time!

Joapa calls it a "communication failure".  I'm sure.  It's a failure because there was likely no effort to communicate in the first place.

This takes us to an uncharted territory of fan copyright.  There's a great article about it on Plagiarism Today.  Here's short screen shot.

Do you think this was a harmless oversight by Stefani and her team?  Or in the age of Twitter and Facebook, could she have easily posted the picture and asked "Who did this? I want to use your work. Let's talk?" 

Thai Government files formal complaint against Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga at her Bangkok show

The Thai Government is not happy with Stefani to say the least.  During her Bangkok show, Stefani wore a traditional Thai headdress and bikini and sat on a motorcycle with the Thai flag tied to it.  

To some it might not seem like a big deal.  Hoverer there are laws in place that make it illegal to treat a country's flag in an inappropriate manner.  

For example , in the United States the laws are:

• The flag should never be displayed upside down except as a sign of distress.
• The flag should never touch anything beneath it.
• The flag should never be worn or used as bedding or drapery.
• The flag must always be allowed to fall free and never displayed furled.
• The flag must not be marked with any insignia, letter, word, signature, picture or drawing.
• The flag may not be used for any advertising purposes; no advertising may be attached to a pole flying a flag.
• The image of the flag may not be printed, embroidered or otherwise impressed on anything designed for temporary use and discard. This includes napkins, paper plates and cups, packaging or stamps.
• No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or athletic uniform; flag patches are allowed as part of the uniform of a federal, state, civic or patriotic organization.

In Thailand, flag etiquette is very strict and protocols must be followed.  Such laws are:

• The National flag of Thailand should never be flown above another national flag on the same staff as this would suggest superiority, or conversely, inferiority of one flag, or Nation, over another

• The Thailand flag should never be allowed to drag along the ground
• Hoist - the act or function of raising the Thailand flag, as on a rope
• Half Staff or Half Mast - the Thailand flag is hoisted to half of the potential height of the flag pole to denote grief and mourning
• Performed by first raising the Thailand flag to the top, then lowering the Thailand Flag halfway
• Distress - denoted by flying the Thailand flag upside-down
• Manner of hoisting - The Thailand flag should be hoisted briskly and lowered ceremoniously
• No disrespect should be shown to the Thailand flag
• The Thailand flag should never be fastened, displayed, used, or stored in such a manner as to permit the Flag to be easily torn, soiled, or damaged in any way
• The Thailand flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing on the flag of any nature
• The Thailand flag should be hoisted first and lowered last
• International Flag relating to Thailand Flag usage forbids the display of the flag of one nation above that of another nation in time of peace

Gaga has been displaying the flag on the back of her motorcycle at every show so far; corresponding to which country she is in.  Suffice it to say, Stefani will be breaking flag laws in every single country because most of them have the same laws.  What a bad ass she is!

Stefani also enraged Thai's when she joked about buying a fake Rolex when she touched down in the Land of Smiles. 

We can add this to the growing list of cultural ignorance Stefani has disrespectfully displayed.  It's pretty much common sense that a flag has to be respected and Gaga's lack of respect is what's upsetting the Thai government.

Lady Gaga Perfume "Leaked" Today, Also Not Original

Lady Gaga's new perfume called "Fame" leaked online today and media outlets everywhere are calling it original; one of a kind. 

Why?

Because the perfume is black and when sprayed on turns clear.  It won't stain your clothes and it smells like honey, saffron, apricots, orchid, and jasmine, which actually sounds really nice.  Something I might wear if it didn't have her name slapped on it.  It's like buying Paris Hilton's perfume.  Celebrity perfume lines are cheesy and predictable.  Yes, even Madonna's which I also won't be buying.


The money hating artist released her perfume through her own Haus Laboratories.  Clearly this isn't going to be the only money grabbing product launched from her lab.  New corporation for the ultimate corporate figure head  The same corporate buffoon who despises money.  I wonder if the product is tested on animals?

But is her perfume really that unique?  Is it really a one of a kind.  Not so fast.

In 2008, Wode by Boudicca was released.   Wode was the first of it's kind to use the same technology.  It sprays on blue and vanishes when meets the skin leaving only the scent behind.

The word "wode"is taken from "woad" which is a cobalt blue plant extract.  Boudicca is the name of the great queen who bravely fought the Roman soldiers after they raped her two young daughters.  Boudicca (also spelled Boadicea) was rumored to wear blue war paint. 

On the back of Gaga's perfume bottle, she herself markets Fame as being "the first of it's kind".  Surprise!  It's not.

Once again, this proves there is nothing revolutionary about Lady Gaga and what she does and it's about time the bottom kissing media acknowledges this.

                       

Layman terms for Gaga fans:  Her perfume idea is fine.   Releasing a black perfume that turns clear is not the problem.  The problem is claiming it to be "the first of it's kind right" on the box when it is not.

Furthermore, people who hate money don't put out perfume lines.  Thank you very much.

Joan Rivers Said What!

Straight from her Facebook page!  Thanks Anon for the tip!