Greg Gillis, better known as Girl Talk, is a DJ who takes samples from all different types of songs and combines them to form one song. These are called mash-up style remixes and there has been a lot of controversy regarding them. The New York Times Magazine has referred to his music as "a lawsuit waiting to happen." This is because he does not get permission from the artists to use their work. Many believe that what he is doing is wrong and that it violates copyright laws, however in my opinion, he isn't harming anybody. That's what I think has allowed him to be so successful for so long without being penalized. Gillis doesn't claim the music as his own and openly admits to sampling without authorization. He appeared in a documentary I watched last semester entitled "Good Copy Bad Copy" about copyright and culture. In the documentary, Gillis states that it would be virtually impossible to make his music legally. Getting permission from every single artist would cost him a ridiculous amount of money. He makes it clear that if he had the money, he would gladly do everything legally. That being said, I don't think that anyone should have a problem with his music because it causes no harm to the artists and if anything, actually promotes their music. For example, when I listened to his most recent album Feed the Animals, there were a few songs on there that I had never heard but really enjoyed. This led me to look into the artists and listen to their original songs. Just because what Girl Talk is doing is technically illegal does not mean it is done with malicious intent. Since no harm is being done and his intentions are not to steal the music, I believe that Greg Gillis should not be sued and continue to do what he has been doing.
