“A former drummer of the iconic punk rock band The Ramones sued Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Apple Inc. and Real Networks Inc. on Friday, alleging copyright infringement over digital downloads of the band’s songs,” Chad Bray reports for MarketWatch.
“Richard Reinhardt, who performed under the name Richie Ramone, filed his lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan… Reinhardt claims he is the author of six Ramones songs… ‘Significantly, Richie has never licensed or authorized the use of the compositions in any digital formats,’ the lawsuit says,” Bray reports.
“The lawsuit claims Reinhardt has suffered at least $900,000 in damages as a result of the alleged infringement,” Bray reports.
Full article here.
The Ramones deserve every bit of their reputation, in my opinion – they were a breath of fresh air in the mid-seventies, when pop radio was putrid with the stink of John Denver and Olivia Newton-John. The great sixties bands had mostly gone commercial or disbanded, and the specter of God-forsaken disco was looming ahead. If the Ramones seem dated now, it’s because they’ve been copied so frequently since those days. In ’77, having “Judy Is A Punk” pop up on your local station between KC and The Commodores offered a ray of hope that rock still existed, at least for a little while longer…
Yeah, the Ramones are cool, but I’m not sure that “writing” one of their songs is anything to be proud of. Did he find some new way to strum two or three chords over and over for three minutes?
If you’re young and high and have a twisted sense of humor, I’m sure The Ramones could be entertaining. Otherwise: Absolute useless noise pollution.
As for the lawsuit: Barking up the wrong tree?
rock fans
def: young and high and have a twisted sense of humor
ant: old, sober, anal [see grandma]
gorsh
def: idiot
ant: not an idiot
quod erat demonstrandum
Poor, hapless boob.
But thanks for playing.
Oh I wish I had something to sue Apple with, it seems de rigueur.
BTW, “Wendy Williams”? You DO mean Wendy O. Williams don’t you. So sad, she committed suicide a few years ago.
Also, early Tubes are more punk than the Ramones.
Who are the Ramones?
Had to reply when saw Ramones with Karen Carpenter in the same post… Have both in my iTunes and think both are amazingly talented in their own way.
If the guy thinks he was something due to him – the court will decide.
A thread like this is why I hate elitist thinking – somebody feels they have to be right.
Most of you ARE idiots.
And I am right about that.
Who cares.
The Ramones were awesome but this but this is a licensing issue with the record company, not iTunes. Who is Richie Ramone anyway? It’s sounds like Pete Best suing iTunes because he played he played the same drum part as Ringo on Twist and Shout and wasn’t getting a cut of Beatles sales. Well, if iTunes actually sold the Beatles.
“….Seriously? You’re going to compare crude noisemakers like the Ramones to an immense talent like Karen Carpenter? With a straight face?….”
I can’t believe somebody referred to Karen Carpenter as an “immense talent” with a straight face. That’s like praising Mr Rogers for his immense talent as a journalist and edgy fashion sense or bragging about how much better your Cavalier handles than those tacky, overpriced BMW’s. You shouldn’t even be allowed to use Apple products.
This is totally bs–Tommie & Markie were the only 2 real Ramone drummers. Period. As someone else mentioned–this duoche was a temporary fill-in. Evidently not a very intelligent one either because the Ramones records were released ‘in digital form’ (known as CD’s) long before he was even hired.
Seriously? Edgy fashion sense? Edgy?
You should have been aborted.
I’ll get you at recess…
He needs to take his gripe to Tower and Chrysalis–otherwise in the immortal words, “why don’t you just ffffffffffade away!”
@djfred,
So, in your reality, where The Ramones are “awsome” and referring to Karen Carpenter as an immense talent is liken to some bad joke, I’ll assume that the taste of shit is preferred over filet mignon.
@ the Other Mark
“…You DO mean Wendy O. Williams don’t you…”
yeah – the Plasmatics chick… sort of ‘circus punk’. They didn’t make the radio much, but I was in school when the cops in Wisconsin kicked her face in and sent her to the hospital…