Wexford Collegiate “Hamilton” video via CBC
On the one hand, it’s hard not to admire the efforts of Wexford Collegiate School for the Arts in Scarborough, Canada, near Toronto. A teacher and her students made as thorough a pitch as possible to be the first high school to produce the musical Hamilton, seemingly having staged several elaborate numbers from the show in their effort to be recognized. While YouTube videos showed a only simple set, the lights, costumes and sound demonstrated how much time and effort was spent trying to get the attention of the creators of Hamilton, with full out performances of multiple numbers from the show.
There’s no doubt that pretty much every high school as well as college theatre troupe in the US and Canada (and perhaps even ones outside of North America) shares Wexford’s desire to produce Hamilton. There are numerous professional venues that are still trying to book the show, be it as a tour or sit-down production, and no doubt plenty of Equity and non-Equity companies would relish the opportunity to perform the musical.
Wexford Collegiate “Hamilton” video via CBC
Of course, Hamilton has connected with young people in a way probably unrivaled since Rent, making the pleas from young people particularly potent. We are living in the time of Hamilmania, as a single musical has captured the interest and imagination of theatregoers and non-theatregoers alike. Everyone wants a piece of Hamilton, or Hamilton itself.
On a practical level, it was always highly unlikely that Wexford’s efforts would succeed. At this point, Hamilton isn’t even confirmed for a professional Canadian debut, let alone a high school one. Performance rights have not been made available beyond official companies derived from the Broadway production. If permission were to be granted uniquely to Wexford, the outcry from high schools everywhere would be deafening.
Of greater concern is that the Wexford videos didn’t appear to be simply demos to make their case. An article from the CBC says, “They’ve [Wexford] already performed an unauthorized presentation of material from the show, parts of which were captured on video.” So there’s more than what YouTubers were seeing? How much of Hamilton was staged at Wexford?
The CBC spoke with the teacher behind the project, Ann Merriam:
“After seeing it the first time, I said to myself, ‘I’m going to see it again, I’m going to tell everyone I know to see it, and I’m going to introduce it to my kids and school and have them perform it,'” she told CBC News in an interview.
Merriam said her school’s performances of the show were “an unbelievably meaningful” experience for the kids.
This suggests something much fuller was presented at Wexford Collegiate, very possibly violating the copyrights of the very artists whose permission is being sought. It’s one thing to work on numbers from Hamilton in a class, but another if what took place rises to the level of performances, even if only in front of the school’s student body. Whether or not the “performances” were advertised or charged for, Wexford may well have crossed a line, and indeed may be teaching some very bad lessons about respecting copyright, even as they were asking permission to produce the show legitimately.
YouTube takedown notice
As of the evening of June 16, the same day the Wexford videos were first featured by the CBC, they were gone from YouTube, due to a copyright infringement claim. So if the goal was to get their appeal noticed, Merriam and her students succeeded, but not in the way they wanted. Perhaps the videos were scooped up preemptively by automated copyright protection services, but the jury’s out.
If much time and money were spent to produce this elaborate pitch, one can’t help but be concerned about the wisdom of the effort at all, both in the allocation of resources and the precedent of performing too much of the material to which the school was apparently fully aware it didn’t have the rights. If either Merriam or the CBC overstated what was actually performed, that’s unfortunate, but since the videos were not parodies or amateurish tributes by a handful of fans, they possibly went too far as recorded material. Arts Integrity both called and e-mailed Merriam before 11 am on the 16th, while the videos were still available, for more clarity on the project, but neither inquiry received a response.
Lin-Manuel Miranda has already said how much he looks forward to seeing Hamilton done by high school students, and you can’t blame Wexford for trying to be the first. However, in the process, the school became an object lesson for other high schools (or any theatre group) thinking of similar gambits, with Hamilton or any show not yet available for licensing. Artists control and are compensated from the works they create through copyright, and violating it is not the way to plead your case.
But Howard…why is it that other high schools in the US have had videos posted for 7 months with over 200,000 views and their videos have remained online? Can you include those schools in your condemnation of copyright violation please? Or perhaps hunt them down yourself and send them to the Hamilton legal team? Only fair.
Hi Jerry, it looks to me like you probably mean the Musicality Cover or maybe Range A Capella’s videos on youtube. If I’m remembering US copyright laws correctly, there is a mandatory licensing right for covers of songs, which means that if you want to record a cover of someone else’s copyrighted songs, they can’t stop you. You also only have to pay a licensing fee for that cover if you then monetize the cover- sell downloads of it for example. The fact that the videos are posted to youtube or have ads on them dont necessarily mean that the groups have monetized them either, because on youtube, the copyright holders of material used in videos that they (the copyright holders) didnt upload to youtube have the option of selecting to have the revenue from the video forwarded to them rather than just completely taken down.
From what I’ve seen, those videos with so many views are more like straight covers of the songs- the costumes, set, lighting, etc. aren’t very similar to the staged version of hamilton. I would assume this accounts for the difference in treatment! 🙂
But Howard…why is it that other high schools in the US have had videos posted for 7 months with over 200,000 views and their videos have remained online? Can you include those schools in your condemnation of copyright violation please? Or perhaps hunt them down yourself and send them to the Hamilton legal team? Only fair.
Hi Jerry, it looks to me like you probably mean the Musicality Cover or maybe Range A Capella’s videos on youtube. If I’m remembering US copyright laws correctly, there is a mandatory licensing right for covers of songs, which means that if you want to record a cover of someone else’s copyrighted songs, they can’t stop you. You also only have to pay a licensing fee for that cover if you then monetize the cover- sell downloads of it for example. The fact that the videos are posted to youtube or have ads on them dont necessarily mean that the groups have monetized them either, because on youtube, the copyright holders of material used in videos that they (the copyright holders) didnt upload to youtube have the option of selecting to have the revenue from the video forwarded to them rather than just completely taken down.
From what I’ve seen, those videos with so many views are more like straight covers of the songs- the costumes, set, lighting, etc. aren’t very similar to the staged version of hamilton. I would assume this accounts for the difference in treatment! 🙂
I agree 100% with the author. I have seen this school perform some numbers on a local television station and thought at the time that there was no way they could get the rights to do the show. Try to perform “Annie” without the rights and see how fast Music Theatre International comes after you for rights fees, never mind the largest grossing musical in years.
I agree 100% with the author. I have seen this school perform some numbers on a local television station and thought at the time that there was no way they could get the rights to do the show. Try to perform “Annie” without the rights and see how fast Music Theatre International comes after you for rights fees, never mind the largest grossing musical in years.
They performed an entire 30-minute set (costumes, staging, etc) as the “guest group” at the Show Choir Canada nationals this year.
They performed an entire 30-minute set (costumes, staging, etc) as the “guest group” at the Show Choir Canada nationals this year.
Couldn’t agree with Jerry more!!! Everyone seems to be attacking this school or Anne Merriam! 1st off yes maybe there is a problem but really hasn’t been stated as to why! It’s just speculation at this point as far as l know! I just think everyone is pissed at the fact they even had the balls to try!!! And on behalf of Wexford the whole M/T Teachers they care deeply about there students and there teachings,and I believe they would not step outside of there boundaries in there efforts in obtaining rights!! And I for one hope they are able to achieve this! If any school could carry this show out it would without a doubt be Wexford!! and give it such a performance it would make your head spin and make ‘ Hamilton’ proud! And all of Toronto stand up and take notice! to there professionalism, commitment! And in bringing what diversity this show has to offer! and this school has it!! so please let’s not jump on the hate wagon, but maybe rally around it in there efforts if not for the school the kids who put there hearts and souls into this production and how much it means to them!!!
Couldn’t agree with Jerry more!!! Everyone seems to be attacking this school or Anne Merriam! 1st off yes maybe there is a problem but really hasn’t been stated as to why! It’s just speculation at this point as far as l know! I just think everyone is pissed at the fact they even had the balls to try!!! And on behalf of Wexford the whole M/T Teachers they care deeply about there students and there teachings,and I believe they would not step outside of there boundaries in there efforts in obtaining rights!! And I for one hope they are able to achieve this! If any school could carry this show out it would without a doubt be Wexford!! and give it such a performance it would make your head spin and make ‘ Hamilton’ proud! And all of Toronto stand up and take notice! to there professionalism, commitment! And in bringing what diversity this show has to offer! and this school has it!! so please let’s not jump on the hate wagon, but maybe rally around it in there efforts if not for the school the kids who put there hearts and souls into this production and how much it means to them!!!
We all should be praising the example set by the team of teachers for these hugely talented group of Wexford students, and, in fact, to everyone else – to think outside the box, and regardless of the odds that might be stacked up against you, to always follow your heart and peruse your dreams.
Well, no. We should not be praising their theft of someone’s intellectual property. In an educational theatre setting, the very first thing that should be taught is respect for other artists.
Absolutely, respect for other artists is extremely important, and theft is a very serious charge. Which is why the very first thing the teacher in question did was to seek legal advice about having her students present excerpts from this show. The legal advice received allowed her to present excerpts from “Hamilton” under very specific conditions, which were followed to the letter. While there may be legitimate differences of opinion about the quality of the legal advice Wexford received, at no time was “theft” — or a lack of respect for the originating artist — part of the equation.
Not that you’d know that, mind you, from reading this particular poorly-researched article.
The teachers have to teach responsible use of arts. They have clearly gone over the line. They should not be praised.
Agreed. They should have known better regarding copyright rules. This is not only a hard lesson for students to learn respect of intellectual property but this is also an opportunity to be educated about the other side. All artists should learn about copyright rules to protect their own work in the future.
It’s a lesson I had to learn the hard way.
We all should be praising the example set by the team of teachers for these hugely talented group of Wexford students, and, in fact, to everyone else – to think outside the box, and regardless of the odds that might be stacked up against you, to always follow your heart and peruse your dreams.
Well, no. We should not be praising their theft of someone’s intellectual property. In an educational theatre setting, the very first thing that should be taught is respect for other artists.
Absolutely, respect for other artists is extremely important, and theft is a very serious charge. Which is why the very first thing the teacher in question did was to seek legal advice about having her students present excerpts from this show. The legal advice received allowed her to present excerpts from “Hamilton” under very specific conditions, which were followed to the letter. While there may be legitimate differences of opinion about the quality of the legal advice Wexford received, at no time was “theft” — or a lack of respect for the originating artist — part of the equation.
Not that you’d know that, mind you, from reading this particular poorly-researched article.
The teachers have to teach responsible use of arts. They have clearly gone over the line. They should not be praised.
Agreed. They should have known better regarding copyright rules. This is not only a hard lesson for students to learn respect of intellectual property but this is also an opportunity to be educated about the other side. All artists should learn about copyright rules to protect their own work in the future.
It’s a lesson I had to learn the hard way.
[…] involved, the musical performances have already been removed from YouTube, and online commentators, such as Howard Sherman from Arts Integrity, called out Wexford Collegiate for infringing copyright. However, the situation is more nuanced […]
[…] involved, the musical performances have already been removed from YouTube, and online commentators, such as Howard Sherman from Arts Integrity, called out Wexford Collegiate for infringing copyright. However, the situation is more nuanced […]
A valuable contribution to the conversation from Toronto intellectual property attorney Adam Jacobs of Hayes eLaw https://hayeselaw.wordpress.com/2016/06/20/wexford-collegiate-v-hamilton-understanding-grand-and-small-rights/
A valuable contribution to the conversation from Toronto intellectual property attorney Adam Jacobs of Hayes eLaw https://hayeselaw.wordpress.com/2016/06/20/wexford-collegiate-v-hamilton-understanding-grand-and-small-rights/
[…] performance rights to Hamilton, Wexford Collegiate School of the Arts’s Hamilton videos drew a great deal attention earlier this month, perhaps as much for being pulled from YouTube than from their short life online. A CBC video […]
[…] performance rights to Hamilton, Wexford Collegiate School of the Arts’s Hamilton videos drew a great deal attention earlier this month, perhaps as much for being pulled from YouTube than from their short life online. A CBC video […]