Thursday 27 December 2007

Why has Sandstorm reappeared on YouTube?

Just to set the record straight, Sandstorm has reappeared on YouTube because Johnny's widow has graciously agreed to raise no objection to it being there, subject to certain provisions which I have gladly agreed to.

I also believe that she should have an opportunity to put her point of view directly and have copied an email received from her which does that very eloquently.

The video was actually removed by YouTube themselves following Sonja's complaint.

It is sad that people misunderstand the obligations I have (and my husband had).Neither my husband nor I ever lived in riches, because of people taking his music and his name without authorization since he was a teenager - and not much has changed since then!
Only a few musicians can make a living without another side job. My husband John was a music pro, he made a living with his music. That was his life, his love and his ONLY occupation, which is why he brought it to perfection! A job he tremendously enjoyed, but that job needed to feed his family, pay the car insurance, pay the mortage etc. A professional musicians has no second leg to stand on, and most, like my late husband, can hardly make a living with it. If it weren't for my job and the kennel we ran, he would have had to quit music years ago - so far about being money grabbing!!
Maybe people can understand this, if you think of your own job: You do it, you like it (hopefully) - but just because you like it and people are happy with your service or product - you still have to make a living, right? Especially if you have only ONE job!
I did not ask Alan to take the video off. I did not ask him for money to use the name! I asked him not to use the trademark name without written authorization.
If somebody wants to ride your bike, you also would at least like to be asked for permission - I assume!?
Strangely when it comes to any form of art, people change their views, as if a car mechanic has more rights to get paid for his job then a musician for his product or time. But maybe only the families of professional musicians can understand what that means. If a man devotes as much time to music as my husband did in his life, there is not time for much else, not even for another job to pay the living expenses for a family. My husband, like many other musicians, was a family man too, with obligations to take care of his family, and that obligation fell upon me now.
It is hard enough to be a widow, harder to be a widow of a famous man that still needs to stand up for herself and her family like her deceased husband would have done, because fame and money do not always go hand in hand...
John was not just a musician, he was a family man, and I have to be the man in the house now that he is gone. If people do not understand my obligation, it is too sad, but there is nothing else I can do...But all this is straying from the subject.
Again: I never asked Alan to take the video off, I simply asked him to respect the fact that Johnny and the Hurricanes is a trademark protected name, and that it will be (also in the UK and the rest of Europe) for the following 10 years, when the next renewal is up.

Sonja Paris
widow of Johnny Paris (Johnny and the Hurricanes)

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