So, apparently it’s not ok to “song jack”. That’s been proclaimed many, many times in the comments of web edits posted on sites like let’s say… TheComeUp, for example.

I believe the definition of “song jacking” is to use a song that have been used previously for a video section/web edit which I guess is fair enough — to an extent. Let’s say there’s a rider out there who had his whole career or image defined by one or a couple of video sections. Sections that have turned into classics or untouchable masterpieces of epicness, then I do think it’s a good idea not to use that song in a new edit. But who’s going to define if the song belongs to a “classic” or “off limits” edit?

Just like with most things, it can be taken too far. Recently I’ve been seeing posts about how BMX web edits have “song jacked” a skate video. Or “song jacked” another obscure BMX web edit. Ok… so we’re going across sports now, and also including every single web edit ever made? In other words, to make a web edit nowadays you have to know about skate videos and skate web edits as well as all the BMX edits and DVD’s that come out?

Let’s think about it for a moment… a huge number of edits being put out every week and all of these have to use a different song to not be “song jackers”. Then the occasional DVD comes out (not to speak of all the ones that are already out, and all the VHS releases back in the day) and a full skate or BMX video uses let’s say 8 – 10 songs on average. Add all this up, just over a year, and you have an insane number of songs that you absolutely have to know are already “taken”, before even attempting to choose a song for your upcoming edit.

Let’s say I would want to make a web edit right now. I have some footage on my computer that I wanna put online. To follow the stipulated “rules” I would first have to ask all my friends if they know if the song I was thinking of using is “tainted”. I would also literally have to go through my entire collection of BMX DVD’s, write down all the songs used and make sure not to use any of those. But I can’t stop there — because I don’t own every single (classic) BMX DVD that has ever been released! I also don’t own one single (classic) Skate DVD…

Allright, time to go shopping. I’ll raid all webshops of every (classic) title they have. That will cost me a nice chunk of money. But what about those (classic) titles that are not even available anymore? Guess I’m gonna have to chase them up as well somehow… then I can go to work on viewing every single (classic) web edit ever put online… this I would have to do, because my friends might not have collectively seen everything (classic) either.

Then we have to know for how long is a song from a (classic) section/edit/part considered to belong to that one edit/section/part? 1 year? 2 years? 5 years? Forever?

I’m guessing I don’t have to go on. You must have realised by now how ridiculous this reasoning is — and yes, I am taking my argument quite far. But unless someone wants to make up a database of all songs that are off limits, then it’s always going to happen occasionally and overreacting is futile. Maybe the anti song jacking crew can get to work on that database. See you in 10 years when you’re finished — then you can get to work on the stuff that has come out after 2009. Good luck!