When I rolled on to the internet on Sunday morning my Facebook feed was blowing up with ire. It seems that EMI records have taken offense with Now That's What I Call Steampunk, Vol.1, the 2010 release by British steamrockers The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing. EMI has copyright on the name "Now That's What I Call Music" and has also released other compilations under the "Now That's What I Call" moniker. Based on the ensuing commentary on the band's facebook page, loyal fans didn't take this development very kindly.
I contacted the band to get the facts. TMTWNBBFN guitarist and Occult Comedian, Andrew O'Neill gave me the story via e-mail.
Wilhelmina Frame: Who contacted you?
Andrew O'Neill: It came to us through Tunecore (The Men's digital distributor). They had received the notification. It was from EMI. They basically said we have seven days to change the album title and artwork depicting the title. It automatically got taken off iTunes.
WF: What was their issue?
AO: EMI owns the name "Now That's What I Call Music". They have also put out other compilations using that phrase, such as "Now That's What I Call Christmas". They own the copyright for that phrase.
WF: So they get the album pulled from iTunes?
AO: Yes.
WF: What is the band's response?
AO: Well, being an independent band we can't afford a legal battle with a huge multinational media corporation. So we are changing the album name to The Steampunk Album That Cannot Be Named For Legal Reasons which is a riff on an idea I used in my stand-up a couple of years ago. (Search for Occult Comedian on YouTube.)
WF: Is the album back on iTunes? (I checked and I was still able to find the album in its original form on Amazon and The Men's Bandcamp site.)
AO: Not yet, but it will be shortly.
WF: Will you do a Sex Pistols cover?
AO: We have already done God Save The Queen, so EMI would be an obvious follow-up at our next gig!
WF: Anything else you want to add?
AO: Companies like EMI think people are stupid. Which is obvious from the shit they peddle to the public. We, on the other hand, work on the assumption that people are clever enough to appreciate irony and pastiche when they see it. The simple fact that it is a record BY A BAND, not a compilation, should be obvious. But we have to accept that the world is not run for people like us, and the law is stacked in the favour of the multinationals.
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Needless to say, from where I'm standing this looks like another corporate music industry land grab. I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for EMI to release their own Steampunk music comp under the "Now That's" umbrella. Still, publicity is publicity so I hope TMTWNBBFN get some new sales and fans as a positive by product of this. It seems perfect timing then that EMI decided to take offense just before the upcoming release of This May Be The Reason Why The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing Cannot Be Killed By Conventional Weapons, The Men's latest album. It's currently available to pre-order NOW from
It will be released on March 12th, and The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing will be playing the album in full at the launch party on 17th February.
Opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Steampunk Chronicle.
Editrix de Mode, Wilhelmina Frame travels the globe in pursuit of adventure and style. When not in the circus ring with Rajah, her tiger and the rest of her kitten kabal (seven lions, three cheetahs and a rather droll panther), Ms. Frame can be seen at the most fabulous parties, in the latest fashions, sparkling with wit in conversation. Ms. Frame's alter-ego, Gretchen Jacobsen, is a freelance producer, self taught costumer and prolific crafter. You can follow her @ptliontamer on Twitter. She sings quite well also.