Can't Stand Jack Contest Results show 1/27/46

[mackdaddyg]

Every version I have heard of this episode is from the same damaged disc, and as a result the last few minutes has a bunch of skips that makes the show almost unlistenable.

Does anybody know if a better version of this show exists anywhere?

Thanks.

[Jack Benny]

This one sounds ok, but I'm not sure.

http://thesmallhousehalfwayupinthenextb ... inners.mp3

[helloagain]

I find quite a few Benny shows that are of poor sound quality. I purchase other old radio shows from a company in Washington state called Radio Archives. They do a superb job of restoring old shows to their maximum fidelity. I asked them why they don't restore the Benny shows and I received this reply:
"We have a ton of Benny transcription discs but we don't have the rights to the show. Unless this changes in the future, we will never release any Jack Benny shows. I wish we did, the audio quality we can get out of the source transcription disks is simply amazing"
What gives?? Who owns the rights and why don't they want them to be restored?

[mackdaddyg]

I really find that odd, since so many other companies have released Jack Benny shows over the years. In addition, the fact that so many are posted at places like archive.org, you would think copyright holders would make 'em remove the files from the website.

By any chance, does Radio Archives know who owns the rights, or are they just playing it safe and assuming that somebody must own the rights?

[helloagain]

I really don't know. I replied to this comment by noting that many companies have countless CDs for sale on EBay and elsewhere, and that I assumed that these old shows were public domain. They sent me the following reply:

That's pretty funny. Just because collector wish it were so, I guess they have talked themselves into it. Lawyers leave them alone only because of the 'blood out of a turnip' theory. If a collector has assets they may start getting the same mail that we do.

I don't understand why collectors believe that Radio is somehow exempt. No other media has these 'special exempt rights'.

Even 78s are protected by copyright and will be for something like another 25 years.

Back to your original question. If we had the rights we would love to release a Jack Benny set. In the meantime the only legal source is Radio Spirits. They have recently renewed the five year agreement with Jack Benny Enterprises, Inc.

[Jack Benny]

I really don't know. I replied to this comment by noting that many companies have countless CDs for sale on EBay and elsewhere, and that I assumed that these old shows were public domain. They sent me the following reply:

That's pretty funny. Just because collector wish it were so, I guess they have talked themselves into it. Lawyers leave them alone only because of the 'blood out of a turnip' theory. If a collector has assets they may start getting the same mail that we do.

I don't understand why collectors believe that Radio is somehow exempt. No other media has these 'special exempt rights'.

Even 78s are protected by copyright and will be for something like another 25 years.

Back to your original question. If we had the rights we would love to release a Jack Benny set. In the meantime the only legal source is Radio Spirits. They have recently renewed the five year agreement with Jack Benny Enterprises, Inc.

That's so strange, how do they do the Shadow and Fibber McGee and Molly then? I don't get it?

[helloagain]

I don't get it, either. Can anyone shed some light on this?

[shimp scrampi]

The rights to the radio show are held by the Benny estate - basically Joan Benny and the grandkids. The Radio Spirits shows are indeed licensed and legit; this club operates with the approval of the estate too - so the official, above-the-board copies of the show are either here at the IJBFC or from Radio Spirits.

As for the other millions of copies out there, yeah, it's pretty much the blood from a turnip, combined with a little whack-a-mole argument. You could sue an e-bay dealer or a small-time online site, but then there's another one sprouting up to take its place, and the financial incentive for that fight, I'm guessing, just isn't there.

[mackdaddyg]

How enlightening! I didn't realize that the Benny estate still had a stake in this stuff. I'm glad they're making some money off of them, but to be honest, I have found Radio Spirits to be a bit too pricey to buy much from them.

That being said, if the Benny estate tried to sell shows directly (for hopefully less $$), I would definitely buy from them.

Considering this information, does that mean that Radio Spirits is the only one allowed to even consider selling Jack Benny's shows? In other words, could other companies attempt to obtain rights as well, or is there some sort of clause saying that the Benny estate will only work with Radio Spirits? I wonder how much the rights do cost.....

[helloagain]

I'm getting an education here on the legal aspects of these shows. I still would like to know why the Benny estate would not want these shows to be restored and preserved for future generations. If they just keep copying them over and over, the sound quality is bound to deteriorate.

[shimp scrampi]

I still would like to know why the Benny estate would not want these shows to be restored and preserved for future generations. If they just keep copying them over and over, the sound quality is bound to deteriorate.

The estate doesn't curate any materials, nor are they in the business of audio restoration. The bulk of Jack's collections, including transcription discs, are properly archived and cared for at UCLA and the AHC facility in Laramie (Laura will please step in if I'm wrong on this) I'd say it's more in things like Joan writing SUNDAY NIGHTS AT SEVEN, and the encouragement of the club (including the audio library) that they keep Jack's memory alive.

Radio Spirits is certainly to be commended for doing the right thing in properly licensing the shows when so many others don't, and I've heard them do some fantastic audio restorations. Ditto also to those OTR dealers like Radio Archives who do their best to respect copyright in an often very murky area.