120 (document WIPO/GRTKF/IC/9/14 PROV 2).In 1961, Pete Seeger, long the flagship artist of the tiny independent Folkways Records label, signed to the major label Columbia Records. Seeger are taken from the Report of the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore’s Ninth Session, held in Geneva, from April 24 to 28, 2006, par. The IGC will hold its 26th session from February 3 to 7, 2014. These cultural expressions, together with traditional knowledge and genetic resources, make up the themes currently addressed in the IGC. Seeger, folk music was a vibrant heritage and the festivals, record labels, and publications he founded were a testament to this living body of traditional cultural expressions. The royalties are now split 50-50, with half the royalties going to the Ubuntu Fund for libraries and scholarships for Xhosa children near Port Elizabeth, in southeast South Africa.”įor Mr. Why not try to start solving it? I had been collecting book and record royalties for ‘Abiyoyo’, a children's story I made up in 1952. Seeger told the IGC “When I learned the story of how little royalties for the song ‘Mbube’ (‘Wimoweh’ in the USA) had gone to the African author, Solomon Linda, I realized that this was a worldwide problem. Seeger’s mishearing of “Mbube,” composed by South African Solomon Linda). In the 1950s, his group the Weavers recorded a South African song, “Wimoweh” (the title was Mr. Seeger believed in giving back to communities where his work had its roots.

He stated in the IGC: “To ensure traditions kept vital and alive new generations to be introduced to them in a way that honor the music itself as well as those who maintained its highest forms of expression.” Giving back to the communities He saw the need to revive folk traditions, balanced with respect for those who had maintained them. Seeger’s copyrighted compositions drew from traditional songs. Seeger and I then had a number of conversations, and I was struck by his commitment to musicians from disadvantaged backgrounds and communities and his determination that royalties should flow back to the original composers.”

Wend Wendland, Director of WIPO’s Traditional Knowledge Division, recalls: “Mr. Callahan, a musician speaking as a representative of Music in Common, an accredited observer to the IGC, built upon Seeger’s then-novel ideas for a United Nations Public Domain Commission to share royalties of copyrighted folk songs with the “place and people where the song originated.” 1 Seeger had prepared was presented to the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC), 9th session, by Mat Callahan. Pete Seeger at book launching-signing event in Manhattan, 2012 (Photo: Asterio Tesco) Seeger's words to WIPOĮven our work here at WIPO caught Mr. Less well known, however, was his advocacy on behalf of indigenous peoples and local communities around the world who seek better control over their traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expressions and genetic resources. Grammy winner, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, civil-rights activist and folklorist par excellence: Mr. GENEVA - When venerable American folk artist Pete Seeger died recently, our world lost a musical virtuoso famed for original compositions like “If I Had a Hammer,” as well as renditions of classics like “Home on the Range” that connected newer generations with their cultural heritage.

Wimoweh pete seeger