Article: The sounds of silence. (Ragtag).(legal battle between recordings of silence by John Cage and Mike Batt)

Silence is golden. Now more than ever, it pays to be quiet, or careful what you don't say, or more to the point, with whom you don't say it and how you credit one's silent partner. Confusing? Let me try to explain. For those of you knee deep in the Internet music-sharing tug of war, this wee tale is a refreshing throwback to the halcyon days when songwriters, publishers and lawyers mixed it up the old-fashioned way.

To set the stage, back in 1952 the avant-garde American composer John Cage wrote a memorable, if not hum-able composition, "4'33"" (pronounced four minutes, thirty-three seconds) a notorious piece--that was totally silent. When pianist David Tudor ...

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