David’s Original Post:
MAC Week 1 Blog Reading: Copyright Issues, parts 1-3,
information overload
EDM Week1 Blog
The copyright laws have been an issue that I must say I
don’t always understand. The EMDT program has made this issue a lot clearer in
my mind. The first section of this weeks “reading/Videos” made it clear of what
the basic concepts of the present copyright laws are. I always knew that if it
was a fixed work, such as a book, play, or music then you could not use it with
out permission. Now having said that, did I always live by that rule. Some of
you know that I am a barbershopper and I have been singing that genre for 31
years. Barbershop music is one of the four original art forms, so its roots
come from as far back as African slave music. As the genre came into full
swing, the music was about songs that were simple and were known to everyone.
The harmonies are based on 7 chords, so were arrangements always written down?
NO they were not, and those that were, many were passed around. I started in
1979 and that was still going on, not because we did not respect the arranger
and composer, it was the urge to make it better. Now all of that has changed,
and arrangers/composers are there to help you. They arrange for you, and give
you permission to sing their songs. The whole music scene in Brazil!! I had no
clue that was going on, I had to watch it twice so I could fully understand
what was going on. Perhaps it is my age, but I did not know anything about the
remixing of songs. It makes sense after watching the video twice, and with
laptops like a Mac Pro it is clear how it is done.
The concept of Fair Use really seems to be something that I
am not sure that I want to cross that line. The opening is very small. I love
how the video said that if you can teach the lesson with out the copyrighted
material then don’t use it. I can see using small clips here and there, but in
the end I would be more comfortable having permission. The eye opening moment
for me was seeing historical videos that are not available any more because of
the copyright laws. Part of our history is lost, and I think that is a shame.
Where should we go with all of this copyright talk? The section on Creative
Commons makes perfect sense to me. It gives the creator the flexibility to
share the work on his/her terms. Sharing allows for more to be created from
anyone, and the original can get better and better. It is a win, win situation
if you ask me.
My comments:
David, you and I are in the same boat when it comes to
knowing the copyright laws of this world.
I too had heard the basics, but not the small print. It’s pretty obvious that there is a
problem. The question is how do we fix
it or at least attempt to make a difference.
I also understand you when you mention how you’ve sung songs for a while
without really thinking about doing harm, I sing at church every Sunday and use
songs from various artists. I wonder if
we have something in place that protects us from using other’s songs. I’m going to make sure to ask. Maybe their songs fall under the creative commons
and we are just allowed to use them but not make any money from them. Now I put it this way, give everyone credit,
respect his or her original work, and making money shouldn’t even be an option.
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