Good Copy, Bad Copy

Good Copy, Bad Copy effectively highlights the ever-growing paradox that exists within today’s music industry. Copyright essentially exits to protect the unique creations of an artist from replication for profit or distribution. But what happens when the new way of making unique creations is to take other artists’ works and remix and remaster them? Is this new art form a violation of law? The dilemma suggests that the laws that once governed the music industry are in serious need of revamping in order to accommodate the creative freedoms of the present.

Today’s culture is saturated with media. At 2:41 in the film, remix musician Girl Talk suggests that, because of this, “we’ve almost been forced to use [media] as an art form. If people were passing out paints on the street every day…there would be a lot more painters”. We make art out of what we are surrounded by and what we are given. In this age, in which media infiltrates every aspect of our lives, we can’t help but make art out of it. For this generation, it is not seen as a matter of stealing another’s work, as the copyright industry might suggest. Instead, it is merely a matter of artistic expression and freedom.

With the number of free file-sharing websites multiplying daily, the Internet has allowed for more and more information to be shared with the public instantaneously. Later in the film, at 21:43, it is suggested that the file-sharing capabilities that the Internet has allowed for has resulted in “each citizen [being] enriched in a way not seen since the advent of public libraries 150 years ago”. It seems naïve to try to suppress this development—this culture—with the threat of the law. The copyright laws being argued over in this film are antiquated. They fail to understand that online file sharing and open access is the 21^st century equivalent to the library. People have created a public sphere to share what inspires them and what they enjoy with others throughout the world who may reap the same benefits. The Internet has provided a means for these same individuals to share creations of their own. There is no intended wrongdoing. There is no intended stealing. It is instead the issue of a people adapting to a new musical culture that the money-hungry music industry is resisting.

At 36:33 an important point is raised. “There is no indication that consumers mid paying artists…There is plenty of indication that consumers aren’t so happy to pay corporations.” An issue of musical contextuality arises here. In what context does music exist? Is it the context of artists creating music for their fans to enjoy, share, find inspiration in? Or is it a context in which the music industry is signing and producing artists that will bring in money? I’d like to think that it is the former, but the enormous emphasis on copyright laws and copyright infringement seems to say otherwise. As the quote above suggests, people would most likely have no problem supporting the musicians that they love if they knew for sure that their money was going directly to that musician. This, however, is not the case. It is widely known how money-hungry the industry is and this is not something that the people want to have a part in. For this reason, so many people feel no guilt for pirating music. They see it, instead, as an art form to which they deserve access.

Perhaps, if music existed in this more idealistic context, one in which music is created solely to inspire, these copyright issues would not be relevant. This is the context that the 21^st century open access trend is already operating in. It is just the law and the industry that continue to pull back. The fact of the matter, as the film presents, is that infinite resources exist for this file sharing to continue, as they should. People are going to continue exercising what they believe is their right to this artistic consumption and reproduction regardless of what steps are taken by the oppressors. No matter which side of the debate you stand on, this is a fact. The artistic world is changing and everyone must adapt accordingly.