Everyone downloads or has downloaded free music at some point in his/her life. Even rappers and hip hop producers do it in a way by sampling songs. I remember listening to J. Cole's newest album and in the credits he talks about how hard it is to get permission to sample music. He says he thinks it shouldn't be that difficult, that if he wants to sample something and he's willing to pay something for it, why shouldn't he be able to use it however he would like? Those artists put that music out and inspired people with it so why should people not be able to inspire others using what inspired them?
I found the whole film to be pretty informative and instructive in terms of creativity and copyright law, but there were definitely some moments that especially stood out for me. The first would be watching Girl Talk talk about his stance on sampling and filesharing (2:09). I really like Girl Talk and I've watched a documentary similar to this one which was focused almost solely on Girl Talk and his dilemmas with current copyright law. I liked what he said in this film about how he thinks people are starting to realize that he isn't trying to hurt anyone, and he's not hurting anyone, he's actually helping people in a sense. People love his music. And it's not as if his music lacks creativity. He was inspired by a hundred different artists, so why shouldn't he be able to work with what inspired him? He says "Why go after someone who's clearly just trying to make music?" which makes complete sense to me. There's plenty of crime in the world that deserves more attention than catching a person attempting to use a Beatles song in their work of art.
Another part that stands out for me is the interview with Lawrence Lessig (22:24). I studied Lawrence Lessig in WEPO and have watched him in several other films and think his stance on copyright law is reasonable and intelligent. He admits that he fully acknowledges the use/need for copyright law, yet he thinks it, "has become so expansive and powerful that it inhibits creativity." I think this was exactly what Ridolfo and Rife were trying to get at in "Rhetorical Velocity and Copyright". Copyright can be good, as it is a means of protecting one's ethos and being able to somewhat control what happens to what you create and put out into the world. But the way the laws are currently set up as well as the vagueness with regard to what is and what isn't protected need to be fixed in order to form a more concrete definition of textuality.
Lastly, there is a part at the end of the film where Danger Mouse is talking about how he is excited for the direction things are going in but he feels like he needs to make everything happen very quickly because he's worried what's happening with copyright issues might screw up the music side of the industry (52:46). Artists shouldn't feel like this about the industry they're a part of. People shouldn't be afraid to create music. I think this really speaks to a need for change in copyright law, more so than anything else.
Jordan,
ReplyDeleteI also have seen that documentary on Girl Talk and was also able to build on that previous knowledge and apply it to this film and the context of this class. I wanted to add to your comments about Girl Talk that he also notes in the film that he wants to give the artists credit for their work and that it is not his intention to "steal" it away from them. But in order to give them the proper credit that copyright law enforces, he would need millions of dollars and years of law suits to properly abide by these regulations. I think this says a lot about how flawed copyright law really is. Our society is constantly changing, and with that the industries in which drive the pop culture in it are ever evolving. In return, it would make sense that the laws governing these large industries would parallel these changes.
We are seeing two elements come into play in this film: copyright and creativity. In a perfect world, these two could live harmoniously together but instead we are seeing a society, or rather a global movement, where they live together but there is no balance or harmony between the two. I agree with you and Lawrence Lessig's stance on copyright law that there definitely needs to be a change. As far as what this change should be and when it should take place is difficult for me to say. On one hand we see artists such as Danger Mouse feeling the pressure to make music now before these copyright issues have a negative influence on the music industry. On the other hand, I find it hard to believe that this will inhibit and discourage creativity completely. As it was brought up in the movie, even if someone where to shut down all the filesharing sites in Russia or in the Pacific, they would show up somewhere else in the world. It is difficult to contain and I think those dealing with copyright have realized that now.