Steven Black wrote:
> On Tue, Feb 03, 2009 at 11:58:33AM -0500, Joe Auty wrote:
>>> I realized that fundamental tenants of freedom were seeping in to other
>>> areas of my life when I realized I was actually willing to not listen to
>>> music not licensed in a manner I was comfortable with.
>> Just what are your "fundamental tenants of freedom", Steven? Is it your
>> right to decide on behalf of the author how much their work is worth?
>
> No, no. I am quite opposed to violating copyright. It is the author's
> choice as to how they license the product. It is my choice as to whether
> I purchase the product. Nothing gives me the right to violate the
> copyright or the license. If I don't like the license, I have the choice
> as to whether to purchase it (and accept the license) or to pick another
> option.
>
> I was speaking of how the four tenants of free software have infiltrated
> the rest of my life:
>
> 1. The freedom to run the program for any purpose
> 2. The freedom to study and adapt the source code
> 3. The freedom to redistribute the program
> 4. The freedom to improve the program and release
>
> With regards to music, freedom #3 is the one that bothers people the
> most. The ability to share the music with friends, family and your other
> devices.
>
> However if the music industry was like the software industry, it would
> be illegal to adapt riffs or even chords from one song and use them in
> a song of your own. It would most certainly be illegal to practice a
> commercial song. (This would be freedom #2.)
>
> Freedom #1 also doesn't exist in the music industry with traditional
> copyright, as you need to pay careful attention to licensing of the
> music played at commercial establishments. This one doesn't impact me
> simply because I don't own a commercial establishment. While the RIAA
> have repeated tried to make it illegal to make mix tapes, it isn't
> realisticly possible. If such things became illegal, this freedom would
> also impact people more.
>
> Freedom #4 exists with some of the Creative Commons licenses. I've heard
> that NiN's "the slip" album is available in separate tracks so DJs (and
> other folks) can remix it. I've heard such things are available for some
> of the Magnatune artists, too. (Though I don't know how the NiN folks
> have done the licensing for that. It is an example of where that freedom
> becomes important to people.)
>
The whole mixing thing is where it gets interesting, isn't it? I like a
lot of Lawrence Lessig's ideas, but I wonder if these are generally more
applicable in a few specific areas?
The mixing/remixing stuff really seems like a phenomenon of the digital
era and so called "New Media". This whole idiom thrives around mixing
and remixing, and seems to be where these ideas fit the best. However, I
wonder if at times too much effort is made to sort of shoehorn them into
other artistic areas as well?
For instance, if I wrote this great commissioned piece of symphonic
music today, I don't think I'd want Joe Sixpack trying to remix it. Not
only would it probably not work very well, but I wouldn't want my music
being identifiable in any form but its original intended form. This
artwork is extremely precise and specific with how it is structured and
how it is intended to sound, as opposed to some music that is sort of
more conceptual and open-ended. I would be even more opposed if this
person managed to make a lot of money from my work in this context,
hypothetically speaking...
I know this is a very vague and lame example, but my point is that some
works just scream mixing and remixing, while others don't. I don't think
that we can just try to apply our ideological opinions about what works
for certain digital works to art in general. It varies, and ultimately I
feel that it should be at the discretion of the artist, like you said.
What I like about the CC licenses is that it gives artists the ability
to choose whether they want their art to be mixed, as I understand them.
Artists should be made aware of these sorts of options and made aware as
to the benefits of evolving and mutating ideas in the hands of the
world, but sometimes I feel that these ideas are meant to represent a
complete replacement for the old ways, where sometimes the old ways may
still be best.
> Cheers,
>
>
>
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--
Joe Auty
NetMusician: web publishing software for musicians
http://www.netmusician.org
joe@netmusician.org
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