Good Copy Bad Copy confirmed that there is an active conversation about copyright. That is a good thing. I have to share a true story with you. I lived in Ghana (West Africa) for three years where I managed an international Jazz club. We paid an annual fee to the National Copyright office there. Supposedly, that fee gave us permission to play all of the copyrighted music performed in the club for that year. I thought it was interesting that no one ever asked us for our playlist for the year or anything. I finally concluded that the fee was to pay the light bill at the copyright office opposed to feeding into some international fund that would make sure the Artist was actually paid. The good thing about the experience is that I heard some wonderful original music. There was a strong music industry there. CDs were distributed in local shops as we saw on the Good Copy Bad Copy film. Most promotions were done via the radio stations.
I am not sure American record companies will ever be able to enforce copyright laws for American music illegally downloaded for remix in smaller markets as we saw on the video. One reason is because it is just taking too long to figure out what will really work for everyone right here. Unfortunately, the copyright conversation is still a bunch of blah, blah, blah.
Credit: Image created by Jacqueline Jones using tools at
http://www.toondoo.com/.
Jacqueline,
ReplyDeleteI find it very interesting that you lived in Africa for three years. You are a very well round individual. Your story was very interesting that you had to pay a fee every year to cover yourself on copyright, but the copyright office used it for their gain. I think that kind of goes against everything copyright stands for. I do believe that your are right about catching everyone who breaks copyright. It is almost an impossible job, but we as law abiding citizens should do our best to upload copyright laws. Great post!
-Pam Hickman
@Jacqueline
ReplyDeleteYou used a great example of your personal experience with the National Copyright. I have a similar experience that I have recently observed with my church. We have several musicians who write their own music and one of the songs has become really popular in our community. Another church assumed that they could sing the song during their service so they taught it to their choir. My church has National Copyright licensing as well and I can honestly say that no one is checking to see what songs we are singing, not singing or selling on our cd’s. The musician whose song has gotten pretty local has no copyright for the song but did have a lot of emotions about another church/musician interpreting the song how they want. I think the Copyright issue will be up for debate for awhile as well.
Jacqueline, This is very interesting…. isn’t there a bill or a law, or something that is supposed to pay royalties to artists by radio stations/bars/nightclubs for playing their music? (maybe its Missouri only)
ReplyDeleteThat would be a disaster!!! I thought the purpose of radio (not XM or SIRUIS) was to give air time to artists so people would hear a song they liked and go buy the record or pay for concert tickets?
However, there is Youtube now (isn’t that how Justin Beiber marketed himself in the beginning?), so maybe it is only a matter of time before that is PAY to use….
I hate to say this out loud folks, but many many, grade school teachers violate copyright practices all the time at the copy machine….is it okay because it is in the name of education? or that school budgets have been cut? Did that book publisher/ author mean to have 200 copies of that published poem printed off? or were 200 books SUPPOSED to be sold? I am just saying….
Hi Pam, Kiylise and Beth!
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right! Artists are the real victims. They are neither paid nor recognized for their works. What type of reports are required of clubs or even churches to ensure the Artist paid? And, if those reports are not filed, what penalties are applicable? Yes, if copyright abusers are caught, they have to face the consequences. But, how many are never caught?
I really like the Creative Commons animated video where the female character threatened to report the male character to the police when she thought he was illegally downloading music. Here is the real question, "what responsibility do we have as law abiding citizens to report these abusers?"
@Jacquline You bring up a good point about where these copy right "fees" are being placed. I agree it is the artists that are being hurt in the processes. The national fees are only helping feed the copyright offices. I find it interesting that you bring up illegal downloads. I always pay for my music but I also have received burned CDs of compilations of different songs on one CD from friends. Who is to say they practice the same practices as me. There really is a gray area when it comes to making CDs for friends from your personal music library. I think it will be an on going battle that will never been stopped.
ReplyDelete@ Jacqueline.
ReplyDeleteYou definitely can offer us first-hand experience on this issue. Sometimes, it's hard to tell where all those fees go and if they are not going into the right hands, well, artists are the ones that get hurt the most. Yet, even if there were no illegal sharing of material, I wonder if the artists themselves would make more money, it seems that a large sum of what we pay when we buy a CD goes to the label and not all to the artist. I think that we need to redesign the way we acknowledge ownership and the way we go about sharing so that the artist or creator gets the most out of it and, at the same time, allows for freedom to edit and create beyond our wildest imagination, don't you think?
Thanks so much for sharing your experiences. It's great to remember that the US is not the world. Ack.
ReplyDelete