Wk1 Reading: Copyright Issues

Welcome all my loyal readers!  I am back and hear to talk to you about copyright!

My first basic understanding about copyright happened I was 19 and started a college a cappella group named “Not Too Sharp.”  We made an album and we contacted Harry Fox to get all the permissions to record our own a cappella versions of well-known songs.  The overall cost for permission was not that bad once our CD’s started selling however it made me ponder copyright laws and how many people break them. 

I am sure that every person has a friend or family member who has broken copyright laws before.  Most people are not educated about copyright laws or they simply don’t care.  Right now digital natives are lifting, manipulating and organizing samples of others work to create their own artistic interpretation.  Is this really wrong?  The answer is yes under United States Copyright Laws.  I was amazed to recently learn that some other countries do not have copyright laws.  Artist’s in these countries are allowed to sample music and make remix’s of others work.  They are also allowed to record it and distribute it for a profit.  So why does the U.S. have such strict copyright laws?

Copyright laws were made to protect artists however some artists don’t mind others using their content.  Creative commons is a company that is ready to evolve the current copyright laws by allowing artists to specify what licenses the public can have for free. Click here to check out the different licenses they offer. Creative commons gives artists the freedom to sample, mix and create legal forms of art.  The revolution of digital media sharing cannot be stopped but having a better understanding about the copyright laws and using copyright free material will keep you safe from getting in trouble.

I really enjoyed all of the recent videos that I have watched about copyright laws.  They have really given me a better understanding about how the laws work and the current struggles the government has about enforcing the copyright laws.  No matter where you stand on copyright laws it is obvious that a change needs to be made due to the digital era of file sharing that we live in.  Hopefully Creative Commons will help begin the reshaping of current copyright laws and allow for a better way to share digital content.