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RE: [microsound] Re:Whitney Spears



Some off the cuff, open-source remarks from me:

I was going to get all long-winded, but I'm not sure I could make my points
much clearer.  I agree with Mark: the artists need to take responsibility
for their music and their craft.  I don't agree with how the big labels
handle artists, but if they sign a contract with an evil record label, then
they get what they deserve.  This has long been a discussion in comic books,
with Frank Miller and Dave Sim being the most vocal on the promotion of
creator-owned comics (not to deny the hords of independently published
comics and zines, which are of course, walking the walk).  The big
publishers (DC and Marvel) and the big distributor (Diamond) are not unlike
the big labels, and in fact, are part of the same companies who make the
list shudder with primal rage.

I find it disturbing that there isn't more talk on creator's rights when it
comes to the discussion of mp3s.  It seems to me that the companies are
interested in exclusive rights to a library of music that they can
distribute and redistribute as they see fit.  The licensing for artists is
pathetic and the artists go right along with it.  I think that artists
should consider the publishers they sign with and examine their licensing
options far more studiously than they do.

An open-source model for musical works would be one possible way of
propelling both the artists rights, and would not deny them the ability to
make money on a published work (pragmatic necessities of a capitalist
society).  Let's say, an open source mp3 allows everyone to listen to the
music, but doesn't offer the quality or comforts of a non-digital domain
that a physical object like the CD or vinyl can afford.  Open-source books
work this way, as do libraries.  I can read them online or take them home
for several weeks, but I don't own the object.  Perhaps we could consider
the internet and file sharing to be a great library experience.  Of course,
I'm sure businesses could come up with some argument against libraries
because they take business away from the publisher.

I realize my suggestion for an open-source model for artists is not yet
well-thought out, but it is possible to develop this idea in regards to
artist's creations.  We are going to struggle with this as a society in many
ways, because we consider the artist's work unique, genious, invaluable,
even now.  If someone comes up with an idea, they "own" it, whether it's
public domain or not.  Even though culture works on a building up of ideas,
a "stack" of thoughts that allow that "genius" to be possible.  What if
artist's suddenly started promoting their ideas, giving away all their
technical and philosophical secrets for everyone to consider and use?  An
open exchange of ideas and information sound like the dream that was the
internet.

BTW, I've been listening to some NPR discussions that I believe in some way
pertain to this discussion.  The first is the open-source discussion they
had on NPR last Friday.  Here is a link to the show:

Talk of the Nation: Science Friday
http://www.sciencefriday.com/pages/2003/Jan/hour1_011703.html

Open-source Definition
http://opensource.org/docs/def_print.php

Creator's Bill of Rights (for comics)
http://www.scottmccloud.com/inventions/bill/bill_of_rights.html

And tangentially relevant:  Should you be punished for "stealing" mp3s?  A
discussion on punishments for crime.  Is file sharing a victimless crime?

Discussion on "Odyssey" regarding Punishment (and crime) - (Real Audio)
http://www.wbez.org/services/ram/od/od_030122.ram

Odyssey
http://www.wbez.org/frames.asp?HeaderURL=../schedule/hd_sched_light.htm&Body
URL=/schedule/odyssey/odyssey_v2.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     Christopher Sorg
   Multimedia Artist/Instructor
 The School of the Art Institute of Chicago
   http://www.csorg.org
     csorg@xxxxxxxxx
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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