07-21-2009, 04:33 PM
(07-21-2009, 01:26 PM)Ali Quadir Wrote: Human culture is free. It is a human birth right, it should not be owned by someone who just wants to extract money from it without adding any other benefit.
Unfortunately the nature of marketing and selling most anything involves paying the lion's share of the gross sale to those who appear to add no value. I really don't see that music is any different here. The world is also full of examples of people who created a novel invention (and even patented or otherwise protected their intellectual property) and then sold the rights to it for a pittance. How is the music industry any more or less culpable in this process than any other business? The only difference I see is that music can be easily and anonymously copied (taken without the permission of the rightful owners). As for the poor musician that is being taken advantage of, well he/she certainly could avoid the music industry entirely (as more and more are), but it is much harder to get mass exposure without their marketing channels. If he/she signed on with them, then he/she did so of their own free will, and they did so to make money, not to contribute to human culture. If their desire was to add to human culture, then they would simply make it available for free and hope for free publicity. Their goal is to make money from it (a goal that I certainly understand), so they make it available the best way that they can to accomplish that end. Today this is the music industry, tomorrow.... who knows.
(07-21-2009, 01:26 PM)Ali Quadir Wrote: We're not at that point yet but the last 10 years we've moved rapidly towards the point where singing a song you have no rights to can get you arrested... Even if it's just humming in an elevator full of colleagues.
For years in the US, most restaurant chains have prohibited their employees from singing the traditional "Happy Birthday to you" song to customers. Urban legend has it that Paul McCartney effectively created this ban by suing several large chains for copyright infringement after he bought rights to the song back in the 70's (the legend goes on to say that he later sold those rights to Michael Jackson who continued to enforce it). Regardless of whether or not this legend is true, I can attest to the fact that almost no US restaurants will have their employees sing "Happy Birthday" to you, and that restaurant managers will tell you that this is why. So maybe your future is already here.
3D Sunset