Technology as a driver of Law

Posted by middleground on March 12, 2015 at 05:49:01

Most of you have probably heard of this jury decision in L.A.

From this NYT piece this morning I read:

"Owing to the specifics of copyright law, the jury was instructed to base its decision on the sheet music, a fact that reflects how inadequate copyright law is when it comes to contemporary songwriting and production practices. In 2015, the arrangement of notes on a sheet of paper is among the least integral parts of pop music creation. We're decades beyond the time when a songwriter penned a tune on paper, then gave it to musicians to perform."

So popular music has been changed through technology to the point where the legal provisions pertaining to authorship and the attendant monetary rewards are seen as obsolescent.

This parallels the "illegal" download issue that seems to have been addressed by the official purveyors of music through a surrender of the position first taken to fight the phenomenon tooth and nail and then a major advertising and marketing push to get some money coming in as being better than no money coming in.

Where does that leave the people who create the music?

Should any conflict regarding rights to a song be decided by having a jury listen to the material and the testimony of those who were months on end in a studio creating it? If sheet music is passé are we back to an oral culture accepting that musicians are actually music-makers with little or no actual musical training? I thought that was quite all right at the level of creation and performance of popular music since some musically literate person would, scribe-like, put in writing, in some kind of mop-up operation, whatever piece was created.

There is a long history of the business people in popular music stealing with a fountain pen the rights or a percentage of the rights that should justly go to those who created the music in the first place. Are the creators now eating their own?

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/12/arts/music/whats-wrong-wit (Open in New Window)

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Topic - Technology as a driver of Law - middleground 05:49:01 03/12/15 (29)

It's all BS anyway - Feanor 14:36:14 03/16/15 (2)

RE: It's all BS anyway - David Smith 14:58:10 03/16/15 (1)

It's not the laws, it's the lawyers' compensation approach (nt) - Feanor 05:48:42 03/17/15 (0)

One wonders - Mike K 08:22:26 03/14/15 (1)

Except - David Smith 15:46:07 03/14/15 (0)

I for one embrace the "antiquated" sheet-music approach - David Smith 15:58:05 03/12/15 (0)

Sheet music is the trees; the forest is, "What is Plagiarism?" - John Marks 14:13:40 03/12/15 (18)

RE: Sheet music is the trees; the forest is, "What is Plagiarism?" - David Smith 14:47:58 03/12/15 (17)

Whether an appeal is successful often depends... - John Marks 15:28:59 03/12/15 (16)

RE: Whether an appeal is successful often depends... - David Smith 15:54:58 03/12/15 (15)

RE: Whether an appeal is successful often depends... - rbolaw 09:33:58 03/13/15 (8)

RE: Whether an appeal is successful often depends... - David Smith 20:59:25 03/13/15 (7)

RE: Whether an appeal is successful often depends... - middleground 03:27:14 03/15/15 (0)

Then you won't be happy to hear - rbolaw 11:03:24 03/14/15 (5)

"This Masquerade" sounds just like "Russian Lullaby" - John Marks 17:04:42 03/14/15 (4)

RE: "This Masquerade" sounds just like "Russian Lullaby" - rbolaw 17:51:26 03/14/15 (3)

RE: "This Masquerade" sounds just like "Russian Lullaby" - David Smith 18:00:59 03/14/15 (2)

Not when I sing it. nt - John Marks 05:54:07 03/15/15 (1)

I'd like to hear that then! - David Smith 07:15:05 03/15/15 (0)

I am sure that Oliver Wendell Holmes is smirking somewhere - John Marks 18:04:57 03/12/15 (5)

Hey, John - do you watch "Better Call Saul"? [nt] ;-) - Chris from Lafayette 18:32:36 03/12/15 (4)

Sorry, I don't get the reference - John Marks 08:01:09 03/13/15 (3)

RE: Sorry, I don't get the reference - middleground 03:29:43 03/15/15 (1)

You mean, yet ANOTHER good thing [nt] ;-) - Chris from Lafayette 15:21:10 03/15/15 (0)

Sorry for the obscure reference - Chris from Lafayette 10:52:08 03/13/15 (0)

RE: Technology as a driver of Law - 6bq5 10:26:22 03/12/15 (0)

RE: Technology as a driver of Law - rbolaw 06:09:31 03/12/15 (2)

Wow, I have an LP with pieces by Ussachevsky and Luening. Beautiful flute/strings piece by Luening. nt - Rick W 10:25:29 03/12/15 (1)

Yes, an excellent and interesting composer. nt - rbolaw 11:52:29 03/12/15 (0)

Technology as a driver of Law

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