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If nature has made any one thing less
susceptible than all others of
exclusive property, it is the action of
the thinking power called an idea,
which an individual may exclusively
possess as long as he keeps it to
himself; but the moment it is divulged,
it forces itself into the possession of
everyone, and the receiver cannot
dispossess himself of it. Its peculiar
character, too, is that no one
possesses the less, because every other
possess the whole of it. He who
receives an idea from me, receives
instruction himself without lessening
mine; as he who lites his taper at
mine, receives light without darkening
me. That ideas should freely spread
from one to another over the globe, for
the moral and mutual instruction of
man, and improvement of his condition,
seems to have been peculiarly and
benevolently designed by nature, when
she made them, like fire, expansible
over all space, without lessening their
density at any point, and like the air
in which we breathe, move, and have our
physical being, incapable of
confinement, or exclusive
appropriation. Inventions then cannot,
in nature, be a subject of property
VI WRITINGS OF THOMAS JEFFERSON, 1790-1826, at 180-81
(H.A. Washington ed., 1854) (letter to Isaac
McPherson, August 13, 1813) (quoted in Graham v. John
Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 8-9 n.2 (1966)).
"If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants"
Sir Isaac Newton, cited in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations.
We can imagine (and probably historically document) a time when the
expectations of global fame and great riches were not a primary goal
of musicians. Somehow, though, there were people who for some
mysterious reason still decided to spend time making music.
There may be a few of those crazy folk still doing it today.
It
may be that music existed at a time prior to it's capability to create
mythical godlike superstars because of how it makes us feel. The Muse
bestowes on us an experience that can not be packaged. There is
no price that can be put on that kind of experience nor or is there a
value that can be placed on the power that music has to effect the
listener.
The MTV myth has been a manipulation of artists by the entertainment
industry intended to encourage us to give up our creative freedom (and
often the rights to our work) in exchange for the promise of riches
and fame. It would appear that the industry is trying to
maintain the illusion that they are the gatekeepers to creative
success. The truth is that the more artists spend their time trying to
write a "hit", the less time they spend trying to write something that
is innovative, true, or meaningful. These concepts are not always
mutually exclusive, but a quick look at the Billboard "top 40" gives
us a sense of how often they coincide.
Artists have always learned from other artists. This learning could be
technique, expression, chops, phrases, method, philosophy, etc...
Often it is through the performance of someone else's music. No artist has evolved in a vacuum.
The works of our forbearers has provided an inestimable wealth of
resources from which we can derive our own ideas. There was a time
when the practise of performing someone else's work was seen and
experienced as an expression of inspiration and respect. Today that
practice is considered theft.
If legal systems that provide a virtual monopoly in
perpetuity on creative works for the benefit of media conglomerates
continue in the direction they are heading, creative evolution on a
cultural
scale will either halt or be circumscribed only by those corporations
that are able to pay the legal costs of trading in intellectual
property.
If we as artists do not wish to grow old in a barren or anemic creative
landscape, we would do well to contribute to the cultural commons. Our
children and grandchildren have an opportunity to learn and be
inspired by those of the current generations just as we have been inspired by
those who have come before us.
Further Reading:
Brief Description of the issues
Piracy in the entertainment industry
Intellectual Property
Creative Commons
Another Artists perspective
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Giving away music
