[Rumori] re: Songwriters Say Piracy Eats Into Their Pay

[David meme]

> i didn't see anyone arguing about *whether* he lost money...  the
> argument was about *how much* he lost, since the article gave a clearly
> inflated figure.  he might be losing money, but not $46,000.
>

If I lost money it doesn't matter how much I lost - I have still lost 
some. And he still has to pay the mortgage and feed the kids.

>


>  then have an opportunity to buy it
> later, i will often buy it.  don't project your buying habits onto
> everyone else.
>

The problem with this statement is the 'then have an opportunity'. 
Buying music requires you find the music - it is unlikely to find you.

My buying habits are neither here nor there. I happen not to use Kazaa 
or any filesharing software because as a musician myself I actually 
understand the crucial relationship between musicians earning money and 
not. Whilst you are off waiting for opportunities to come by (and of 
course listening to your favourite download) some musician somewhere is 
contemplating taking a McJob to pay the rent. I always buy the CD or 
vinyl.


> one of the most significant things about this article (which i was
> surprised nobody else had mentioned, though i see now that m. simons
> has) is that it's ostensibly about *songwriters*, but strouse is
> griping about lost royalties for a song he technically *did not write*.
>  he wrote his song 25+ years ago, which jay-z then sampled.
>

Look I am sorry but no-one has the god-given right to sample anyone. 
Rights are construed through law and the law is clear. You use 
someone's music you pay them and if they don't mind then that's fair 
enough. You wouldn't like it if someone sampled your house to entertain 
for a few days and earned millions in the process. He wrote the track, 
it was sampled, Jay-Z earned tons, he should pay. I am sure he would be 
on others backs if they sampled him.

As I have said previously if musicians want to share music then that is 
cool, but if they do not then they should be respected. To take from 
someone without asking is disrespectful and learning to share music 
means respecting both parties are cool with the idea. I think this is 
crucial to an ethic of musicianship and not performing violence on 
others (ie by just appropriating others music)  is crucial to that.

I know it looks like David vs Goliath Multi-nationals but it isn't 
*just* that. Musicians earn money to continue writing music. We need to 
be a bit more sophisticated in our understanding of sampling and 
songwriting.

I am sorry but I totally disagree with your simplistic idea that by 
sampling you create a new song in entirety. That is stupid. Samples 
built on previous work, whether a bass-line, drumloop or whatever. Is 
it too much to ask to respect that?




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