[Rumori] L.A. Times - When copyright law meets the 'mash-up'

[Anthony Hall]

>
>however, I still think having shows like this give a lot of people - who are
>usually not exposed to ideas / compositional aesthetics that float around on
>marginal forums such as this list - the right idea about what they can do
>with their computers and CD/mp3 collections. (vinylheads like me tend to
>know :)

That's very true, but that is no different from any other "artistic" 
creation. There will always be a slice of the audience who are wondering 
how it was done and how they could do it themselves. The difference, 
though, is the simplicity

In a way you could compare mash-ups as the musical equivalent of some of 
warhol's work - it's so brutal in it's simplicity that people think "I 
could have done that - there's no talent there" (as opposed to more 
refined, complex "Pop Art" / "Sampling") - yet it doesn't detract one iota 
from it's effectiveness.


>however if all these people start recycling crap media content and make big
>media corporates and "copyright owners" even richer while they don't earn
>any money than we'll face some frightening days. luckily I'm not so paranoid
>yet that I would believe in such an evil hidden agenda :)

Ah, sheer bloody minded optimism. So refreshing!

It surprises me that there hasn't been more "corporate" mash-ups yet. 
Although there have been rumours, no record label has officially opened up 
their archives to a selected individual to be legally mashed - not in the 
same way as say US3 were allowed to do with the Blue Note catalogue - and 
I'm also not including "photocopies" (covers) of mash-ups - like Richard 
X's work, or the appalling (in concept and execution) cover of "Genie In A 
Bottle" by Speedway (based on Freelance Hellraiser's mash-up of the 
original Aguilera vocal with a track by The Strokes)...but it truly is a 
matter of time before the first mash-up advert hits...advertising is the 
only industry that can afford the legal work needed to clear it - they 
could also comfortably afford to pay 200% royalties (if both parties 
demanded 100%) without taking much of a hit. (imho, as usual).

Everything will get appropriated eventually, whether by us or by them (or 
both - et tu ouroubous ;)

--

Ant



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