As I read through copyright guru, Lawrence Lessig’s, complimentary digital copy of his book Remix, I can call to mind many instances in my own life where the perils of copyright law have come into play. An amateur filmmaker friend once had a video bumped off of Youtube because he sampled a Coldplay song in one of the scenes, even though Coldplay totally fit the mood of sappy moment in his short script. Unless my friend serendipitously makes a college student’s equivalent of a fortune to pay Coldplay’s unreal royalty fees, his film will never see the light of day. My musician friends often record albums with the knowledge that they are spending their own money without hope of seeing it come back. They will simply upload their songs onto Soundcloud with a free download.
My friends are a part of Lessig’s RW (Read/Write) Culture. They listen, absorb, recreate, and share new and old media. The average creative young adult does to some extent. They understand the potential danger of a Read Only Culture, where the only individuals with the ability to make it in the world o new media were those with the cash to buy in. These two cultures are the focus of Lessig’s exposition for Remix. The Read Only culture is defined by a dedication to consumerism. Copyright laws don’t just protect the rights of artists, they protect their wallets. On the other hand, a Read/Write Culture involves a healthy amount of consumerism, while promoting creation and recreation of new media.
The works of amateurs and students, as Lessig insinuates, is relegated somewhat to the underground of the art world. Artists like Girl Talk are still wildly popular on college campuses and mixed media art is some of the most underrated works today. These low budget works are no less deserving of credit than Coldplay’s last album. The creativity and passion that goes into creating mixed media is as valuable as any blockbuster movie. These young artists have effectively created a hybrid between the two cultures, RW and RO.
As a student of economics, Lessig’s message of maintaining a competitive economic market alongside the creative one especially important.
“Policy makers must assure that rights are not allocated in a way that distorts or weakens competition. A costly overlay of spectrum rights, for example, or an inefficient market of copyrights, can stifle competition and drive markets to unnecessary concentration. These factors must be regulated by policy makers. They will not be “solved” by an invisible hand.”
What I did not find as convincing was Lessig’s argument for the value of the remix. From the opinion of a 20 year old who is not particularly invested in internet culture, but is perhaps tech savvy, the “remix” has its place. Lessig perhaps values the remix a bit too much. He describes a couple examples that take scenes from movies and news and splices them together to create a powerful message about war and media. I have seen short videos like these and would agree that they can be valuable and moving but I have also seen remixes that fall short of any societal value. I value creativity, but to say that splicing together clips of cartoons involved much creative thought may be stretching it.
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