Super Freak

Let's learn some stuff about music :)
This week's topics have been about copyright law and mine and my classmates' concentrations and areas of desired study. There were so many great areas of interests and everyone checked out really great books.

9.12.11

1. The Complete Guide to Film Scoring (Berklee Press)
2. Why Classical Music Still Matters by Lawrence Kramer
3. Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock by Sammy Hagar
4. Rick Rubin in the Studio
5. Careers in Audio by Jeff Touzeau
6. Knowing the Score by David Morgan
7. Singing with Your Own Voice by Orlanda Cook
8. Techniques of the Contemporary Composer by David Cope
9. World of Music by David Willoughby
10. The Art of Film Music by George Burt
11. The Inner Game of Music by Barry Green

These are the links to the books my classmates read for this paper all of which sounded very interesting and valuable to read!

I started on the homework for MLO 2 and found a lot of really awesome facts from the readings about Copyright Law and Infringement.

First of all... I always start singing the words to Super Freak every time Can't Touch This comes on and now I know why! MC Hammer sampled the instrumental music from Super Freak!


Super Freak - Rick James



Can't Touch This - MC Hammer


Awesome right? Classic example of Sampling.

I was really stoked that I stumbled on this info...
I knew I wasn't crazy!

Back to Copyright Law.... Copyright disputes between artists are almost always expressed in moral and ethical terms because there isn't really another way to treat the arts, especially that of music.

Why? Because without copyright, there wouldn't be protection of peoples' original compositions and the there wouldn't be any way to make money from your own music if every one's music sounded the same. On the other hand, if copyright law is too strict, there isn't any room for new artists trying to get established in the business to build off of the ideas of artists that are established and have paved the road. Its really a touchy subject and each copyright case must be treated as such.

What I don't understand is how the law for file sharing and digital sampling is treated today because a lot of the Cyberliberties chapter talked about lawsuits and happenings as recent as 2008. If you go on Soundcloud.com, you find thousands of artists that sample other musicians' music, lyrics, and melodies.

And I can make at least 7 CD's on iTunes before the pop-up window informs me of distribution rights and whatnot.

Anyways, I really liked the comparison between the African Tradition and the American Copyright. Interesting views because they are both smart and have good points. As a singer/songwriter, I appreciate copyright law and am glad that I can protect my songs.

Thoughts

8 pages of notes and bordering on 7-9 collective hours later, these 2 credits are kickin my butt.
Listening to Super Freak :D