Players need

. Barbara Black
Contributing Writer

.., BACK in the 1980s, I

had my first lesson
about music copyright.

It came from a practising
musician. | asked him to
tape an album for me and.
he flatly refused. Why?
Copyright infringement. He
said he only boughe origi-
nals. I just bought two of
his guitar albums on indie
pool.

» Now here we are in the
new millennium and the
issue raises its ugly head
-again. Should downloading
copyrighted music without

» permission be allowed if it’s
~ only for personal use?
7) Let's dissect some of the
arguments in favour floating
_ around in cyberspace. These
~ comments all came from
"> postings on mp3 sites.
>. If there is no profit
‘involved, why shouldn't it
be legal? Is this a twist on
the old adage “crime does: -
nt pay?” [fF you stole a
_ Piece of clothing bur didn't.
esell it is it no Jonger
shoplifting? Music is not
‘just some “fun thing. that
“makes you feel good. It’s
ome fun thing that some-.
“one created that makes you
feel good. When you com:
mit-your.“non-profit” act |
you are actually. depriving

he creator (and the label)
of their. due profit.

=> Putting a price on art:
only demeans it: Only a

“non-artist would make such
‘a fattuous statement. Why

lo people always underval-_

‘ue art? The fact is, most
‘things i in the world would-
‘eexist if it weren "¢ for,

students learn at their own pace,

someone’s creative imagina-
tion. Punishment: Go to
your basement and don't
come out until you've writ-
ten a song. With lyrics. ,
That's marketable. Hope
you have a good food sup-
ply. .
It’s just like Prohibition:
When the government
banned aicohol, people had
to go underground to get

booze. Hmmm. That would:

bea faulty analogy. During
Prohibition alcohol was -.
banned. Are CDs banned?
Can you still purchase them
legally? Yes, In fact, you can

even download stuff legally *

through ¢-music subscrip-
tion programs. Naturally,
this argument leads easily to
the next classi¢ rejoinder...
But CDs are overpriced.
Repeat after me: market
value. If shoes are over-

_ priced do you steal them:

“instead? The facr is, a whole

‘ whack of people are willing,

te pay the going rate for

' CDs. Besides, this arguraent

‘applies equally in other.
commercial ventures. Take

‘, pasta entrees. What’s the
“cost of a dry serving of
Pasta, Say : SL Add | to that 3 a

continually supported by the:

opriate feedback f ior building soni idence and self-esteem.

bit of sauce, sane labour,
seme ambience and you
get. SP1.952 Whar is that?
Mark-up, folks

And now for my
favourite music piracy
excuse:

Well, they're millionaires
anyway. The classic red ker-
ring (and it stinks like one,
too). [It diverts attention
from the real issue, which is
copyright. Besides, most
inillionaires got rich by
gumption, brains, or consid-
erable elbow grease. Why
aren't you one? Think food

chain.

But mp3 helps the inde-
pendents. Needs statistics.
While mp3 technology rais-
es the profile of some indie
groups, others have had
copious downloads but
nothing translatable in the
way of sales (they could just
be lousy musicians.) What —
makes sense is to support
the artists who promote
their own product on mp3
and, if vou like the product,
buy it through legitimate
channels, ‘Value what you
buy and buy with integrity

(this is beginning to sound

like a Starbucks brochure).
There are also esthetic

_considerations, It’s bevond

me why anyone would want
a collection of generic
copied CDs with handwrit-

_ ten song lists in naked-look-

ing jewel cases (unless you
compound your crime by

_ copying the CD cover art,

too). Personally, | like the
package concept. I like to
read about the artist and

“have copies of the lyrics: I

like to reach for my Mingus
CD with the weird abstract
cover art, Not some “save-
on” case with zero personal-

ity.

Let's get this straight:
copyright grants control of
a work of art to the creator
(or the copyright holder).
The holder has the right to
control reproduction, distri-
bution and adaptation of
their work. When vou ille-
gally copy stuff vou deprive
the copyright owner of due
profit AND you cause them
te lose control of their work
(which, by the way, they
just hate).

Art, my dears, is a com-
modity. Anvone making
their living as an artist will
tell you that. While music
may seem a diversion to
blithe downloaders, it repre-
sents 2 whole lot of work to
the artists (and labels)
behind it. F know. [ sang in
a jazz trio last year and
spent 75% of my time pro-

_moting the group, writing

promo materials, making,
demos, distributing demos
and booking gigs, and 25%
of the time performing for
not enough money. | have a
healthy appreciation for the
effort that goes into music-
making.

The fact is, the uproar
over Napster and other
“piracy” sites has caused a
major pple in the music
world. Efforts are being
made to find solutions to
the consumer demand for
downloadable music. A
solution that makes all par-
ties happy may be at hand.

“By the way, you can’t
photocopy this article with-
out my permission. But you.
can cut it out or fine the»
bird cage with it. Maybe
your bird will learn some-
thing.

Sunday. October 15, 2000 —- Morth Shore News ~ 7

Thanks for the dictionary

Dear Editor:

Re: Hana Mercer's column, Native tacts challenge cultural
script. .
Thank you, Ms. Mercer, for the time and hard work you take
to put together columns such as this one. It's nice to read some-
thing that requires thought and occasionally a re-read to fully
absorb, ve also become familiar with my dictionary again. I
mean the last as a compliment to vour language skills.

After you've burst 2 balloon of the self righteous or politi-
cally correct, E equally anticipate reading the fall cut of indig- ©
nant bluster from those who chose to be offended. In most
cases their cause turns out to be a symphony of baloney (my
word) that turns on a single note of truth. This contrast of two
methods of writing on the same subject doubles my reading
pleasure. .

J Edwards
North Vancouver

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