On Tue, Aug 15, 2006 at 03:30:27PM +0700, Patrick Shirkey wrote: > Ryan Heise wrote: > > On Mon, Aug 14, 2006 at 09:34:25PM +0700, Patrick Shirkey wrote: > >> I didn't make the track in question. However I have remixed several > >> tracks which incorporate samples from other peoples work with varying > >> degrees of appreciation from people who have listened. I am not the only > >> one to do it and I defend the freedom I have to do it whether it is > >> deemed illegal in some countries or not. > > > > On the surface, this seems like a good argument. I scratched my head for > > a while trying to figure out what was wrong with it, because something > > seemed wrong. Finally I came up with this: > > > > It does not follow that since you appreciate/enjoy something, that you > > ought to have the "freedom" or "right" to do it, because sometimes > > things that you appreciate/enjoy doing can impact negatively on other > > people. When this happens, the law often steps in to protect the other > > people. > > > > My heart bleeds... Hmm :-( > We are talking about music as art not terrorism. Here you are implying that my point was about terrorism. It wasn't at all. The example I gave (which you removed from your quote) was about someone taking someone else's work and changing it to make it look like the original author supported a certain view that he did not. What is the harm in asking the original author first before using their work in a certain way? It is actually quite a thoughtful and respectful thing to do. > It's definitely in the realm of artistic credibility to go against the > norm or break the law to make a statement or create your personal > masterpiece. Again, what is the harm in asking someone if you can use a bit of their song in a certain context before actually doing it? The law you are talking about "breaking" is essentially suggesting to you that you ought to follow a not-so-radical idea called "respect". To save writing it in another email, I'll also state here that I support the view that music produced by mixing bits of other people's songs together is a valid art form, and such music typically contains interesting sounds and harmonies that are not present individually in the original songs. But there is a thoughtful and respectful way to produce such music that involves talking to the original artists first. -- Ryan Heise http://www.ryanheise.com/
