Picture this:You take photos and videos for an organization that you are a part of. To look back on the events, you create a slideshow to be seen on Facebook with hit/nostalgic songs. Wait. Despite your hard work, your uploaded video is automatically deleted and given a violation notice for possible copyright infringement. Feel angry?
This is a reality of the modern Internet-Music age.
As YouTube and Facebook emerged, creative artists of different fields like dancers, DJs, and online gamers have often struggled with stringent copyright laws prohibiting the uploading of original material with unauthorized content. Some have managed to live with the laws, such as online gamers Markiplier and VanossGaming using copyright-free music in their YouTube videos and late night talk-show host Conan O'Brien during his skit, "Clueless Gamer," in which he replaced the background music in the game "WWE 2K14" with the American national anthem due to the copyright costs. While there may be individuals who find ways to prevent copyright infringement lawsuits, others see the restrictions as foul play.
While I may side with those who complain about copyright laws, one must understand the issues and viewpoints of the producers, companies, and artists. From a business perspective, the internet age has invented more forms of media piracy from films to albums. Through this, companies and the artists lose money. Copyrights protect the original authorship of artistic works, though they do not protect ideas or methods of operation. At the same time, musicians struggle to make money themselves, generating revenue mainly through merchandising, concerts, and other gigs.
There are many more reasons for the protection of music, but this article is not a defense of either side of the argument. Rather, it is a message from everyday Americans to music companies and artists who mainly seek to honor the music without means of infringement.
Take for example the views of Jerome Viloria, a recent college graduate who performs through dance and playing the violin. Understanding the views defending companies, he said, "I can see how it could be monetary-based, because these companies may perceive cover artists as people trying to take away profits (especially if the cover happens to be better than the original." He describes the situation, however, as an unreasonable blocking of creative work.
Because of stringent copyright laws, one of my favorite violinists, Kim Ji Youn, got kicked off of YouTube. Companies need to understand that we create music and dance covers because we like the material they produce and we want to show our appreciation for the artists themselves. Companies also need to perform more precise analyses to determine if plagiarism is intended.
Ricardo Quintana, better known as the New-York based DJ Menyu, is no stranger to the copyright issues that creative artists face. This is especially true as Facebook has occasionally stopped him from performing live streams. He said,
Years ago, many DJs like myself would sell actual mixtapes, mixes put on cassettes and CDs, and they were sold in various stores. We didn't really do it to make a profit, but it was for publicity and exposure only. Truthfully, quite a large number of artists received recognition through all mixtapes. Therefore, there are those who would be honored to be part of many of the DJ's mixtapes. Unfortunately, those times have changed. Now that the internet world has taken over, we are now monitored based on what we post. This is rather paradoxical, though. If we posted hate on hate crime, naked bodies, half-eaten frogs on plates, Etc, that's acceptable through the wide world audience. However, there were posting videos of music to bring joy and positive energy to the hearts and ears of the world, which easily blocked because of legality issues. I personally feel that's absolutely ludicrous. Coming from my experience as a musician and growing up when hip-hop officially started, I learn about the hustle, the struggle, and the absolute value of being an artist. We have always been known to help promote each other through parties, shout outs, remixes, mashups, etc.
DJ Menyu, Courtesy of Mix99Radio.com
As a law-abiding citizen, I want to respect the laws in place. However as a creative artist myself, I find myself limited in expression if simple home videos or covers are subject to warning violations, muting, or automatic deletion. I do not mean to harm any artist or company.
So where does the solution lie? With complete honesty, I am not personally sure because my knowledge of copyright laws is limited and possible resolutions may contradict or violate the laws in place. Perhaps another platform for sharing creative work with less stringent policies may work, but I believe that the laws themselves must first be fixed to benefit both the creators and the artists that seek to honor the work.
For more information on copyright laws, visit Copyright.gov and/or PD Info.
