Monday, October 27, 2008
Remix Book Party
For those lucky enough to be located in the United States (a big dream of mine!!!) Lessig is having a Remix book party - see more details here.
REMIX: Lessig
I have just finished reading the book REMIX by Lawrence Lessig. This is thought to be his last book on intellectual property law/internet/culture issues.
Lessig introduces the text by considering the war on piracy and the collateral damage that is evident from the strategies of the major players in the content industry. While endorsing the existence of copyright law he argues for essential changes to take place to ensure that balance is achieved and future generations are not criminalised for what they perceive to be reasonable uses of culture. He urges us to step back and to assess the impact of policies and to take account of the both the need for, and likelihood of success, rather than assuming that legislative constraints are the most appropriate solution.
Lessig analyses culture as being either RO (read only) or RW (read write). He begins by examining cultures of the past with the oral tradition of singing and community interaction with culture prior to the advent of modern technology. He observes that developments such as the phonogram, player piano, radio, cassettes, CDs, televisions, VCRs, DVDs etc changed the experience of culture from RW to RO. In doing so there was a loss of tradition, amateurism, creativity and technique. He states that new technologies promise to enable society to return to a RW culture.
He explains that it is not a matter of selecting between two extremes – the internet vs hollywood; RW vs RO; the future vs the past, gains vs losses – but rather that both RO and RW culture can be extended by new technologies and that businesses which incorporate both are likely to emerge. He states that it should not be a matter of preserving RO culture at the expense of RW culture but that all should be encouraged to develop.
He acknowledges that there is part of culture that is created by professionals that we simply consume. Technology has enabled industries to develop with an emphasis on professional creation – the limitations in copying using analogue technology and support from the law prevented individuals from creating and reproducing recorded works. Now, with the advent of digital technology, any person can reproduce culture – it is not impossible but it is illegal.
He refers to the conditions that have always been present for writing – that quoting with citation has always been allowed and that there is an expectation of being able to lend texts from libraries - and argues that all culture will be ‘bookified’ this century. That is to say that we will develop norms around all forms of culture similar to those that have always been present for text.
While RO culture demands respect for creations, provides authority and integrity to culture and is an important part of ensuring the spread of knowledge; RW culture offers itself as a draft, invites a response and empowers as much as it educates and entertains.
RW and in particular remix culture is seen as a form of collage around which communities are developed and which enhances learning and education through participation. Creators are both professionals and amateurs. He argues that RW is an ecosystem that must have conditions which enable it to evolve and develop. Copyright law supports the practices of RO culture and opposes practices of RW culture.
He reflects on what may have been had the content industry accepted and adapted to the introduction of peer to peer file sharing and questions whether the next ten years should be focused on the war on piracy.
Lessig then goes on to describe three economies – the commercial, the sharing and the hybrid. The tangible value exchanged in the commercial economy is money. It is a simple way of spreading wealth and critical to the internet. Examples of internet based commercial economies include Netflix, Amazon and Google with three central features being the long tail, recommendation systems, and lego-ized development.
By contrast, the intangible value exchanged in a sharing economy is not money, indeed money is seen as poisonous to this economy. Rather it depends on the development of social relations in which participation is a key element. Lessig explains that there are two types of sharing cultures – the thin and the thick.
A thin sharing culture is driven by personal gain where motivations for self gain motivate contributions – examples include Skype and AOL’s IM Network.
A thick sharing culture whilst also depending on norms of sharing and cooperation are driven by a motivation to help others – examples include Wikipedia, GNU/Linux, Project Gutenberg, the Distributed Proof Readers Project, Distributed Computing Projects such as SETI@Home, the Internet Archive, the Mars Mapping Project, the Open Directory Project and Open Source Food.
Sharing cultures take advantage of tasks that users would do anyway and are enhanced in the digital environment because of the non rivalrous nature of intangibles. Different technologies enable new forms of participation and sharing and he suggests are likely to become part of the core of the internet’s ecosystem rather than reside at the periphery.
Hybrid economies combine both commercial and sharing attributes. Free Software and in particular Red Hat Linux are specific examples – the community of programmers are respected, they are given responsibility and the sense that they are part of something meaningful – this in turn enables commercial benefits to be derived and combined with a sharing culture. Lessig lists three main forms of hybrid successes, those that create community spaces such as Dogster, Craigslist, Flickr and YouTube; those which create collaborative spaces such as Politech, Slashdot, Last.fm, Usenet, Yahoo! Answers, Wikia and fan sites; and those which create communities such as Second Life. These forums are designed with community in mind and must balance competing priorities and expectations to succeed.
Hybrid economies produce both economic and social value with the spill-over of information having both public and private benefits. Some of the keys to long term sustainability of hybrids include not being overly focused on commercial priorities by aiming to achieve moderate rather than maximum profits, exercising only moderate control with participants being empowered to make some decisions, and transparency of motives. He refers to the transition of CCDB to Gracenotes as one example where greater transparency was required. Feelings of betrayal and a backlash from participants are inevitable when changes are made without consultation or consideration.
He states that one very damaging practice certain to undermine the success of a hybrid is share cropping. He refers to the EULAs of remix competitions where by participant's copyrights are automatically made the property of the competition organisers as one example of this practice.
Lessig states that parallel economies are possible and that creators should be free to move from one to the other as it suits them. He also acknowledges that the existence of hybrid economies which allow some legal uses of creative works as being fundamental to the decriminalisation of the cultural practices of young people.
To ensure a vibrant future for RO culture, RW culture and hybrids Lessig contends that there must be significant changes to the copyright system with far less emphasis on using the legal system to solve problems. At present the default position of copyright is set to ‘No’ but technology and the creativity of youth demand more. While he suggests that Creative Commons goes someway to addressing the issues what is really needed is a complete overhaul of the copyright system.
Lessig argues that there are five central changes which need to be made to Copyright Law. The first is that amateur production needs to be deregulated – non commercial uses should be free use not fair use. There also needs to be clear title to creative works which can only be achieved through a registration system with a renewal process imposed after a short automatic term. Copyright law must also be made simpler with legislation, in addition to fair use, specifying that some uses are not within its scope. He also suggests that the law must be rewritten to focus on uses (such as public distribution) rather than be determined on the notion of copies. Finally he advances that Congress should move to decriminalise file sharing by allowing non commercial sharing with additional taxes or by imposing a blanket licensing procedure.
Without these changes Lessig fears a destructive impact on the rule and respect for law by future generations.
This was a very enjoyable book, it is well written, easy to read and at times quite funny. For my purposes I found it a little too descriptive and thought there could have been more analysis.
The recommendations to change copyright law are not new and could have been more directly integrated with his observations with more attention given to why they are needed and what impact these changes would have on the ecosystem. The coexistence of these two forms of culture (RO/RW) have been the impetus for much of the conflict in this area and there is scope for a much more detailed discussion as to how these can survive and thrive alongside each other.
He uses the recording industry as an example of a hybrid economy with specific reference to the loss of income to major record labels as an illustration of the ability of the industry to embrace both commercial and sharing culture. Whilst I would argue that the music industry (which is wider than just the major record labels) can, and is, a hybrid economy, I would not have referred to these statistics as an example.
There was never any deliberate effort or desire on the part of the labels to embrace this strategy rather it was imposed upon them. They took active steps to prevent this from happening and only in recent times have accepted through the development of avenues such as MySpace Music and changes to Yahoo's search engine results, that complete control is not necessary. The definition of a business within a hybrid economy, and indeed the other examples he uses, refer to businesses willing to give something away in order to gain, rather than what is taken from them. The loss of income to labels while not conclusively or solely due to file sharing, could well be interpreted as an indicator of their inability to be embrace a hybrid model.
Lessig could have also paid more attention to the role of the Corporations Law and how the fiduciary duties of directors and company executives impact on the choices that are made and the obligations to prioritise profit over community.
Lessig introduces the text by considering the war on piracy and the collateral damage that is evident from the strategies of the major players in the content industry. While endorsing the existence of copyright law he argues for essential changes to take place to ensure that balance is achieved and future generations are not criminalised for what they perceive to be reasonable uses of culture. He urges us to step back and to assess the impact of policies and to take account of the both the need for, and likelihood of success, rather than assuming that legislative constraints are the most appropriate solution.
Lessig analyses culture as being either RO (read only) or RW (read write). He begins by examining cultures of the past with the oral tradition of singing and community interaction with culture prior to the advent of modern technology. He observes that developments such as the phonogram, player piano, radio, cassettes, CDs, televisions, VCRs, DVDs etc changed the experience of culture from RW to RO. In doing so there was a loss of tradition, amateurism, creativity and technique. He states that new technologies promise to enable society to return to a RW culture.
He explains that it is not a matter of selecting between two extremes – the internet vs hollywood; RW vs RO; the future vs the past, gains vs losses – but rather that both RO and RW culture can be extended by new technologies and that businesses which incorporate both are likely to emerge. He states that it should not be a matter of preserving RO culture at the expense of RW culture but that all should be encouraged to develop.
He acknowledges that there is part of culture that is created by professionals that we simply consume. Technology has enabled industries to develop with an emphasis on professional creation – the limitations in copying using analogue technology and support from the law prevented individuals from creating and reproducing recorded works. Now, with the advent of digital technology, any person can reproduce culture – it is not impossible but it is illegal.
He refers to the conditions that have always been present for writing – that quoting with citation has always been allowed and that there is an expectation of being able to lend texts from libraries - and argues that all culture will be ‘bookified’ this century. That is to say that we will develop norms around all forms of culture similar to those that have always been present for text.
While RO culture demands respect for creations, provides authority and integrity to culture and is an important part of ensuring the spread of knowledge; RW culture offers itself as a draft, invites a response and empowers as much as it educates and entertains.
RW and in particular remix culture is seen as a form of collage around which communities are developed and which enhances learning and education through participation. Creators are both professionals and amateurs. He argues that RW is an ecosystem that must have conditions which enable it to evolve and develop. Copyright law supports the practices of RO culture and opposes practices of RW culture.
He reflects on what may have been had the content industry accepted and adapted to the introduction of peer to peer file sharing and questions whether the next ten years should be focused on the war on piracy.
Lessig then goes on to describe three economies – the commercial, the sharing and the hybrid. The tangible value exchanged in the commercial economy is money. It is a simple way of spreading wealth and critical to the internet. Examples of internet based commercial economies include Netflix, Amazon and Google with three central features being the long tail, recommendation systems, and lego-ized development.
By contrast, the intangible value exchanged in a sharing economy is not money, indeed money is seen as poisonous to this economy. Rather it depends on the development of social relations in which participation is a key element. Lessig explains that there are two types of sharing cultures – the thin and the thick.
A thin sharing culture is driven by personal gain where motivations for self gain motivate contributions – examples include Skype and AOL’s IM Network.
A thick sharing culture whilst also depending on norms of sharing and cooperation are driven by a motivation to help others – examples include Wikipedia, GNU/Linux, Project Gutenberg, the Distributed Proof Readers Project, Distributed Computing Projects such as SETI@Home, the Internet Archive, the Mars Mapping Project, the Open Directory Project and Open Source Food.
Sharing cultures take advantage of tasks that users would do anyway and are enhanced in the digital environment because of the non rivalrous nature of intangibles. Different technologies enable new forms of participation and sharing and he suggests are likely to become part of the core of the internet’s ecosystem rather than reside at the periphery.
Hybrid economies combine both commercial and sharing attributes. Free Software and in particular Red Hat Linux are specific examples – the community of programmers are respected, they are given responsibility and the sense that they are part of something meaningful – this in turn enables commercial benefits to be derived and combined with a sharing culture. Lessig lists three main forms of hybrid successes, those that create community spaces such as Dogster, Craigslist, Flickr and YouTube; those which create collaborative spaces such as Politech, Slashdot, Last.fm, Usenet, Yahoo! Answers, Wikia and fan sites; and those which create communities such as Second Life. These forums are designed with community in mind and must balance competing priorities and expectations to succeed.
Hybrid economies produce both economic and social value with the spill-over of information having both public and private benefits. Some of the keys to long term sustainability of hybrids include not being overly focused on commercial priorities by aiming to achieve moderate rather than maximum profits, exercising only moderate control with participants being empowered to make some decisions, and transparency of motives. He refers to the transition of CCDB to Gracenotes as one example where greater transparency was required. Feelings of betrayal and a backlash from participants are inevitable when changes are made without consultation or consideration.
He states that one very damaging practice certain to undermine the success of a hybrid is share cropping. He refers to the EULAs of remix competitions where by participant's copyrights are automatically made the property of the competition organisers as one example of this practice.
Lessig states that parallel economies are possible and that creators should be free to move from one to the other as it suits them. He also acknowledges that the existence of hybrid economies which allow some legal uses of creative works as being fundamental to the decriminalisation of the cultural practices of young people.
To ensure a vibrant future for RO culture, RW culture and hybrids Lessig contends that there must be significant changes to the copyright system with far less emphasis on using the legal system to solve problems. At present the default position of copyright is set to ‘No’ but technology and the creativity of youth demand more. While he suggests that Creative Commons goes someway to addressing the issues what is really needed is a complete overhaul of the copyright system.
Lessig argues that there are five central changes which need to be made to Copyright Law. The first is that amateur production needs to be deregulated – non commercial uses should be free use not fair use. There also needs to be clear title to creative works which can only be achieved through a registration system with a renewal process imposed after a short automatic term. Copyright law must also be made simpler with legislation, in addition to fair use, specifying that some uses are not within its scope. He also suggests that the law must be rewritten to focus on uses (such as public distribution) rather than be determined on the notion of copies. Finally he advances that Congress should move to decriminalise file sharing by allowing non commercial sharing with additional taxes or by imposing a blanket licensing procedure.
Without these changes Lessig fears a destructive impact on the rule and respect for law by future generations.
This was a very enjoyable book, it is well written, easy to read and at times quite funny. For my purposes I found it a little too descriptive and thought there could have been more analysis.
The recommendations to change copyright law are not new and could have been more directly integrated with his observations with more attention given to why they are needed and what impact these changes would have on the ecosystem. The coexistence of these two forms of culture (RO/RW) have been the impetus for much of the conflict in this area and there is scope for a much more detailed discussion as to how these can survive and thrive alongside each other.
He uses the recording industry as an example of a hybrid economy with specific reference to the loss of income to major record labels as an illustration of the ability of the industry to embrace both commercial and sharing culture. Whilst I would argue that the music industry (which is wider than just the major record labels) can, and is, a hybrid economy, I would not have referred to these statistics as an example.
There was never any deliberate effort or desire on the part of the labels to embrace this strategy rather it was imposed upon them. They took active steps to prevent this from happening and only in recent times have accepted through the development of avenues such as MySpace Music and changes to Yahoo's search engine results, that complete control is not necessary. The definition of a business within a hybrid economy, and indeed the other examples he uses, refer to businesses willing to give something away in order to gain, rather than what is taken from them. The loss of income to labels while not conclusively or solely due to file sharing, could well be interpreted as an indicator of their inability to be embrace a hybrid model.
Lessig could have also paid more attention to the role of the Corporations Law and how the fiduciary duties of directors and company executives impact on the choices that are made and the obligations to prioritise profit over community.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Music With a Message
Here is the list of songs I will be playing on my radio program this week. I am starting with some tracks from the civil rights era before delving into topics such as war and the environment.
I’ll be back to blogging regularly in a week or so – have just received in the mail today the new text Remix by Lawrence Lessig and am hoping to have time to read it very soon.
Bernice Johnson Reagon, Been In the Storm So Long
Mabel Hillary, Don’t You Think It’s About Time That We All Be Free
Sam Block, Freedom Train
Betty Fikes, If You Miss Me From the Back of the Bus
Hollis Watkins, Oh Freedom
SNCC Freedom Singer Led by Emory Harris, We’ll Never Turn Back
Sam Block, We’re Marching on to Freedom Land
Neville Brothers, The Ballad of Hollis Brown
Chuck D and the Slamjamz, Say It Loud I’m Black and I’m Proud
Edwin Starr, War
John McCutcheon, We Know War
Eskit, Wussies For War
David Rovics, Bomb Ourselves
Blue King Brown, Come and Check Your Head
Blue King Brown, One Day
John McCutcheon, Streets of Sarajevo
Anti Crew, Anti Republican
Anne Feeney, Have You Been To Jail For Justice?
Billy Bragg , Help Save The Youth of America
The John Butler Trio, The Gov Did Nothin’
The John Butler Trio, Fire In the Sky
Our Home Our Land, Land Rights
The Pixies, Monkey Gone to Heaven
Arrested Development, Among the Trees
David Byrne, (Nothing But) Flowers
Country Joe McDonald, Save The Whales!
Bob Marley and the Wailers, Get Up Stand Up
Joe Glazer, There’s Power in a Union
U2, Sunday Bloody Sunday
Eskit, Roe v Wade
I’ll be back to blogging regularly in a week or so – have just received in the mail today the new text Remix by Lawrence Lessig and am hoping to have time to read it very soon.
Bernice Johnson Reagon, Been In the Storm So Long
Mabel Hillary, Don’t You Think It’s About Time That We All Be Free
Sam Block, Freedom Train
Betty Fikes, If You Miss Me From the Back of the Bus
Hollis Watkins, Oh Freedom
SNCC Freedom Singer Led by Emory Harris, We’ll Never Turn Back
Sam Block, We’re Marching on to Freedom Land
Neville Brothers, The Ballad of Hollis Brown
Chuck D and the Slamjamz, Say It Loud I’m Black and I’m Proud
Edwin Starr, War
John McCutcheon, We Know War
Eskit, Wussies For War
David Rovics, Bomb Ourselves
Blue King Brown, Come and Check Your Head
Blue King Brown, One Day
John McCutcheon, Streets of Sarajevo
Anti Crew, Anti Republican
Anne Feeney, Have You Been To Jail For Justice?
Billy Bragg , Help Save The Youth of America
The John Butler Trio, The Gov Did Nothin’
The John Butler Trio, Fire In the Sky
Our Home Our Land, Land Rights
The Pixies, Monkey Gone to Heaven
Arrested Development, Among the Trees
David Byrne, (Nothing But) Flowers
Country Joe McDonald, Save The Whales!
Bob Marley and the Wailers, Get Up Stand Up
Joe Glazer, There’s Power in a Union
U2, Sunday Bloody Sunday
Eskit, Roe v Wade
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Version 2: Is Political Music Still Being Heard?
Here are links to the latest version of my presentation titled, 'The Evolution of Culture: Is Political Music Still Being Heard?'.
My thinking on the topic has progressed since the first draft was prepared and I learnt a lot from the first time I presented it. It is not often that I have the opportunity to discuss these issues with people - I find that doing so helps me to clarify my views and understanding - it is something I would really like to do a lot more often.
S. Hawkins, The Evolution of Culture: Is Political Music Still Being Heard v2.0 (15 October 2008)
<http://www.filefactory.com/file/4712b3/n/SHawkins_Political_Music_Presentation_mp3> at 15 October 2008
S. Hawkins, The Evolution of Culture: Is Political Music Still Being Heard v2.0 Bibliography (15 October 2008) <http://www.filefactory.com/file/874e81/n/Bibliography_to_Draft_Presentation_The_Evolution_of_Culture_20080818_doc> at 15 October 2008
[Scroll down the page and select 'Download with File Factory Basic']
My thinking on the topic has progressed since the first draft was prepared and I learnt a lot from the first time I presented it. It is not often that I have the opportunity to discuss these issues with people - I find that doing so helps me to clarify my views and understanding - it is something I would really like to do a lot more often.
S. Hawkins, The Evolution of Culture: Is Political Music Still Being Heard v2.0 (15 October 2008)
<http://www.filefactory.com/file/4712b3/n/SHawkins_Political_Music_Presentation_mp3> at 15 October 2008
S. Hawkins, The Evolution of Culture: Is Political Music Still Being Heard v2.0 Bibliography (15 October 2008) <http://www.filefactory.com/file/874e81/n/Bibliography_to_Draft_Presentation_The_Evolution_of_Culture_20080818_doc> at 15 October 2008
[Scroll down the page and select 'Download with File Factory Basic']
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Whats Going On? Tooooooo Much
Just wanted to post a note to explain why I havent been blogging as much as I was at the begining of the year. This has been a busy period with lots of library research, the radio program and many other life events. I have posted a short message today but wanted to let you know that for the next couple of weeks I wont be doing too much on this site. I have another presentation to give in two weeks and have had to shelve much of the work I had planned for this month.
Starting November I will be condensing all of the events and developments in the music industry over the past twelve months and will be back with many more posts at that time. Please refer to my other weblog http://www.ocaustralia.blogspot.com for the monthly list of articles I have been reading.
cheers
Sally
Starting November I will be condensing all of the events and developments in the music industry over the past twelve months and will be back with many more posts at that time. Please refer to my other weblog http://www.ocaustralia.blogspot.com for the monthly list of articles I have been reading.
cheers
Sally
The ideal music store
Following on from my presentation on the impact of institutional factors on the production and reception of political music I have been thinking about what attributes would make the ideal online music store. Here is the list I have come up with so far:
- Complete catalogue available in all jurisdictions
- Open access for all musicians/copyright holders to upload tracks
- Run on as a non profit or cooperative business structure ensuring artists are paid equally
- No use of digital rights management technology
- Comprehensive search parameters which include artist name, song title, genre and themes
- Offered both as a subscription service and on a per download basis
- Ability to download both individual tracks and albums
- A minimum of 30 second sample streams but preferably at least one free full track stream
- Integrated with other services including Wikipedia, YouTube, discussion forums, and lyrics
- Ability to access, download and print album art and liner notes for each track
No music service at present offers all of this – eMusic comes the closest but does not have a complete catalogue, I have been prevented from downloading tracks because of my geographical location, there is (for now?) limited integration of outside sources and there is no option to download album art or liner notes. Nonetheless it is the best music service I have experienced so far.
The use of file sharing technology and a collective licesning regime would help to achieve many of these goals and would be a starting point on which to add additional features. This would ensure the opennes of communication and maximise the opportunities for the production and reception of all music including the political.
Music With a Message
This week on my radio program I am featuring music from the civil rights era first before playing some anti war tracks. I am then moving on to play music that relates to American politics with some great tracks which refer to Barack Obama and remix some of his speeches with music and lyrics. I have been looking around for songs relating to John McCain but so far have only found one – if you know of any feel free to leave a comment on my blog. In later part of the show I am playing some Australian political songs.
I do have some good news to report – there is a fine new Apple computer connected to the desk at the station (with a disc drive in the side of the screen which I have never seen before) so I will be able to play some of the songs that I’ve had to shelve for the past few weeks. It was an important lesson though and will be doing absolutely everything I can to purchase mp3s with iTunes tracks being a last resort – such is the frustration of DRM!
Pete Seeger, We Are Moving On To Victory
Dock Reese, Guide My Feet While I Run This Race
Betty May Fikes, Up Over My Head/This Little Light of Mine
Charles Neblett, Which Side Are You On?
Charlton Reese and the Birmingham Movement Choir, 99 ½ Wont Do
Various Artists, We Are Soldiers in the Army
Tom Paxton, The Bravest
Donovan, Universal Soldier
Ani DiFranco, Waist Deep in the Big Muddy
Lizzie West & The White Buffalo, 19 Miles to Baghdad
Pete Seeger & Bruce Springsteen, Ghost of Tom Joad
Pete Seeger, The Ross Perot (George Bush) Guide to Answering Embarrassing Questions
Eskit, Impeach Me
Eskit, The Patriot Act
Howard Glazer, Patriot Act Blues
Baba Isreal, State of Emergency
Sunnyland Slim, Be Careful How You Vote
Ghostwridah, Dying to Survive (Feat. Barack Obama)
The Anonymous, Change (The Barack Obama Song)
Lamont Van Hook, Barack Will Lead the Way
Roy Medina, Barack Obama My Heroes
Midnight Oil, One Country
Our Land Our Home (Paul Kelly), From Little Things Big Things Grow
The Get Up Mob, From Little Things Big Things Grow
Our Land Our Home (Goanna), Solid Rock
The Herd, The King is Dead
Our Land Our Home, Respect for Eddie Mabo
The Golden Gate Quartet, Atom & Evil
Billy Hughes and The Rhythm Buckeroos, Atomic Serman
Lead Belly, Hitler Song
Neville Brothers, Wake Up
Ben Harper, With My Own Two Hands
Los Lobos, Peace
Neon Prophet, Save The Planet
I do have some good news to report – there is a fine new Apple computer connected to the desk at the station (with a disc drive in the side of the screen which I have never seen before) so I will be able to play some of the songs that I’ve had to shelve for the past few weeks. It was an important lesson though and will be doing absolutely everything I can to purchase mp3s with iTunes tracks being a last resort – such is the frustration of DRM!
Pete Seeger, We Are Moving On To Victory
Dock Reese, Guide My Feet While I Run This Race
Betty May Fikes, Up Over My Head/This Little Light of Mine
Charles Neblett, Which Side Are You On?
Charlton Reese and the Birmingham Movement Choir, 99 ½ Wont Do
Various Artists, We Are Soldiers in the Army
Tom Paxton, The Bravest
Donovan, Universal Soldier
Ani DiFranco, Waist Deep in the Big Muddy
Lizzie West & The White Buffalo, 19 Miles to Baghdad
Pete Seeger & Bruce Springsteen, Ghost of Tom Joad
Pete Seeger, The Ross Perot (George Bush) Guide to Answering Embarrassing Questions
Eskit, Impeach Me
Eskit, The Patriot Act
Howard Glazer, Patriot Act Blues
Baba Isreal, State of Emergency
Sunnyland Slim, Be Careful How You Vote
Ghostwridah, Dying to Survive (Feat. Barack Obama)
The Anonymous, Change (The Barack Obama Song)
Lamont Van Hook, Barack Will Lead the Way
Roy Medina, Barack Obama My Heroes
Midnight Oil, One Country
Our Land Our Home (Paul Kelly), From Little Things Big Things Grow
The Get Up Mob, From Little Things Big Things Grow
Our Land Our Home (Goanna), Solid Rock
The Herd, The King is Dead
Our Land Our Home, Respect for Eddie Mabo
The Golden Gate Quartet, Atom & Evil
Billy Hughes and The Rhythm Buckeroos, Atomic Serman
Lead Belly, Hitler Song
Neville Brothers, Wake Up
Ben Harper, With My Own Two Hands
Los Lobos, Peace
Neon Prophet, Save The Planet
Friday, October 10, 2008
Specific Strategies
Toward the end of my presentation on whether political music is still being heard I raise five specific strategies that can be employed which will enhance the reception of political music.
These include:
Firstly, allowing dedicated space on digital music store sites for music with a social justice, environmental or political nature. This could be in the form of feature artists but I don’t think this is the most effective way of enhancing the reception of this form of culture.
Rather I propose combining the power of web 2.0 technologies such as blogs or wikis to allow users to develop themes therefore incorporating a range of styles and songs and compiling them together to provide more comprehensive access to political music. By bringing together the songs, their context and linking with other tracks that refer to the same issues, it is possible to remove the additional steps needed to research, find and buy political music.
eMusic and Yahoo have recently taken steps to incorporate Wikipedia pages and YouTube videos into their music sites, however from what I have read this appears to be limited to artist biographies rather than providing the context in which political songs were written or linking songs of a similar kind together.
Amazon and IMDB have also recently launched a music focused wiki called SoundUnwound that anyone can edit. While integrating YouTube videos, from the beta version of the site it seems that this will also be artist specific.
Secondly, discussion forums could also be linked to digital music stores to encourage greater participation in the discourse of political music. By increasing the discussion around songs of this nature a greater level of peer production can be achieved providing a context and a forum in which to express personal perspectives on the music. Many lyrics sites provide an opportunity to discuss the interpretation of political songs but are removed from the music.
Thirdly, search engines could also be developed which can search lyrics or imbedded tags to provide increased access to oppositional culture. This would enable users to search for themes rather than just genres or artists and provide results based on content.
Yahoo has recently begun integrating full length streams to its standard search engine but the search parameters are limited to artist names and song titles. Up to 25 tracks can be streamed once each in a one month period.
Fourthly, grass roots political campaigns should be entitled to link to and use political music on their websites. Provided this was for registered charities or incorporated associations (genuine non profits) there should be no impediments to the use of music to educate, illustrate and empower members of the public.
Statistics in both the United States and Canada indicate that more people purchase music when they are exposed to it. Adopting this strategy requires an acknowledgement that not all free downloads or streams equate to a lost sale. For political music this would equate to radio air play or television exposure that this form of culture currently lacks.
While I dont think it is necessary, limitations could also be imposed such as restricting the number of songs each organisation could stream at one time or imposing an arbitrary limit such as 10,000 streams per song. This could most easily be achieved through an exception to copyright infringement under the Copyright Act.
At present there is a distinct separation between activism and protest music. Breaking down this barrier would result in both increased awareness of issues as well as greater exposure, consumption and use of political works.
When one looks at material relating to the civil rights era in particular as well as other movements from the 1960s it becomes evident that the protests and other campaigns that took place at the time directly integrated with political song with many works being performed and sung on mass as part of the protest. With the exception of the Get Up Mobs version of ‘From Little Things Big Things Grow’ which was a song recorded and released as part of a Get Up campaign at the time of the apology to the Stolen Generation, it is difficult to find examples in recent times when songs were linked directly to political issues.
Finally, another important change that would improve access to protest music would be the development of a central repository or archive. This should not be limited to works that have entered the public domain but should offer the public streams of content. This could be operated by a non profit association incorporated in numerous jurisdictions around the world and could integrate with wikipedia pages which discuss specific social events or concerns.
Further Reading
Digital Music News, eMusic Goes Under the Knife; Makeover Unwrapping Soon (17 July 2008) <http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/stories/071608emusic> at 18 July 2008
washingtonpost, Yahoo to open music to other services (11 September 2008) <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/11/AR2008091101997.html>at 14 September 2008
Digital Music News, Yahoo Music Starts Opening Up; Early Blueprints Revealed (12 September 2008) <http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/stories/091008yahoo> at 14 September 2008
Digital Music News, Aaliyah to ZZ Top: Amazon, IMDb Launch Music Wiki (4 September 2008) <http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/stories/090308amazon> at 4 September 2008
Songmeanigngs.net <http://www.songmeanings.net/> at 10 October 2008
Yahoo, Yahoo hopes to boost search fortunes with new music search (19 September 2008) <http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080919-yahoo-hopes-to-boost-search-fortunes-with-new-music-search.html> at 21 September 2008
CNet News, Yahoo adds full-length music tracks to search results (18 September 2008) <http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10045466-2.html> at 21 September 2008
Get Up, From Little Things Big Things Grow Campaign (January 2008)
<http://www.getup.org.au/campaign/MakeThisAHit&id=329> at 10 October 2008
These include:
Firstly, allowing dedicated space on digital music store sites for music with a social justice, environmental or political nature. This could be in the form of feature artists but I don’t think this is the most effective way of enhancing the reception of this form of culture.
Rather I propose combining the power of web 2.0 technologies such as blogs or wikis to allow users to develop themes therefore incorporating a range of styles and songs and compiling them together to provide more comprehensive access to political music. By bringing together the songs, their context and linking with other tracks that refer to the same issues, it is possible to remove the additional steps needed to research, find and buy political music.
eMusic and Yahoo have recently taken steps to incorporate Wikipedia pages and YouTube videos into their music sites, however from what I have read this appears to be limited to artist biographies rather than providing the context in which political songs were written or linking songs of a similar kind together.
Amazon and IMDB have also recently launched a music focused wiki called SoundUnwound that anyone can edit. While integrating YouTube videos, from the beta version of the site it seems that this will also be artist specific.
Secondly, discussion forums could also be linked to digital music stores to encourage greater participation in the discourse of political music. By increasing the discussion around songs of this nature a greater level of peer production can be achieved providing a context and a forum in which to express personal perspectives on the music. Many lyrics sites provide an opportunity to discuss the interpretation of political songs but are removed from the music.
Thirdly, search engines could also be developed which can search lyrics or imbedded tags to provide increased access to oppositional culture. This would enable users to search for themes rather than just genres or artists and provide results based on content.
Yahoo has recently begun integrating full length streams to its standard search engine but the search parameters are limited to artist names and song titles. Up to 25 tracks can be streamed once each in a one month period.
Fourthly, grass roots political campaigns should be entitled to link to and use political music on their websites. Provided this was for registered charities or incorporated associations (genuine non profits) there should be no impediments to the use of music to educate, illustrate and empower members of the public.
Statistics in both the United States and Canada indicate that more people purchase music when they are exposed to it. Adopting this strategy requires an acknowledgement that not all free downloads or streams equate to a lost sale. For political music this would equate to radio air play or television exposure that this form of culture currently lacks.
While I dont think it is necessary, limitations could also be imposed such as restricting the number of songs each organisation could stream at one time or imposing an arbitrary limit such as 10,000 streams per song. This could most easily be achieved through an exception to copyright infringement under the Copyright Act.
At present there is a distinct separation between activism and protest music. Breaking down this barrier would result in both increased awareness of issues as well as greater exposure, consumption and use of political works.
When one looks at material relating to the civil rights era in particular as well as other movements from the 1960s it becomes evident that the protests and other campaigns that took place at the time directly integrated with political song with many works being performed and sung on mass as part of the protest. With the exception of the Get Up Mobs version of ‘From Little Things Big Things Grow’ which was a song recorded and released as part of a Get Up campaign at the time of the apology to the Stolen Generation, it is difficult to find examples in recent times when songs were linked directly to political issues.
Finally, another important change that would improve access to protest music would be the development of a central repository or archive. This should not be limited to works that have entered the public domain but should offer the public streams of content. This could be operated by a non profit association incorporated in numerous jurisdictions around the world and could integrate with wikipedia pages which discuss specific social events or concerns.
Further Reading
Digital Music News, eMusic Goes Under the Knife; Makeover Unwrapping Soon (17 July 2008) <http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/stories/071608emusic> at 18 July 2008
washingtonpost, Yahoo to open music to other services (11 September 2008) <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/11/AR2008091101997.html>at 14 September 2008
Digital Music News, Yahoo Music Starts Opening Up; Early Blueprints Revealed (12 September 2008) <http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/stories/091008yahoo> at 14 September 2008
Digital Music News, Aaliyah to ZZ Top: Amazon, IMDb Launch Music Wiki (4 September 2008) <http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/stories/090308amazon> at 4 September 2008
Songmeanigngs.net <http://www.songmeanings.net/> at 10 October 2008
Yahoo, Yahoo hopes to boost search fortunes with new music search (19 September 2008) <http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080919-yahoo-hopes-to-boost-search-fortunes-with-new-music-search.html> at 21 September 2008
CNet News, Yahoo adds full-length music tracks to search results (18 September 2008) <http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10045466-2.html> at 21 September 2008
Get Up, From Little Things Big Things Grow Campaign (January 2008)
<http://www.getup.org.au/campaign/MakeThisAHit&id=329> at 10 October 2008
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Music With a Message
Here is the play list for my radio program next weekend. I start by playing a number of songs from the civil rights era, some blues, tracks referring to poverty, gay rights and women’s issues. In the later part of the show I am focussing on the environment, Australian indigenous issues, and war/peace tracks.
The minor hitch is that at present there are no computers working/connected to the desk and only 18/30 of these songs are mp3s. At present the only digital music site I can purchase from is eMusic as all other stores use DRM on their tracks – I have even tried the Amazon downloads site but it is only available to US citizens at the moment. This amounts to around 25 tracks I haven't been able to play over the past three weeks - I can understand how customers of MSN Music, Yahoo and WalMart feel.
From first hand experience I have to say that DRM and the geographic limitations imposed because of licensing constraints are a burden that no consumer should have to encounter. It is both frustrating and ridiculous that I cannot access the music I want because I want to pay for it.
Neville Brothers, Sister Rosa
Mamie Brown & The Birmingham Movement Choir, I’m On My Way
Freedom Singers, Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me ‘Round
Phil Ochs, I’m Gonna Say What I Have to Say
Carlton Reese, Yes We Want Our Freedom
J.B. Lenoir, Remove This Rope
J.B. Lenoir, Livin’ In the White House
Tracy Chapman, Talkin’ About a Revolution
Jonatha Brookes, Madonna on the Curb
Ben Harper, Better Way
Public Enemy, Black Steel in the House of Chaos
Tom Robinson Band, Glad to Be Gay
Sinead O’Connor, No Man’s Woman
Aretha Franklin, Respect
Cat Stevens, Where Do the Children Play?
The John Butler Trio, Treat Yo Mama
The John Butler Trio, Ocean
The John Butler Trio, Company Sin
Our Home Our Land, This Lands Worth More than Silver and Gold
Our Home Our Land, Respect for Eddie Mabo
Morrissey, America Is not the World
Anne Feeney, Rebuild America Keep Hope Alive
Jimi Hendrix, Star Spangled Banner
John Mellancamp, To Washington
Bob Dylan, Masters of War
Country Joe & The Fish, I Feel Like I’m Fixin to Die Rag
John Lennon, Give Peace a Chance
John Lennon, Imagine
James Brown, Peace in the World
Sarah McLachlan, World on Fire
The minor hitch is that at present there are no computers working/connected to the desk and only 18/30 of these songs are mp3s. At present the only digital music site I can purchase from is eMusic as all other stores use DRM on their tracks – I have even tried the Amazon downloads site but it is only available to US citizens at the moment. This amounts to around 25 tracks I haven't been able to play over the past three weeks - I can understand how customers of MSN Music, Yahoo and WalMart feel.
From first hand experience I have to say that DRM and the geographic limitations imposed because of licensing constraints are a burden that no consumer should have to encounter. It is both frustrating and ridiculous that I cannot access the music I want because I want to pay for it.
Neville Brothers, Sister Rosa
Mamie Brown & The Birmingham Movement Choir, I’m On My Way
Freedom Singers, Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me ‘Round
Phil Ochs, I’m Gonna Say What I Have to Say
Carlton Reese, Yes We Want Our Freedom
J.B. Lenoir, Remove This Rope
J.B. Lenoir, Livin’ In the White House
Tracy Chapman, Talkin’ About a Revolution
Jonatha Brookes, Madonna on the Curb
Ben Harper, Better Way
Public Enemy, Black Steel in the House of Chaos
Tom Robinson Band, Glad to Be Gay
Sinead O’Connor, No Man’s Woman
Aretha Franklin, Respect
Cat Stevens, Where Do the Children Play?
The John Butler Trio, Treat Yo Mama
The John Butler Trio, Ocean
The John Butler Trio, Company Sin
Our Home Our Land, This Lands Worth More than Silver and Gold
Our Home Our Land, Respect for Eddie Mabo
Morrissey, America Is not the World
Anne Feeney, Rebuild America Keep Hope Alive
Jimi Hendrix, Star Spangled Banner
John Mellancamp, To Washington
Bob Dylan, Masters of War
Country Joe & The Fish, I Feel Like I’m Fixin to Die Rag
John Lennon, Give Peace a Chance
John Lennon, Imagine
James Brown, Peace in the World
Sarah McLachlan, World on Fire
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