MAC Week 1 - Reply to Amanda McGhee

MAC - Week 1 Reading - Copyright

Copyright is definitely a hot topic, particularly now as media becomes more easily accessible via Internet. I worked in the music industry for 6 years. I managed Wherehouse Music (which later became Blockbuster Music), and also recorded two songs at a studio in downtown Nashville. I personally witnessed the sharp decline in CD sales as file sharing became a national craze. So, I can believe that the music industry took a 7 billion dollar hit as mentioned in the “Good Copy/Bad Copy” video. The videos my husband was given during his tours in Iraq were a testament to the size of the black market of video piracy. I have heard several people comment that they had no problem paying the artists for their work, but paying the record labels was a different story. Interestingly, though, was the comment in Anderson’s (2010) article, “Effects on the economy as a whole, then, are terribly speculative and seem more likely to be simply redistributive.” I can’t wait to learn about the ins and outs of “fair use” as I believe that this is most likely a misunderstood aspect of copyright. I can personally identify with the music mixes. When I was first introduced to mixing software, I had a blast mixing music. In my traditional school, I generally mixed the music for all of the motivational events and pep rallies. As I return to that environment, I need to be more aware of what is and is not allowed so that I can model and teach my students.

Copyright image from Creative Commons

@ Amanda

It was shocking to hear that the music industry took that big of a hit financially in that video. The sad thing is that is what ends up happening as technology changes and things become faster and more accessible. Either companies adapt or they fall, sometimes either by normal means or by the piracy that has spread. Even with the concept of 'Fair Use' out there, companies still try to enforce the copyright laws on a person even though the person did fit in that narrow window that Fair Use falls in. The companies tend to intimidate with lawsuits, which, for the person who tried to make something creative, ends with them usually taking the work down as they couldn't afford a fight with a company.  This is one aspect that I think really made piracy so heavy as well as just how accessible things are on the web now. Really, the copyright laws will need to adapt to the changes that were brought about by the digital aspect and the widespread use of the internet as we have to teach our children at a young age to realize that everything on the web is not free and available for use.