Music and Copyrights

I'll start off by saying this - get and watch Good Copy Bad Copy (torrent link). FYI: this is a legal torrent download.

That said I now want to express my feelings and opinions on this topic. Easiest way to put it - music should be free for everyone. I've made some of my own electronic/trance music (find me here at Podshow) and even before that I was a firm believer that music should be free. Music should be about expressing yourself and being creative. I think that the major music industry (at least in North America) has really lost sight of this point and now focuses on something else - money. I understand that the equipment needed to produce music is not always cheap, as well as going on tour and things like that. The thing is that artists, whether it be visual art, music, or movies, are being held back by the fact that they can't afford access to things like production studios or better equipment. With the advent of computers and modern technology, these things are becoming cheaper. Most music can actually be composed on computers and most people don't even know the difference. Another thing is holding people back is the restrictions on sampling. If someone want to sample a clip from another artist's creation, they have to go through a lot of legal hassel, as well as shell out a decent amount of money just to use it. This really inhibits DJs who mix a lot of different songs in each one of their own creations.

Another thing brought up by the movie was the business model of the music industry. They have to find a way to deal with the new technologies and the effect on music. One of the guys in the movie brought up something about everyone that wants music pays $50/year for basically a global license. I think this is an excellent idea. If you think about it, over 60 million people download music... that equates to over $6 billion every year. According to some information I have found, CD sales in 2006 were around $18 million (source). Cheap as I may be, I would much prefer to have unlimited downloads yearly for $50 as opposed to being forced to pay ~$12/album. It pays itself off in 5 albums (roughly 75 songs)! Of course a lot of work would have to go into setting this up, but in the end it would be worth it.

All that said, I think I'm going to start getting into some mashup type mixing or some other DJ-style mixes. I want to contribute to this era of digital music in hopes of inspiring those in power to make some changes. So if you have any suggestions, let me know and I'll see what I can do.

I don't know if all that I've said makes the most sense but I think I got my main points out there.

Again, here's that torrent link... (remember, it is legal)
http://thepiratebay.org/tor/3700777/Good_Copy_Bad_Copy_-_XviD