Phonographic Industry, Copyrights And New Scenarios for Digital Music Sells.

This report summarizes the interim findings of a research project undertaken by the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance (The Institute) investigating the experiences of small music venues in the UK. The project was commissioned by the Music Venue Trust (MVT) and funded by Arts Council England (ACE) via an allocation of a grant awarded to MVT (Grant for the Arts ref. 27555752) and by The Institute. A more extensive report is in preparation and will form part of a submission to Parliament on 9 March.

Bu makale, bugünkü biçimini geçtiğimiz yüzyılda almış olan telif hakları konseptinin müzik özelinde günümüz koşullarına uygunluğunu, teknolojik ve kültürel değişimler ışığında incelemeye çalışır. Bu bağlamda, ilk olarak bu konseptin kısa bir tanımına ve uygulanmasına ilişkin örneklere yer verir; ardından ise müziğin üretim, dağıtım ve tüketim boyutları üzerinde durarak 20. yüzyıl ile 21. yüzyıl arasındaki farklara değinir. Bu farkların temel sebebi, teknolojide görülen değişimler ile bu değişimlerin kültürel alana yansımasının tamamen yeni bir durum meydana getirmiş olmasıdır. Bu yeni durumun niteliklerinden biri de, müziğin tüketim ve üretim boyutlarının her geçen gün daha fazla iç içe geçmesiyle birlikte, daha önce görülmemiş yeni yaratıcılık alanlarının ortaya çıkışıdır. Makale bütün bunları, müzikte telif hakları konseptinin gözden geçirilme ihtiyacı ile ilişkili bir şekilde aktarmaya çalışır. Telif hakları alanında geliştirilen yeni alternatifler ve bu alternatifler arasında en çok öne çıkanlardan biri olan Creative Commons üzerinde durur. Gelecekteki olası durumlara da işaret etmeye çalışarak telif haklarına ilişkin yasaların yeniden düzenlenme gereksinimine vurgu yapar.

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This article investigates the relevance of the concept of copyright, which took its modern form in the last century, to the present conditions specific to music in the light of technological and cultural changes. Firstly, it provides a basic definition of copyright along with examples related to its implementation. Then, it dwells on production, distribution and consumption dimensions of music, addressing their differences between 20th and 21st centuries. The main cause of these differences is that there have been radical changes in technology and that reflections of these changes on cultural field have created a completely new paradigm. One of the characteristics of this new paradigm is that unprecedented creativity techniques and ideas are emerged in conjunction with the continuing intertwinement of the consumption and production dimensions of music. The article tries to express all these issues in relation to the need of alteration of the copyright concept, and discusses new alternatives to copyright, especially the most prominent one being Creative Commons. Pointing out the potential developments, it emphasizes the need of reformulation of the laws and regulations related to copyright.

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Extended English Abstract:

Copyright provides the creator (usually referred as ‘author’) of any literary or artistic work with exclusive rights on the use and distribution of the work for a given period within the scope of the current laws in a country. In relation to musical works, during this given period, a consumer shall only be allowed to listen to the work: he/she shall not be allowed to copy or reproduce it, share it with others, or perform it publicly. Neither shall the consumer attempt a creative activity completely or partially based on the work. This condition is mostly valid even for the person who composed the musical piece. For example, Paul McCartney is obliged to make payments to the Sony/ATV Music Publishing company in order to be able to perform the songs he composed when he was a member of the Beatles, for each and every concert. This is because these rights (to produce copies or reproductions of the work and to sell those copies, to perform the work publicly, to create derivative works, and such) are completely or partially transferred to publishers in return for considerably lower royalties. The reason for this is that a musical work should pass through several stages until it meets with its audience: being recorded, being turned into a tangible product, reproduction, and regional, national or global distribution. We should also mention promotional activities and advertising. Until the 21st century, it has not been possible for authors to carry out these stages on their own. The contemporary technology, however, has created a new economic and cultural situation: it has enabled authors to easily record, reproduce and distribute their own works; and moreover provided many people with the opportunity to express themselves, engaging in creative activities and producing derivative works, based on copyrighted works. The current concept of copyright has, therefore, become outdated and incompatible with the economic and cultural situation of today.

Social and economic circumstances of each era render certain concepts useful and require them to be used. That the techniques of mass production and distribution have become applicable to the field of music in the 20th century, and the technological and economic structure of the era, has provided the copyright regulations and current percept of copyright with a legitimate basis in a given historical period. But the main dynamics of the production and consumption of music have again changed in the 21st century by virtue of technological developments. While musicians began to create works in more comfortable and easier conditions, both the number of those who are interested in creative musical activities and the number of works increased. People create more works now and engage in many different creative activities based on previously copyrighted works. Moreover, they share and distribute these derivative works by their own means. This is also a precursor of a new economic model in society. The music industry had almost completely broken the bonds and relationships between the musical work and both its creator and consumer; but now, the Internet and new technologies are in a position to restore these relationships even more tightly.

This article aims to shed light on this paradigm shift. First, it examines the workings of the music industry throughout the 20th century and the challenge it has been facing since the late 20th century. This challenge is valid not only for the production and consumption of music but also for its sharing among consumers. Drawing on Raymond William’s definition of ‘culture’, the article argues that people’s music listening and sharing habits should be assessed considering the cultural context, so the new situation is ‘cultural’, and that the current laws are in contradiction with the actual cultural reality. And if history has taught us anything, it is that social attitudes always overcome laws in such conflict situations, and force them to change.

The new technological and cultural situation has not only changed the way the music is produced and consumed, but also blurred the dividing lines between the author and the consumer. In this context, the article suggests that the conceptualization of ‘creativity’ and ‘author’ must be questioned, and it lays emphasis on the ‘new creativity fields’ such as mix, remix, and sampling. It argues that the copyright laws hinder cultural production by declaring a large part of these creative activities ‘illegal’. After indicating the unsustainability of the current situation through various examples, the article addresses Creative Commons, one of the most promising solutions to the problem, which is based on the principle that all cultural works are interconnected and they can, therefore, not be treated and marketed as individual/independent products. Even in its most restricted usage, Creative Commons, which has six main license types, allows non-commercial, individual, and cultural use and sharing of the licensed work. Its license that provides the most broad usage, on the other hand, grants that the licensed work can be shared, copied, edited, remixed, used for creating derivative works, and even for commercial purposes. Many features of this open licensing system, that is compatible with the digital age in which we are living, make it one of the best alternatives to the current concept of copyright.

In conclusion, the novelties that 21st century has brought along have profoundly influenced our daily life, changed our behavior patterns and, beyond that, radically transformed our perception of ‘community’. Today, people from all over the world can easily communicate with each other, and millions of people lead a new understanding of ‘society’ by creating new communities in virtual networks. With the extensive sharing practices on the Internet, individuals have the opportunity to access each and every cultural product without time and place restrictions, use them, add on, develop and transform them, and create derivative works from them. The technologies that created this transformation and caused new ways of social behavior, thinking and acting to emerge, have irreversibly penetrated into our life within the last decade. As a result of this, there have been considerable changes both in the workings of the music industry and its sources of income, and it is thought that this tendency will continue even faster in the years to come. However, those who have dominated the industry throughout the 20th century could not accommodate themselves to this new situation. They still try to keep the old paradigm prevail by using the copyright laws and regulations which do not respond to actual needs and conflict with the ongoing paradigm shift. In light of the above considerations, this article emphasizes that it became an urgent need that the copyright laws should be rearranged in accordance with the current cultural context that characterizes the era.