Having Rights Means Choosing How to Exercise Them
Monday, October 15th, 2007 by Patrick RossI came across an interesting interview with a band called Everyone But Pete. They are one of the musical acts working with the consumer electronics industry to promote the freedom of digital devices. The interviewer was clearly a fan of piracy, but some band members themselves expressed some subtlety of positions and signs of serious thought. Most importantly, some of them were quick to acknowledge that they haven't fully thought out the issue of copyright in a digital economy and recognize there's more to learn.
Even musicians who are starting to succeed financially don't always know the subtleties of copyright; they didn't learn to play the guitar or drums so they could study legal issues. Copyright also is often for them something involving degrees of separation with a manager, a label, etc. Green from concerts or merchandise can be more immediate. And they don't suddenly feel a dollar fly out of their pocket when someone downloads their song without permission. Of course, musicians that are not signed with a label, as Everyone but Pete is not, often are doing the touring/MySpace scene hoping to get noticed and are not going to be focused on copyright at all. It's understandable why; the premium for them is on exposure.
The key in our society is, however, that they have choice because they have rights. Here's what one band member, Brian Fanale, had to say when asked about Metallica's objection to file-sharing:
"I think it's totally hypocritical. As an artist, I value my intellectual property. But I give that property away and that is my choice."
It is Brian's choice (assuming his band members are in agreement) and I applaud him for it. But what if I've recorded an album and I don't share his choice? Well, Brian says this:
"Personally, I think that file sharing is a great thing. I think it should be free, and I hope more people steal as much music as possible."
Brian thinks bands are best when they're like the Grateful Dead, touring incessantly and selling T-shirts but rarely recording new tracks. Some of us music fans who like new music and find a CD or an iTunes download cheaper than the three-figure concert tickets top acts are now charging like an alternative to the touring model. Some artists would choose not to prefer to record more and tour less — I'm thinking in particular of a female singer with young children who, unlike Britney, wants to spend time with them.
It can be difficult to think beyond yourself, to wonder how what you "hope" happens (more theft) affects people other than yourself. One of his band mates is trying, however. After Brian again says "I am all for file-sharing and I don't give a damn about piracy," Jim Fanale chimes in. He says he's sympathetic with Brian's position, then says:
"But I can see it from the point of view of the companies like NBC. David Green, the man representing NBC at the [Brown University] debate, mentioned that companies were losing $18 billion to piracy, with major motion picture companies losing $6 billion per year… Losing that much is cause for concern, so I can see how they would try to restrict use of digital media when they think that it can help prevent such huge losses."
Jim mentioned that he hadn't really thought about the issue beyond music. He should know that it does involve motion pictures and television, and also book, magazine and newspaper publishing, business and entertainment software (Brian interestingly said it was wrong to steal an XBox game because it was a tangible item but digital music wasn't and thus should be free), photography, graphic arts, and amateur and professional sports. We support them all at the Copyright Alliance. And in particular, we support all of the individual creators and artists who are a part of the system; it goes beyond corporations, as our membership list attests.
Jim, who seems open-minded, should also know that copyright owners are not trying to "restrict use of digital media." They want to promote use of digital media, because they are producing their creative works to be enjoyed by consumers. The rightsholders merely want to make sure that the works are being used consistent with the rights purchased. In a fully mature market for digital works, Jim, that means you can determine what use you want with a creative work and only pay for that use. If that isn't digital freedom, I don't know what is.
Finally I would say to Jim that if your touring ever brings you to Washington, feel free to reach out with your band mates and we can have a nice chat. At the Copyright Alliance we support all artists exercising their rights, including those who choose to give those rights away.
