The doctor of free software, Richard Stallman, just wrote a prescription for socialized music (Wired 1.3). There is no argument that musicians should get their fair share. But, if spreading the music tax evenly among them grants equally standardized lifestyles, wouldn't this homogenize the creative process? A level playing field is an effective way of killing the diversity vital in making music appealing. Take it from a self-employed programmer who found a bare cupboard inspirational in producing better software to stay alive, and beating the competition. That is progress. Socialism is not.
As a musician who spent years and thousands of dollars writing, recording, and trying to distribute my music, all to no profit and little recognition, I can vouch that some of us could care less about "copyrights." What I would like is that people have a chance to hear one of the six albums I recorded. In the future, as storage systems improve, and net access is more efficient, we can all have our own ftp sites, and just announce to the world, "Hey, I just finished my album, and you can download it from ftp.bills.garage." There might be the possibility of remuneration from this, but if not, who cares? Someone will be driving down the highway listening to my music. As Mr. Stallman noted, copyrights do not help the production of music, and in general, they don't even help the musicians themselves, except in the very rare case of the Rolling Stones or U2. What they have done is take away music as a shared expression of daily life, and turned it into a marketed commodity: "us" versus "them." As a final note, Charles Dickens became popular in the US precisely because of the lack of copyright protection here in those days. In other words, it cost nothing to "steal" his work and distribute it for a profit all over the new world. But his place in literary history was assured. If more diverse work could be "stolen" and easily distributed, then the aggregate music wisdom will rise as Gamelan Music from Bali, the Cocteau Twins, and the Pipes of Jajouk will no longer be hidden treasures for those who hang out with the right crowd in the right country, or require some rich rock star to discover the music and put them on CD. All that we'll need is a little interest in music beyond the norm, a little time to spend, and a good network connection.
RANTS & RAVES
What's Wrong With Peter Drucker
Stallman and Copywrong
