Remix Culture

I thought Lawrence Lessig’s Remix Culture introduced a new perspective on artistic creativity and copyright laws. The excerpt was easy to read with contemporary examples used throughout the text. I thought his references of GirlTalk, YouTube, and other digital media were very relatable and helped me better grasp the points he was arguing. Lessig first introduces copyright liabilities using an example from YouTube. The example centers on a mother posting a video of her young son dancing to a Prince son and eventually getting sued to for violating copyright laws. Lessig argues that this case is not worth the large amount of money and corporate resources because the YouTube clip is not taking away possible revenue from Prince. These types of copyright lawsuits extend to other media platforms including print photography. A photographer was recently found guilty of copyright infringement for appropriating images created by others. However, he argued that his photographs are protected by fair use exemptions. Lessig also discusses the value of artistic creativity and the strong connection people have to this creativity. The constant technological innovations have both helped and hindered the music industry. Copyright laws have become more stringent in recent years, but Lessig reflects on the cases that revolve around permission. He uses an example of an artist that developed a tribute to John Lennon featuring 25 fans singing his song, but the artist fought through a brutal lawsuit in order to receive permission. This brings us to the question of when do the copyright laws go too far? I personally feel this artist still presented an original work and was not looking to ‘steal’ revenue from creating the tribute. I agree with Lessig in that extreme regulation of copyright law creates difficulties and even limits creativity. His last two examples focused on combining a range of musical sounds into one, original piece. Using artists GirlTalk and SilviaO, he brings up the possibility that this type of formation or ‘mash up’ is innovative and serves an original. I agree with this notion and feel that most famous artists end up revamping their hits into remixes, only to create a more popular song.