HarveyRothman
patreon
really messy and unformatted ramble about copyright
🕑 Added 2021-05-01 12:20:57 +0000 UTCi've come to realise whenever someone comes and asks "permission" to use a song of mine in a project of theirs, i'm in fact not giving them my permission; rather i'm giving them my endorsement or personal opinion of the music's suitability. of all the permissions i've given, only two times i have expressed discontent. it had been when either the track isn't finished or ive not been fond of, or is being used in a distasteful context (or i just don't "get it") both of which may give the wrong idea to potential audiences of how good my music can be, or besmirch my morals, respectively; and the other time has been i simply didn't think my song suited the context aesthetically. but it's not a problem. for the former, with the power of the internet, i can state my initial intentions for my work and that the derivative work does not follow those same intentions which i can't give my endorsment. for the latter, i can simply give the aesthetic recommendation, but who am I to judge or dictate another's artistic vision, especially if it's THEIR belief that my music matches their project perfectly? i shouldn't try nor should i wish to control other people's minds.
i guess my intention legally speaking falls within the CC-BY-SA license. Share and give CREDIT (free advertising), Remix and adapt (for art, and yet more free advertising) even commercially (more incentive to advertise, spread the music), and ShareAlike (continue the trend with derivative works). again with the permission vs endorsement thing, i really just appreciate being notified as to what my content is being used in, i like to see where it ends up for my own amusement and ego. although I'm thinking of leaving work in progresses as "all rights reserved" cos I wouldn't want that crap getting into peoples' ears with them thinking "wow this mix is a mess" or "i'm taking this before it's grown to its original creator's fullest potential + intention"
if you're sampling my music, i request but by no means require that you say what bit was sampled and where (leaving a timecode like on whosampled.com) but i do require that my name be somewhere in the credits. if the sampling is prominent, i would appreciate although not require that my name be fairly high up in the credits (or even "co-written"). of course donations appreciated too, especially if you think your adaptation is going to go places.
if you make a music video where the entire audio half of the video is a song of mine, i would appreciate a donation and a chat about the content of the video and whether it gets my endorsement. but again, who am i to judge what my music means to you? i'd be amazed if a song of mine inspires an artist so much that they simply HAVE to make a film/game/whatever about it. friends and i've personally had flashes of inspiration from music to make a cartoon about it, only to strangle that idea because of not having any means of sharing the work with others without the prospect of legal issues.
i've repeated it a couple times throughout this, but as a reminder. i like to be contacted about what my music is used in so i can be quick to check everything's still dandy, credit is given. and if it's use in something obnoxious or distasteful, i can ask to have my name removed or if anybody else asks i'll just say "yeah its a rotten video isn't it" and give it my badge of disapproval.
donations can either wait til you can afford it after you've financially benefited from the art you've produced, and if that money never comes then no worries!
If you'd like to do all that with my music and reserve YOUR rights (ie not make it ShareAlike and start restricting what people can do with your take) you'll have to talk about it with me. It's because I don't want Netflix using a song of mine, editing it a tiny bit, then sueing anyone who shares "their take" on my tune. Of course, if you're a let's player/vlogger and use it in the credits, you have the right to license your voice and video footage how you please.
of course don't be a prat and say either you made my song, or i've made your song. that's lying.
i havent ACTED on any of this yet, just pondering. i'm just curious what it is i'm "giving up" if "giving up" to free advertising, remixes, artistic projects is really much of a loss to begin with. i get 0.0001 cent if I put something on Spotify, but all it takes is one listener that REALLY likes my music to voluntarily pay £15 for a single song (thanks josh!)
re: cartoons
i haven't come to a similar conclusion with my cartoons because i am unsure where characters and their names lie between copyright and trademark. they are two very different things but i don't really know what it means yet. although i love fan art/animations, i would not want the characters' ownership getting confused between artists and their originator. i suppose that's being hypocritical as no doubt my characters are based on the likeness and personality of others, fiction and non-fiction. Their vocal chords are someone else's property also. it's all very confusing.
what do you think? would i simply be throwing away everything by going down this route, or is the old distribution model of media, shutting down people who share, outdated with the internet?
Comments
Anders O.H Moberg
i mean i might do this myself in the not too distant future
Anders O.H Moberg
dunno if I have so much to add here sway you one way or the other.. I think you're in your right to be worried how your works are being used, especially if it's just you and not.. uh, a label taking care of that kind of communication. as long as it the license is mentioned where it's reasonable it should be and it's easy enough to ask for your blessing.
