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Introduction and Copyright
10-02-2013, 23:41 PM
Hello, Everyone!
I am pleased to have signed up with what appears to be a fine music site. Moreover, I very much appreciate the nearly effortless artist signup process. I wish more things in life could be so easy!
I am a composer/guitarist who writes mostly in the tradition of the European masters. Give me a listen; I shall reciprocate. However, before you do, please read this explanation of how I deal with my music on the web.
After one of the members of MP3UNSIGNED chided me for posting a soundmarked file, I must explain this to gain understanding of my position. My policy stems from a galvanizing experience as well as a general philosophy I have regarding original art.
Recently I endured the horrible experience of facing an imposter’s fraudulent claim of authorship of one of my pieces. Although I had ample evidence, which ultimately scared the fraud away from his claim, I was infuriated by the gross injustice of his deed. Reminded of the depths to which some people will go in order to gain a sense of power, I was awakened to two important truths. First, if that individual had been a powerful, well-connected person or institution, I could easily have been stripped of my piece through legal red tape regardless of the righteousness of my position. The second is the way the entire world seems to think the musical artist has a duty to release to the world, free of charge, everything the artist creates. Why is this?
No one expects a doctor, lawyer, mechanic, plumber, or any other kind of service provider to work for nothing. They provide their services, charge their usually exorbitant fees, we pay, and that’s that--not a word about it. On the other hand, according to many if a creative artist, at least an unknown one, dares to soundmark his recordings, let alone try to charge for them, he is supposedly out of line. Are we, whose life work is the creation of art, condemned to create a cornucopia of free goodies for all who want them while we starve to death on the street?
I am painfully aware of the general view many have, at least here in the USA, that the artist does no work, that the artist's endeavors are really only analogous to play; and that if the artist needs money, the artist can “go out and get a real job”. Anyone who has ever tried to create a piece of art knows that idea is absurd and prejudicial. It is work, hard work, and one who does it is entitled to fair compensation, just like anyone else. I, for one, refuse to dish out everything I create free just because others expect such gifts. Even a prostitute receives payment for her services!
My stance has nothing to do with how I feel my music compares with other people's music. My music could be garbage; I'll let others decide for themselves. However, garbage or not, let it be known that it is my music, no one else’s.
I will close by suggesting that you fellow creators of music at least consider what I am saying and consider doing it yourselves. Why not? I would have absolutely no problem listening to your soundmarked compositions. They would serve as "demos". If I really enjoyed something, I could choose to contact you about purchasing an unmarked copy. This has happened for me before and it works very well. I have had requests for unmarked files by people who where willing to pay me to receive an unmarked copy of a piece. To me it's much the same as viewing the works of graphic artists with those watermarks we all have seen. There's no problem there. There should be no problem here.
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10-02-2013, 23:41 PM
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