switchburn

In one of my many newsletters that I receive, I found an article that is of interest to the music industry. As the International Herald Tribune reports it, “The US Congress can protect singers from bootleggers, New York court says.” Basically, Congress has regained “authority to criminalize bootleg recordings of musical performances and the bootleg distribution businesses.”

I like the fact that musicians will have legal protection from random companies and people recording a band’s performance and making profit off of something that is not theirs. However, I feel the free and open (not-for-profit) sharing of “bootleg” recordings should not be deemed illegal. I am sure that Congress will not agree with me on that note.

Below are two quotes from the International Herald Tribune article stating the opposing sides of the ruling.

“It’s really part of a broader pattern in this country of limited public access to artistic creation and intellectual property of all sorts.” - David E. Patton, defense lawyer for Jean Martignon, owner of the company Midnight Records

“Artists who create music deserve to be paid for their creativity, just as the record labels who’ve invested in producing the music deserve to be compensated for their efforts” - Rich Bengloff, president of the American Association of Independent Music

I offer a solution. If the distribution of the recordings are open and free, then you are promoting “access to artistic creation.” If the bootleg companies profit from the recordings, then share those profits with the musicians. In the end everyone is happy. Seems like a pretty simple concept.

I find this all very appropriate as we, burn^tv, are launching switchburn next week. We film live recordings and work with the artists for the mutual gain of both parties. It is a simple concept, effective, too.

Enjoy the full article at:

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/06/13/america/NA-GEN-US-Artist-Bootlegs.php

-Shawn