As the topic of plagiarism, copyright and piracy is brought up, the first people that come to mind are the poor venders in countries such a India, China including some African countries that make a living out of selling pirated music or movies including designer items like clothing and accessories. I recently had a conversation with a friend on the wrongful download of movies and music and we both shamefully admitted that we didn't think we would waste $5 buying a song off iTunes when we could download it for free. Both my friend and I admitted to have at one point been culprits of buying pirated movies or music DVDs because we thought it was too expensive to purchase the original copies. Martin, Moore and Salter state that 'The development of the internet and MP3 - digitally compressed music files - opened up an alternative mode of distribution' (2010). This statement clearly explains how the use of the internet and MP3 is used to wrongfully download music or movie files which are then sometimes sold cheaply and is unfair to the actual producer of the movie or song as they don't make the money they deserve to make. Even though I think sometimes I'd rather watch a movie for free because it is not worth paying $$$ for. I find this topic very interesting because the complexity of piracy is not only seen to the consumer but also within the celebrity world. This is evident in some celebrities such as Lady Gaga who was recently sued for plagiarising her hit 2011 song,
Judas and her recent song
Applause.
Rebecca Francescatti accused Gaga for plagiarising her song she did in 1999 titled Juda of which Jennifer Lopez was dragged in when it was noticed that her song Invading my mind co-produced by Gaga unlawfully used lines from Francscatti's song. Gaga was also accused for plagiarising Madonna's song Girl gone world. People that have heard Gaga's song Applause say it sounds a lot like Girl gone world. Also when I listen to Born this way by Gaga and Express yourself by Madonna, I think they sound exactly the same of which it would be clearly stated as plagiarism if no credit was taken
It is very fascinating that such unlawful acts exist even within the celebrities themselves. It leaves me with the question as to whether they do this for money or because they are in desperate need of maintaing their statuses. I would say it is difficult to do anything without plagiarising as almost everything someone says can be regarded as someone else's idea.
Reference:
Martin, B, Moore, C & Salter, C, 2010, 'Sharing music files: tactics of a challenge to the industry', First Monday, vol. 15, no. 12.
Hi there,
ReplyDeleteI liked how you compared celebrity artists and they way they also become involved in copyright issues.
Unfortunately, plagiarism is an inevitable part of our world, and people are going to be inclined to copy the work of other people. However, in the music industry, do you believe that they should be able to use parts of others songs, especially if credit is given?
While Lady Gaga may have copied aspects of songs, what about DJ's who mash up songs for a living. Just because they are not claiming it to be their own, do you think they should be able to use others songs in their mixes?
Great post,
Thanks
Hey there Chi Chi
ReplyDeleteThe concept of copyright is there to protect an entity of the rights and privileges of their own work. However as you just discussed, Counterfeit is an ongoing practice that is worth billions of dollars in the counterfeit economy. The concept of buying a 15-20 dollar movie, a 20-100 dollar game seems pointless when you can download it online without having to pay a cent. The way you discussed music artists stealing material from other artists is quite fascinating. But what about Djs such as avicci or swedish house mafia who tend to recycle previous material and use it in their successful playlists? the world is inclined to find the easiest ways to do things, and unfortunately plagiarism and counterfeit are the way to go.
Hi, Chichi
ReplyDeleteYour post was so interesting! I really like your idea how you showed your view of the piracy issue as giving your personal example. The case you introduced clearly provided that the copyright issue and illegal behavior are still happening in the celebrity world. It is true that a number of artists around the world are involved in this issue and it could be controversy because I reckon it is an unlawful behavior and also loss of credibility (credit) of original one. You presented your idea with clear demonstration so it could be easier to get your point. I also reckon it would be better if you put the comparison video clip between the original song and plagiarism one to make understand better. Anyway, Good post :)