"Can I please get a Copyright, to go."

Copy Right is the licence that controls the right to creative property. This licence activates laws that surround the breach of uploading duplicates of owned content. If you are reading this blog, you are a part of the digital creative ecosystem, as told by Margaret Stewart, head of You Tube's user experience. This ecosystem involves amateurs, artists, and corporate companies. These communities whilst having the ability to impose copy right threats also have the ability to co-exist in harmony, as the sharing of content between the three groups in some cases is a win-win-WIN. This is true for one memorable wedding party, as their light-hearted entrance to Chris Browns, hit single, ‘Forever,’ plays in the background of their recording. Although this was a clear breach of copyright laws, the video went viral on you tube, benefiting Sony Records and the pop singer, landing the song at #4 on iTunes charts 18 months after its release. The music studio borrowed back the recording to boost revenue and give viewers an entertaining performance that reflected well on Sony.

My favourite music artist, Drake, adopts the same attitude. His hit, ‘Hotline Bling,’ became the most popular meme in 2017, with remarks of his dancing in the original music video. Fans took to social media to re-enact and share funny posts related to the topic. His new release, ‘In My Feelings,’ would initiate the 2018 ‘Kiki Challenge,’ which involves dancing to the song along a moving car, which also takes reference to ‘ghost riding the whip.’ Stewart, packages the sweetness of these stories into an enriching message:

“By empowering choice we can create a culture of opportunity.” - Margaret Stewart

I believe that, as humans with intelligence, intuition, and ideas, we should not be limited to interpretations suggested in the work of others. Rather, we should be able to form our own opinions, or build upon that of which already exists, as long as it is ethical and legal. I guess you could call this – a remix. Musical acts have been sampling and reworking compositions and lyrics for decades. I am often exposed to this from listening to the radio station, which seems to be filled with DJ’s recycling material from previous pop culture generations and slapping an upbeat bass behind it. This topic reminded me of a video recommended to me while I was studying design, which captures similar messaging to that of Stewart. ‘Everything Is A Remix,’ encompasses this same idea of: combining or editing existing materials to produce something new (notably shown in format of the Star Wars opening credits).

I myself as a creative reserve the rights to Cup Of Tech, and this week I attained my licence from Creative Commons and also added a Copy Right licence as seen at the end of each page. What are your thoughts on Copy Right and Remixing? Comment below to join the conversation!

Look out for my next blog which will talk about the remix that crosses art with technology