"An act or instance of using or closely imitating the language andthoughts of another author without authorization and therepresentation of that author's work as one's own, as by not crediting the original author," is how dictionary.com defines plagiarism. Having been a student for the majority of my life, it has been taught to me that when it comes to writing, plagiarism is one of the worst mistakes you can make. However; the timeless issue of ownership over a work of art has been present not only in pieces of literature, but in the music industry as well. Issues dealing with royalty payments, copyright infringements and the unauthorized use of an artist's work have been seen in music for decades now. Another method that some artists call
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It wasn't until the 1940's and the 1950's when covering artists work started to become a major issue in the music industry. During a time where simply being African American was frowned upon in America, many white artists took advantage of the opportunity to exploit the work of other black artists. In an act called "white-voicing" a previously recorded song, producers would replace the original singer of a song with a white singer in an attempt to generate more revenue in the music market. It was during that period in American history where one could make the claim that covering music could be viewed as completely unethical. Unfairly replacing a singer because of the color of his skin is an outlandish thought but sadly that was the nature of the music industry back then. However, today it does not matter if the singer is black or white, all that matters is if the song will sell. In the year 2013, artist John Legend paid tribute to one of the greatest Rock 'n Roll musicians of all time, Bruce Springsteen. John Legend covered one of Springsteen's more famous pieces, "Dancing in the Dark". In no way is what John Legend did unethical. To cover a song out of respect for an artist should be viewed as an honor and in no way should be viewed in a negative …show more content…
Before an artist can even start to cover a song they must pay a royalty fee to the songs owner. A royalty fee, according to entrepreneur.com, can be defined as," a percentage of the gross sales revenue of the business with its measurement period matching the timing of the payment obligation." Even during the 1950's artists were paid royalty fees, an act that is still practiced today. Paying royalty fees can prove to be beneficial to the covering artist and the original artist of the song as well. Take, for example, the 2013 cover of the song "Wagon Wheel" by Darius Rucker. Originally the song was created by the artist Bob Dylan in the 1970's. Almost forty years after the original song was composed, Rucker practically gave the song new life by releasing it with a country twist to it. Not only did Rucker gain revenue, but so did
It wasn't until the 1940's and the 1950's when covering artists work started to become a major issue in the music industry. During a time where simply being African American was frowned upon in America, many white artists took advantage of the opportunity to exploit the work of other black artists. In an act called "white-voicing" a previously recorded song, producers would replace the original singer of a song with a white singer in an attempt to generate more revenue in the music market. It was during that period in American history where one could make the claim that covering music could be viewed as completely unethical. Unfairly replacing a singer because of the color of his skin is an outlandish thought but sadly that was the nature of the music industry back then. However, today it does not matter if the singer is black or white, all that matters is if the song will sell. In the year 2013, artist John Legend paid tribute to one of the greatest Rock 'n Roll musicians of all time, Bruce Springsteen. John Legend covered one of Springsteen's more famous pieces, "Dancing in the Dark". In no way is what John Legend did unethical. To cover a song out of respect for an artist should be viewed as an honor and in no way should be viewed in a negative …show more content…
Before an artist can even start to cover a song they must pay a royalty fee to the songs owner. A royalty fee, according to entrepreneur.com, can be defined as," a percentage of the gross sales revenue of the business with its measurement period matching the timing of the payment obligation." Even during the 1950's artists were paid royalty fees, an act that is still practiced today. Paying royalty fees can prove to be beneficial to the covering artist and the original artist of the song as well. Take, for example, the 2013 cover of the song "Wagon Wheel" by Darius Rucker. Originally the song was created by the artist Bob Dylan in the 1970's. Almost forty years after the original song was composed, Rucker practically gave the song new life by releasing it with a country twist to it. Not only did Rucker gain revenue, but so did