Joanna Demers, author of Steal This Music, is an associate professor and chair of Musicology at USC Thornton School of Music after receiving both a PhD in musicology from Princeton and a DMA in contemporary flute performance form UC San Diego in 2002. She has published two books, many articles and essays, and is currently working on two more books. Demers work focuses on 20th and 21st century popular music and intellectual property rights as she contributes significantly to these communities.
Steal This Music is divided into four decisive chapters with a preceding introduction that traces the evolution of copyright law from its original meaning of “the right to copy” printed documents, including sheet music, to sound recording on any medium, …show more content…
The author references important cases as law and cultural examples to develop these ideas. One of the most well-known and major estates to hold rights is the Elvis Presley Estate and its control over the King’s musical rights, physical appearance, stage mannerisms, quality of voice and overall artistic image (Demers, 2006). Reminding the readers that the US copyright law is intended to protect the expression of ideas, not ideas themselves, it brings up questions as to the nature of expression and music that must require answers before any action can take place. Demers refers back to the Copyright Act of 1976 throughout the chapter, as it is where all arguments fall under for fair use and copyright guidelines. Musical arrangements and cover songs are two prominent examples of allusion that remain relatively free from copyright litigation as the theory of a cover song altered with the rise of parody and satire discussed in the Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music case where rap group, 2 Live Crew was sued for covering Roy Orbison’s 1964 hit song “Oh, Pretty Woman” (Demers, 2006). Further into the chapter, Demers points out that an increasing number of artists are going to the courts to have their personas protected from potential borrowing seen in Sinatra v. …show more content…
The rationale for the expansion though is the supposed moral right of authors and composers to profit from their creativity but this is at best misleading if not openly dishonest as the primary beneficiaries are not the artists but the corporate conglomerates that control the access to the work. Demers discusses a range of performance types, historical moments, and artistic forms from temporary cinema to art-music composers, from home radio to hip-hop and pop artists in the process of conveying a large sweep of the 20th and 21st century American
Steal This Music is divided into four decisive chapters with a preceding introduction that traces the evolution of copyright law from its original meaning of “the right to copy” printed documents, including sheet music, to sound recording on any medium, …show more content…
The author references important cases as law and cultural examples to develop these ideas. One of the most well-known and major estates to hold rights is the Elvis Presley Estate and its control over the King’s musical rights, physical appearance, stage mannerisms, quality of voice and overall artistic image (Demers, 2006). Reminding the readers that the US copyright law is intended to protect the expression of ideas, not ideas themselves, it brings up questions as to the nature of expression and music that must require answers before any action can take place. Demers refers back to the Copyright Act of 1976 throughout the chapter, as it is where all arguments fall under for fair use and copyright guidelines. Musical arrangements and cover songs are two prominent examples of allusion that remain relatively free from copyright litigation as the theory of a cover song altered with the rise of parody and satire discussed in the Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music case where rap group, 2 Live Crew was sued for covering Roy Orbison’s 1964 hit song “Oh, Pretty Woman” (Demers, 2006). Further into the chapter, Demers points out that an increasing number of artists are going to the courts to have their personas protected from potential borrowing seen in Sinatra v. …show more content…
The rationale for the expansion though is the supposed moral right of authors and composers to profit from their creativity but this is at best misleading if not openly dishonest as the primary beneficiaries are not the artists but the corporate conglomerates that control the access to the work. Demers discusses a range of performance types, historical moments, and artistic forms from temporary cinema to art-music composers, from home radio to hip-hop and pop artists in the process of conveying a large sweep of the 20th and 21st century American