The ‘Songosphere’

Strolling through a McMall a month ago I heard a young buskar singing his heart out. His repertoire was mostly rock & roll classics–Springsteen, Beatles, Dylan. Good way to fill the hat. It’s unlikely that he filed for an ASCAP license to make sure that the composers got paid. They’re probably not planning suits any time soon–they were probably there once themselves.

That vignette from the street raises a point that strikes me about music and the net. As it’s becoming easier and easier to hear music from around the world, it’s likewise easier to play it back. A good musician–and there are many of them, thankfully–can transcribe a song darn near as fast as you can copy a blog post. The first meeting between Mozart and Salieri in Amadeus, where young Wolfie plays back–and improves on–Salieri’s little piece jumps to mind.

There’s a music ‘blogosphere’ already–has been for centuries. Music is and has a language, and there’s considerable dialogue in both. So what happens as that dialogue gets the turbo-boost from the net that it’s afforded to others?

A lot of interesting points there, but the first one to pick up is that of our young ASCAP violater. He didn’t break any mechanical-licensing laws in using his ears to transcribe Dylan. But Bob Dylan (and/or various publishers, arrangers, and even lyricists) are entitled to some payment for his use of their creativity.

My point here isn’t a legal debate, but rather a structural observation. The more widely music is disseminated, the more readily and more often the buskars–worldwide–will transcribe and play. One buskar in Salt Lake doesn’t break Dylan–or ASCAP. What about a million of them, scattered all over the world? Will the legal, business, cultural and other structures (for better or worse) in place for the last century adapt to this worldwide musical dialogue?

Mind you, I don’t have any answers. Just posing the questions as they occur.

Comments appreciated.

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