This course will examine the history and constitutional origins of copyright
law and the public domain, the impact of new digital technologies on musicians
and the recording industry, and efforts to limit this impact through laws
and public policy.
Course materials
There is no case book for this course. You will be required to purchase
several books, listed in the attached appendix. Other reading materials
will be distributed in class.
Assessment
Your grade will be based on preparation, class participation and attendance
(25%) and a paper or equivalent project, the subject matter and length
of which will be determined at a later date (75%). The paper/project topic
must be approved by the two of us no later than October 17. The paper
is due by 5:00 on the scheduled day of the exam.
Office Hours
Office hours are by appointment, although Prof. Toomey will also be available
to meet most Thursdays an hour before class begins. If you need to reach
one of us, email us at: gbsohn@publicknowledge.org
and jenny@futureofmusic.org.
You can email Sarah Brown, the TA, at sbrown@publicknowledge.org
.
VI. Class Six (10/03/02): How the Legislative Process Works- the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act as a Case Study
(Invited Guest Speaker: Jessica Litman)
Jessica Litman, Digital Copyright (2001) Chapters 2-12
VII. Class Seven (10/10/02): The Illegal Imagination: how technology
and law can advance and limit creativity (Invited Guest Speaker: David
Post)
Lawrence Lessig, The Future of Ideas (2002) Introduction, Chapters
1-3 & 8
Check out these websites offer tons of current resources, tips, articles,
links, and connections for bands and artists.
CD Baby A
fantastic, practical way for indie musicians to sell CDs online and to post their digital tracks to all the major online music services.
Host Baby
From the folks at CD Baby, an affordable web hosting service with very
practical features for musicians including an online calendar, guestbooks,
links to online sales, and special email capabilites.
Just Plain Folks
With a membership of over 42,000 songwriters, Just Plain Folks has become
one of the best ways for musicians and songwriters to network, share resources,
and work together.
KnowtheMusicBiz is an online community for emerging artists, musicians and music executives. KTMB members can find, exchange and contribute valuable information about the business of music plus get advice and insight from industry thought leaders.
Independent
Online Distribution Alliance (IODA) helps independent labels to build a legitimate online
presence and ensuring their fair share in the digital music future.
TuneCore helps indie and unsigned bands have their music available on all the best digital music stores. Band keeps all the royalties for sales.
Ariel Publicity Great website chock full of novel ideas about how to use new technologies to your advantage to promote and distribute your music.
Indiecentre is a great resource for bands, musicians and aspiring labels. Includes
a directory of resources for manufacturing, distribution, and helpful
articles about starting a label, touring, and promotion.
Indie-Music.com A mind boggling amount of information for indie musicians and labels.
Practical articles, links, advice.
TAXI acts as
a liaison between songwriters and major label A&R representatives. Artists
submit songs which are then critiqued by former major label employees,
and the strongest submissions are passed on to the A&R reps.
