The Free Music Revolution

[viscousmemories]

The cover of this months Wired magazine says: "The Beastie Boys Fight For Your Right To Copy - The free music revolution gets real"

Inside I found a CD with music by The Beastie Boys, Chuck D., David Byrne, and a host of other artists. The fine print of the license agreement says, "Sampling Plus: Songs under this license allow noncommercial sharing and commercial sampling, but advertising uses are restricted."

Beneath that, it says: For full details, visit http://creativecommons.org/wired

This isn't the first time I've heard of the Creative Commons approach to licensing, but I'm pretty excited to see it gaining more mainstream attention.

[ApostateAbe]

If it is OK to copy music for free, then it is also ok to copy movies, books, TV series, and software games and utilities. They are all just information. When that becomes common, it will mean that producers, directors, actors, film crews, authors, illustrators, publishers, and software programmers will not be able to make a living doing what they do. It will mean that we can get art only from people willing to do it for free. There ARE some pretty good flash cartoons and freeware, but say goodbye to anything big-budget and new.

[viscousmemories]

Originally Posted by ApostateAbe

If it is OK to copy music for free

The point of the licensing provided by Creative Commons isn't about doing away with copyright altogether, it's about providing alternative license options to anyone who produces and wants to distribute creative content without the restrictions or complexities of traditional copyright.

From here:

Is Creative Commons against copyright?

Not at all. Our licenses help you retain your copyright while allowing certain exceptions to it, upon certain conditions. In fact, our licenses rely upon copyright for their enforcement -- just like the GNU General Public License. The justification for intellectual property protection (under U.S. law, at least) is the "promot[ion of] the progress of science and the useful arts." We want to promote science and the useful arts, too, and believe that helping creators fine-tune the exercise of their rights to suit their preferences helps do just that.