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EXTRAORDINARY Blog Post From Composer Jason Robert Brown

Posted on June 30, 2010 at 11:44 am

Seriously – an incredible exchange of ideas with a young fan.

Click here.

18 Comments

  1. Kelsey M. on June 30, 2010 at 5:17 am Reply

    Personally, I think most illegal aquisition of music and sheet music by younger persons is due to lack of exposure to how the system really works. For example, my brother used to download games and thought it was the best thing ever since he got to play cool games for free. However a few years later he ended up working as an assistant manager for a Gamestop store. It only then became real to him that people's livelihoods depend on people actually purchasing games. The younger generations seem so detached from reality sometimes (myself included)…

     

  2. James K. on June 30, 2010 at 7:19 am Reply

    omg, JRB has the patience of a saint. I'm so impressed with the way he handled Eleanor's disturbing rant. I just hope with all his effort, he got through to her–even a little bit. And Kelsey, I think you're right.

     

  3. Elliott on June 30, 2010 at 7:41 am Reply

    I will confess that I was one of those youngins (minus the persistent arguing.) As an aspiring composer myself, I do now see the ramifications.

     

  4. Ian McDougal on June 30, 2010 at 7:45 am Reply

    An enlightening discussion…

     
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  6. Robert D. Pore on July 1, 2010 at 1:39 pm Reply

    I wonder… what if, instead of being stuck doing things the same old way, we tried following the Hulu model? (For those of you unfamiliar with Hulu, it's a legitimate website where you can watch old TV shows online and since it's ad-supported, you don't have to pay for it). Is there any reason (aside maybe from taste or modesty) that there couldn't be an ad-supported sheet music resource that would allow young artists to download what they will for little or no cost while still compensating the composers and publishers through ad revenue?

     

  7. Aaron Safer on July 2, 2010 at 5:03 am Reply

    When first reading about the blog my sister is featured in, I was stuck… As her brother I should take her side but as a composer I should be completely against what she is doing. It made me sit down and think about both sides of the argument. My conclusion is quite simple: Both are correct and both are wrong.

    I agree with JRB about copyright laws prohibiting it, protecting one’s own work, etc. but some do not have a choice. The problem lies in that many composers think of this as an insult when really it is a compliment. Because music has evolved to be harder, and more impressive, it is also harder to obtain as there is more of it. Yes, it is very wrong to download it and only use it for personal gain, such as a concert that makes money, or a public performance.

    Although…

    I do recall that copyright laws are a bit grey in the area that is education. From what I understand with “fair use” and all that, is if it is for educational purposes… then it is not illegal. In that light, Brenna (Eleanor is her middle name, for some reason she does not like to go by her first name) is not wrong in HER use of it. She was wrong sharing it with those who might not have used it for education, but she always does.

    Some forget that even though copyright laws protect the composer there are certain instances that do not need the expressed permission of the rights holder.

    As a composer, educator, business owner, and performer, I always agree that copyright laws should be followed, but do not think that everyone who seems to be breaking them are actually breaking them. I do agree something has to be done with websites that make it easy for those who are not in school, using the copies for personal gain, to access them. Shutting down these websites though will only make things worse and make the culprits try even harder to access said works of art/literature. Maybe instead, people that are against such acts of illegality should push to have a username and password instituted so that the website must confirm the individual IS actually a student such as how Facebook did back when it first started up (you had to have a “.edu” email to sign up).

    That’s just my view though.

    -Aaron Safer

     

    • Akia on July 4, 2010 at 1:11 pm Reply

      Aaron, would you not consider personal education to be personal gain?

       

      • Aaron Safer on July 15, 2010 at 2:29 am Reply

        No, as personal education in the Arts are closely related to personal gain. The more you know the more you gain so that may not be the way to look at it.

        If you are looking at it that way then every form of education is a form of personal gain.

         

  8. courtney (friend of on July 3, 2010 at 4:43 pm Reply

    i personally don't care who is right or wrong. i jus know that poor brenna (i don't really like her other name lol) is prob really embarressed. i am kind of proud of her for sticking up for herself but DANG i am sooo proud of JRB for……..well not really handling this well but atleast giving it a shot. believe me i know that she is stubborn but that is who she is and that is y i love her as a friend!

     

    • Eleanor Safer on August 27, 2010 at 2:43 pm Reply

      Courtney, come on. You know me. I'm not embarrassed. Yea, I was more of a bitch to him than I should have been, and I'm sorry for that, but I didn't realize that it was actually him! Would ANY of you have believed it if you suddenly got an e-mail from a famous composer? So I didn't immediately do what he asked and I gave the side of the argument that most people actually follow but are too afraid to state. No matter how many of you like to say "I'm glad JRB explained all this too her," or "She's way out of line," most of you download illegal music off LimeWire (something I don't even know how to use), jailbreak your iPods and iPhones, etc. Most of you have no right to judge me, but you would never admit it in public. I told the truth! Sue me! And I'm pretty damn proud of my argument. So stop with the hate!

       

      • Eric on August 28, 2010 at 2:21 am Reply

        Eleanor, did you hear the NPR piece last week about this? They even had an actress reading your words!

         

        • Eleanor Safer on September 9, 2010 at 9:18 am Reply

          Yes, I just heard it today. I'm kinda not sure whether to be excited or concerned that half the theatre world hates me. And, frankly, I'm surprised that it's still getting attention after so long.

           

  9. Courtney Lea K on July 4, 2010 at 3:08 pm Reply

    Wow…this opened my eyes a lot and now I feel super bad. I will definitely change my ways after reading this article knowing how much it really does effect everything!

    And GOD LORD! That chick just need to give up! She kind of sounded immature and incredulous the whole time and I was really surprised at how well JRB for keeping his cool throughout the whole tiff.

     

  10. Rob Henderson on July 6, 2010 at 2:00 am Reply

    I find that the copyright law is best summarized by the Golden Rule. . . "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." If you don't mind having your hard work being tossed about by anyone who wishes to, then go ahead and download that illegal sheet music, or that illegally filmed recording (that probably sucks as far as quality is concerned, anyway). But if you put yourself in a composer's shoes, and realize that his livelihood, his career, his LIFE, is dependent upon people purchasing his works legally, you would feel differently.

    -Rob H., 20

     

  11. Chris Lawry on July 6, 2010 at 6:33 pm Reply

    I'm with Charles on this one… Preach It!

    Even if it changes opinion one person at a time, it's worth it for sustainable publishing in the future.

     

  12. Andrew on July 13, 2010 at 1:35 am Reply

    Our copyright system is a mess and it is enforced in the most reprehensible ways possible. Given that illegally downloading a few (less than 10) mp3's can literally destroy a family's finances for decades, I think a shuffle of priorities is needed.

    I viewed the page source on Eric's page last year when the Paradise Lost tracks were up, found where the mp3's were hosted and downloaded them. I put them on my iPod and listened to them a LOT over the next few months. By the time the Carnegie Hall show was announced, I bought the most expensive tickets on the first day they were available.

    I know someone mentioned him in the comments, but I stand by Cory Doctorow here. I downloaded his book Little Brother when it came out. I read it on my iPhone several times and every time I told someone about it, they wanted to read it. Given that they didn't like reading on a PDA, I bought them a copy. I have now purchased eleven copies of a book that I got for free. I gave them all away as gifts. Serendipity is the key here. I was exposed to something new and wonderful without having to risk my money on it.

    Finally, please don't confuse the piracy of a video game with the loss of a sale of that video game. I have personally pirated dozens or hundreds of computer programs in my life. In all but perhaps two instances, I had no NEED for the application. I just wanted to see how it worked. Stealing Photoshop as a 13 year old and finding out if you have a skill at it then deleting the application does not cost Adobe money. There is zero chance my parents would have purchased a $600 application for me to play with. Conversely, I pirated Encore when I was around that same age and found that I was pretty good at writing music. When the new version came out six months later, I asked for it for Christmas and, seeing that I was doing well with it, my parents bought it for me. I have since spent thousands of dollars on music composition software.

    OOoh. Last one… I LOVE Terry Pratchett books. I also only read on my phone or PDA because I don't have room to carry around dead tree style books. Every time a new Pratchett book comes out, I go online and purchase the paper version then immediately download a ripped copy in text form from the Internet. He gets his money and I get my desired reading method. I once told his agent I did this while talking to him about an unrelated matter and got the email equivalent of "LALALALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU! LALALALA" and appreciated the response.

     

  13. Andrew on July 13, 2010 at 9:43 am Reply

    ok ONE more thing. This is an example of how existing copyright laws are flawed that I feel is UTTERLY relevant to the readers of this blog: http://boingboing.net/2010/06/09/glee-vs-copyrigh…

     
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