Mode of Program Participation
Performances and Arts
Participation Type
Performance
Session Title
These Songs Belong to You and Me: The Ritual Economy of Copyright in Traditional Music
Session Abstract or Summary
A performance of songs in the public domain that demonstrate the complexities of ownership and authorship in copyrighted music. This session also features a discussion of ritual economy, a groundbreaking theory in economic anthropology, and its application to the economics of traditional music.
Folk singer Woody Guthrie’s most famous song, “This Land is Your Land,” is the subject of a current copyright suit that seeks to legally establish it in the public domain. While this case, along with similar suits involving “Happy Birthday” and “We Shall Overcome,” raises some important legal issues, it also points to a fundamental weakness in the philosophical justification for copyright law. Traditional music of all kinds has long borrowed lyrics and melodies from the musical epochs that preceded it. In turn, it has inspired the next generation to take the old and make it new again. The denominational schisms between various genres such as Folk, Old-Time, Bluegrass, Americana, and Appalachian Music are often enforced upon traditional music by publishing and distribution interests. The musicians who actually play it rarely draw the kind of sharp distinctions around ownership and authorship that statutory copyright protection demands. This session will explore these issues through the performance of songs in the public domain that demonstrate clear influence upon popular, copyrighted works. It will also feature a discussion of ritual economy, a groundbreaking theory in economic anthropology, and its application to the economics of traditional music.
Presentation #1 Title
Followed My Footsteps: Intergenerational Influence in Traditional Music
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
A performance of songs in the public domain that demonstrate the complexities of ownership and authorship in copyrighted music.
The musical portion of this presentation will explore complex issues of ownership and authorship. Through the performance of songs in the public domain that demonstrate clear influence upon popular, copyrighted works, the legitimacy of some underlying assumptions in the philosophical justification for copyright law will be challenged. Many modern melodies are based upon works in the public domain, and some, like Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land,” have simply composed new lyrics for a preexisting melody and chord structure that are left otherwise intact. Songs that may, time allowing, be included in this presentation include: Camptown Races, Danny Boy, Green Grass Grew All Around, My Old Kentucky Home, Oh! Susanna, Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child, This Old Man, and When Irish Eyes Are Smiling.
(All songs performed in this session have been verified as part of the Public Domain by pdinfo.com.)
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Jason Lee Guthrie is a PhD Candidate in Mass Communication at The University of Georgia. His research explores Media History, Copyright Law, and The Music Business.
Presentation #2 Title
Walking That Freedom Highway: Ritual Economy and Symbolic Interaction in Traditional Music
Presentation #2 Abstract or Summary
A discussion of ritual economy, a groundbreaking theory in economic anthropology, and its application to the economics of traditional music.
Despite the exacting, statutory justification for copyright law in the Anglo-American tradition, in practice copyright application has never been clear cut. Technological advancements are often cited as the primary instigators of copyright reform, but the cyclical history of reform efforts suggests that the theorization of the nature of creativity and creative work is still incomplete. Philosophical frameworks that have tried to make sense of copyright history, most notably classical liberalism and cultural Marxism, have failed to fully theorize the economics of creative works because they do not adequately allow for a consideration of individual worldview on the part of the content creator. The theory of ritual economy, a theoretical framework in the tradition of symbolic interaction and the ritual view of communication, provides a point-of-view that can legitimate individual worldview, collaborative contribution, and the constraining forces of political economy without reducing the empirical, historical complexity of each. Issues of ownership and authorship in traditional music provide an especially salient exemplar of these issues, as well as an opportunity to put theory into practice by situating a theoretical discourse within the context of live performance. The presenters would also like to acknowledge that the audience for this session are likely have their own unique perspectives on these issues, and it is our intent to foster discussion by engaging them throughout.
(Some of the material in this presentation is closely related to research conducted by the lead presenter, including work that has been published in the Music and Entertainment Industry Educators Association Journal.)
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
Thomas Petrino is a professional musician and photographer, and also serves as an instructor at the Comenius School for Creative Leadership in Fort Mill, SC.
Followed My Footsteps: Intergenerational Influence in Traditional Music
A performance of songs in the public domain that demonstrate the complexities of ownership and authorship in copyrighted music.
The musical portion of this presentation will explore complex issues of ownership and authorship. Through the performance of songs in the public domain that demonstrate clear influence upon popular, copyrighted works, the legitimacy of some underlying assumptions in the philosophical justification for copyright law will be challenged. Many modern melodies are based upon works in the public domain, and some, like Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land,” have simply composed new lyrics for a preexisting melody and chord structure that are left otherwise intact. Songs that may, time allowing, be included in this presentation include: Camptown Races, Danny Boy, Green Grass Grew All Around, My Old Kentucky Home, Oh! Susanna, Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child, This Old Man, and When Irish Eyes Are Smiling.
(All songs performed in this session have been verified as part of the Public Domain by pdinfo.com.)
