Introduction: The Source of Plagiarism (original) (raw)
Related papers
The Challenge of Authenticity. Music, Plagiarism and the Digital Age
De Musica, 2021
When she died of cancer in June 2006, English pianist Joyce Hatto was hailed as a musical genius by the press. In the previous thirty years, despite illness, she had proven capable of mastering an incredible repertoire, encompassing nearly the entire literature ever composed for piano. Prodigy of old age, she was thought to deserve a place of honour in the annals of classical music. Which, indeed, she obtained-as a plagiarist, though. Hatto's fake recordings, all stolen from other interpreters, have given rise to one of the greatest scandals in music history. But why do we oppose plagiarism in the first place? More than being just a matter of cultural or sentimental values, in this paper I argue that our rejection of plagiarism has to do with the idea of art itself as a special form of human accomplishment. Unrevealed forgery and plagiarism trigger our admiration through a form of deception: they disguise the accomplishment. Given the advances in the field of audiovisual material digital alteration, there might, however, be increasing confusion in the future over what counts as a fake. Is technology reshaping our view of musical authenticity?
Name That Tune: Semiconscious and Subconscious Musical Borrowing in Western Music, 1750-1900
There is much evidence that Classical and Romantic composers occasionally borrowed material from each other in such a way as to indicate deliberate intent. For example, Charles Rosen notes that the concluding rondo movement of Schubert's Sonata in A major, D. 959 uses the rondo from Beethoven's Opus 31, no. 1 as model, and Joseph Kerman, among others, has posited convincingly that his String Quartet in A major, Opus 18, no. 5, was modeled upon Mozart's K. 464. However, there are other instances in the musical literature where the borrowing seems to be less than conscious, as if one composer, half-remembering a predecessor's composition, fell into the steps of the earlier composer almost by accident. This study will explore the issue of subconscious or semiconscious resemblance amongst Classical and Romantic compositions, examining works by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Arthur Sullivan. This resemblance may arise from the use of generic material (fanfares in C major symphonies, "rage arias" in D minor), often tied to the conventions and characters associated with particular tonalities. As Peter van der Merwe notes, folk music may also be influential, providing a collection of local traditions and gestures upon which multiple composers may draw. This study seeks therefore to explore the nature of musical influence, both overt and sublimated, and determine to what extent subtle musical borrowing is a symptom of this influence.
Electroacoustic Music Studies Conference, 2018
And, after all, what is originality? It is merely undetected plagiarism. This quotation, which seems to have been uttered by English writer Herbert Paul in 1896, but was echoed well before and long after him by many others, may stress the point that there never is anything new under the sun. What is originality? What is experimentation? Is the invention in art «an opaque process, and the word ‘experimentation’ really does not help to get a clearer picture» [During et al. 2009, 13]? Do we live in a depressing word where creativity has been overtaken by skill and technique? And as the venerable Jorge says «there is no progress, no revolution of ages, in the history of knowledge, but at most a continuous and sublime recapitulation» [Umberto Eco 2014, 426]? The special theme of the conference “Is Electroacoustic Music still a Form of Experimental Music?” drives me to discuss experimentation starting from traditional definitions of experimental, originality, and research. I will examine one of the main criteria used to evaluate scholarship in the humanities and the social sciences: originality [Guetzkow et al. 2014]. As a reviewer myself, I have been faced many times with this concept. The established sociological literature [Kuhn 1970, Latour 1987, Pinch & Bijker 1984] devoted to science and natural studies defines originality as the making of a new discovery that adds to scientific knowledge. These writings, although not intended for other disciplines, have been largely applied to social sciences and art, without defining the extent to which the definition of originality characterizes them. Authors Guetzkow et al. [2014] define originality drawing on interviews with individuals who serve on funding panels. Originality of approach, method, data used, theory, topic, are the preferred categories: originality as a sign of the moral character of the researcher. In musicology, originality seems to be the relationship between courage, independence, and authenticity [ivi, 204]. But then, to what extent experimentation in art and music is linked with originality? And if originality has to be based on research (of method, data, theory, etc.), to what extent sound based art is to be considered research? In 2015, an article by John Croft entitled ‘composition is not research’ [Croft 2015], has generated a good deal of controversy on blogs and social media, including two responses by composer Camden Reeves and by Ian Pace, and a panel on November 25th, 2015 at City University of London. In my talk I will discuss a concept that opens possibilities of solution: no artistic practice can ever be experimental in itself, or from beginning to end [During et al. 2009, 15]. Experimentation has a local usage, it cannot hold a maximal opening to experimental. It could be recovered from the concept of dispositif (devise, system, framework) where there is a ‘game’ at stake [ibidem; Martin 2014]. Electroacoustic music and sound based art can and should be research towards experimentation. Crucial preconditions are the interest for knowledge, transmission and representation of this knowledge, a deep awareness of the state of the art, and a re-opening to questions instead of answers at the end of the process [Dombois 2009]. These prerequisites also motivate me to introduce the last part of my talk: the concept of archive, an aspect inherent in the very notion of research. Archiving – by artists, composers, musicians, performers, and scholars – is crucial for several reasons. In my experience, I often hear students and artists say disconsolately that everything has already been done before, that it is too easy to make music nowadays, and the means of creation and production are far too accessible. I will propose that the answer is in archiving. I will discuss some of the most salient questions associated with the idea of the archive: not only the archive as a separate entity, but essentially the necessity for the artist/composer/researcher to maintain his/her own materials (that is knowledge, culture and practice) in order to become responsible for their own choices, to conduct themselves consciously as artists, to assess their understanding of their own practice, which is the real way to originality and individuality [Atkinson 2014]. I will have a look back at previous works [Computer Music Journal. The Reconstruction of Stria, Fall 2007, Vol. 31, No. 3] and my collaborations with composers and computer music designers, to reflect on the idea of archive: knowing what preceded in order to mindfully address personal creativity. I intend archiving as a process of self-knowledge, of studying and revealing personal lacks and indicating new possibilities for innovation and experimentation; as an action to find the way through what has been already done.
2015
The legality of third-party use of musical expressions on sound recordings has been a subject of much controversy in the U.S. and more recently, in Europe. Concepts like originality, plagiarism and public domain are used to control, incentivise and discourage different forms of creative acts. This has a profound effect on the music industry practices and consequently, on the artists’ ability to create new works as well as to benefit financially for their efforts. This thesis addresses the state of protection on sound recordings through copyright and neighbouring rights under the European acquis, with a specific reference to German and UK national laws. Various thresholds of infringement established in the law are contrasted with intertextual and transformative sampling techniques in the general context of musical referencing. An illustration of a typical process of a commercial sample clearance supports an evaluative overview of the current licensing regime and its most unbalanced a...
which former Beatle, George Harrison, was sued for copyright infringement seems to confirm this premise. 3 Money appears to have been the main trigger for the dispute. Gold discs, celebrity stardom, catchy songs and musical similarities constituted the common elements that brought this and many other controversies over musical properties into the courts. In this specific instance, the judge ruled that Harrison had subconsciously copied the plaintiff's composition. From a legal perspective, it is the resonance of this judgment that is remarkable. It is often mentioned in textbooks, conferences and scholarly articles. 4 Although some domestic courts have pointedly declined to follow the decision as it came from another jurisdiction, this has not stopped lawyers and legal scholars from repeatedly referencing it. 5 One reason for this insistence is that the case exemplifies an infringement arising from an unintentional act of borrowing. 6 At first glance, this type of borrowing appears paradoxical, but it serves to highlight that pop music is a genre especially inhabited by the unconscious. 7 In fact, the judge himself committed a Freudian slip after his judgment, referring to the two songs as if they were distinct. 8 Although the decision remains a frequent trope in copyright 2
Name That Tune: A Proposal for an Intrinsic Test of Musical Plagiarism
Loy. LA Ent. LJ, 1985
I. Introduction: The Bee Gees Case Does the song," How Deep Is Your Love," by the Bee Gees infringe the copyright of a song titled" Let It End" by Ronald Selle, a dealer in antiques, part-time musician, and unknown composer of popular and religious songs? This was the ...
Copyright, the Work and Phonographic Orality in Music
Social & Legal Studies, 2006
Shaped by a combination of romantic aesthetics and capitalist economics in the 19th century, the musical work was only enshrined in copyright law at the beginning of the 20th. However, even as the distinctiveness of the work was being legally inscribed, there emerged a new form of popular music making based on iteration. The recorded blues depended on continuity with other record-songs rather than the uniqueness of the individual work. Significantly, the phonographic orality at stake here was effectively unregulated, with ‘plagiarism’ being tolerated. The contrast is then with the hip hop genre. This has the same iterative mode as the blues, yet with the later style rights owners have become quite litigious, and now guard their symbolic property jealously. Focusing on the USA this article examines the differences between the two moments of blues and hip hop by analysing some key music copyright cases. It argues that despite stronger legal scrutiny of phonographic oral production in ...