Wednesday, March 16, 2005

Copyright Week Continues...

Mark Morford - whose column I get emailed to me because he's funny and an excellent writer to boot - writes today of a fair songstress whose virtues are locked away beyond the reach of mortals, to be kept there until her wicked step-parents release her.

Okay, actually it's Fiona Apple, whose CD has been shelved by Sony because it's not commercial enough. We can certainly debate the merits of getting excited about Fiona Apple's music. But here's the point: Fiona Apple is the creator. She should be allowed to release that material, under any common-sense reading of copyright. And yet, were she to start hosting a site to download her own music, Sony could sue her for millions.

Having heard said music, by the way, I would definitely recommend it to some of you. To my (admittedly untrained) ears, it has a kind of Tom Waitsishness to it. If you would like to find it, use the magical Google fairy.

No comments: