What is my research about? I am questioning the prevalent ethical assumptions about appropriation in digital media. What assumptions? Should we start with the laws and work backwards? For example, copyright law is based on a set of ethical assumptions that have developed over time. Do I really think that one research project can change copyright law? Obviously not. What I’m trying to do is show that there is a clear disparity between the prevalent attitudes towards appropriation and actual practice. I aim to try to measure opinions of key stakeholders in the debate. To what extent should cultural works be available for others to use as building blocks in the creation of new works? Not withstanding the Intellectual Property laws, which are effectively ignored in most cases, what are people producing in this space and how does it impact on the source material? Who are the artists, how much have they produced? I want to map the remix landscape in as much detail as possible to paint a picture of what is happening and how things are evolving. Who has the power in this situation? The power is shifting. Media corporations had cultural works under lock and key for most of the 20th century and had complete, almost unquestionable control over who got to see, watch, read, listen to what, when and in what manner. Digitisation has opened the floodgates, making all media accessible to anyone anytime and in whatever manner or by whatever means an individual may choose to consume it. Take a Hollywood movie – previously you would purchase a cinema ticket and see the film in a cinema theatre, wait 6 months to a year and rent it on video or DVD or wait another year to 18 months and watch it on TV. Now you can still do all of these things, but also you can get it on your computer on or before its release date, download it and watch it on any digital device – iPod, iPhone, iPad, media player or you can stream it through a website, e.g. YouTube or any of the multitude of video streaming sites. Equally as importantly, anyone with the file, a computer and internet connection can upload the movie and make it available to everyone from yet another source. This is effectively uncontrollable without infringing on the basic human rights to privacy and freedom of expression. Which do we value more – the aforementioned fundamental rights or the protection of corporate profits? Is it an either / or scenario?
CriticalRemix.com
Dr. Owen Gallagher, SFHEA
