Who Owns Trad Music - NFLD

Subject: Who Owns Trad Music - NFLD
From:
Date: 02 Apr 03 - 11:15 AM

FYI
 
 
Mary Ellen Wright
Professional Development and Outreach Officer
Association of Newfoundland and Labrador Archives
[phone]----- Original Message ----- From: Beverley Diamond
To: Sorensen, David ; Blenkinsopp, Richard ; [e-mail] ;

Denis Parker ; [e-mail]
Sent: Tuesday, April 01, 2003 4:40 PM
Subject: Symposium announcement: Who Owns Traditional Music
 
 

I would appreciate if the following event could be announced on your e-distribution lists. I include the whole schedule, FYI, butif your space is limited, use only the time/place data and top paragraph.
 
Thanks for your support.
 

Beverley
 

***
WHO OWNS TRADITIONAL MUSIC : A DIALOGUE
April 10, 2003
Room 1032, School of Music, Memorial University of Newfoundland
 

A one-day symposium designed to initiate a dialogue about issues of access to traditional music. The symposium will bring together musicians, archivists, folklorists, and ethnomusicologists. The issues we will consider include legal definitions of copyright, international conventions concerning oral traditions, diverse cultures customary law regarding intellectual property, the impact of

contemporary systems of circulation such as the internet, the responsibilities of archives to collectors and communities, and the ethics of rearrangements of traditional music. Guest presentations will be made by John Joy (Lawyer) and Dr. Michael Taft (Head, Archive of Folk Culture, Library of Congress).

 
 
9:00-9:30 Registration and coffee
 
9:30-10:30 Special presentation #1: John Joy, lawyer

Canadian copyright law and traditional music
 
10:30-11:30 Special presentation #2: Dr. Michael Taft, Head,
Archive of Folk Culture, Library of Congress.
 

Subject: RE: Who Owns Trad Music - NFLD
From:
Date: 02 Apr 03 - 11:21 AM

 
 
11:30-12:45 Lunch
 
12:45-1:45 Musicians panel (with Anita Best, Stan Pickett, Peter
Narvaez, and

Victor Muise)
 
How do musicians in Newfoundland and Labrador seek permission to sing the song or play the tune of another? Who makes decisions

about how traditional tunes are arranged for performance by contemporary bands or in recording studios? How can you make sure that traditional music is not used indiscriminately by transnational recording companies?
 

1:45-2:00 Coffee break
 
2:00-3:00 Archivists panel (with Neil Rosenberg, Martin Lovelace,
Philip Hiscock, and Patricia Fulton)
 
What is the responsibility of archivists to protect the rights of collectors and culture bearers, and yet to make their valuable

collections available to the public? How do you trace the ownership of songs that were recorded generations earlier?
 
3:00-3:15 Coffee break
 

3:15-4:15 Ethnomusicologists and folklorists panel (with Kati Szego, Johanne Devlin Trew, Dufferin Murray, Klisala Harrison, and Beverley Diamond)
 

For folklorists and ethnomusicologists, what are the culturally specific views about access and ownership of music that are encountered in different cultural communities? What responsibility

do researchers have to discuss these issues with musicians and

Subject: RE: Who Owns Trad Music - NFLD
From: Don Firth
Date: 02 Apr 03 - 01:09 PM

Can't make it, but I'd sure be interested in what they come up with.

Don Firth

Subject: RE: Who Owns Trad Music - NFLD
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 02 Apr 03 - 01:56 PM

A previous thread, Int'l Folklore Copyrights & Ethics, links to some rather disturbing "discussion" of this topic by academia and politicians.

There is the legitimate concern about giving some payback to collectors of trad music. If they go out and dig it out, and make it available, perhaps they deserve some compensation.

The more disturbing international trend is that some governments think that they should profit (via royalties) from any use of their "national treasures."

This announcement seems keyed to regional lore, but appears to deal with some of the more worrisome trends elsewhere.

Will we have someone taking notes?

Did she mention anything about publishing (or posting) transactions of the meetings.

John

Subject: RE: Who Owns Trad Music - NFLD
From:
Date: 02 Apr 03 - 09:24 PM

That's all I had.

John in Kansas, I agree. A few years ago, the PEI government tried to "nationalize" and set the standards for ALL Anne of Green Gables material.

Subject: RE: Who Owns Trad Music - NFLD
From: Willie-O
Date: 03 Apr 03 - 01:07 AM

Well, George, wouldn't they have had to buy the rights from L. M. Montgomery's heirs, who I believe still own and exercise such control?

I don't see anything in the program to support the theory that it's an exercise in creeping government...really, there is plenty of material for the stated participants "musicians, archivists, folklorists, and ethnomusicologists" to chew over.

Like many of us, I've been faced with the very questions this seminar is about...I've had a chunk of repertoire over the years that is known to have originated in Newfoundland, probably in the first half of the twentieth century, and is not really anonymous, but it beats the hell out of me who the writers are, whether this song or that is copyrighted, where the rights reside, whether there are ethical considerations transcending strict legal rights, and so on.

W-O

Subject: RE: Who Owns Trad Music - NFLD
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 03 Apr 03 - 05:34 AM

Willie-O

The concern is about things expressed in this article, linked in that other thread. Scroll down about 2 screens(?) to where it says "Background" for a quick look.

There was a "movement" a couple of years ago to try to say that anything "trad" belongs to "the nation of origin" and the government should get a cut if you use it. The Who makes decisions about how traditional tunes are arranged for performance by contemporary bands or in recording studios? in the 12:45-1:45 session sounds a lot like the Bolivia/Paul Simon thing cited there.

The symposium designed to initiate a dialogue is sort of a "red flag" in some academic circles that says somebody wants a change in the status quo. That almost always (for the cynics among us) means somebody with money will benefit and the rest of us will lose something.

Without knowing the "sponsors," one can't rule out it being just an innocent "manner of speaking" though.

If it's not dangerous - it should be an interesting and possibly even helpful meeting. If there is something afoot, we should be concerned. Either way, it's a noteworthy announcement.

John

Subject: RE: Who Owns Trad Music - NFLD
From:
Date: 03 Apr 03 - 06:34 AM

I would have thought LM Montgomery's heirs would have been consulted, but they weren't.

Shortly after that, Anne's image was taken OFF the PEI license plate. It now has an image of the Fixed Link to PEI.

Yes, the symposium is interesting. Hopefully, I can find someone who is going to attend.

Hmmmm.

Subject: RE: Who Owns Trad Music - NFLD
From: GUEST,petr
Date: 03 Apr 03 - 02:10 PM

one of my musician friends
related a story about a folk band he knew,
in the late 80's they played at a festival along with the
Cowboy Junkies. (the junkies liked one of their tunes they
asked if they could record it 'Hard Rock Miners'
the singer of the folk band said sure as long as he gets a credit
(it was a traditional tune) years later Peter ran into him
and they made a lot of money of that song even bought a house in Guelph. (all the while the Cowboy Junkies never made that much off
the cd)
p

Subject: RE: Who Owns Trad Music - NFLD
From: Nerd
Date: 03 Apr 03 - 04:03 PM

I would not at all assume this is about people with money getting more money. I know many of the people involved and they are exactly what the announcement says: musicians, archivists, scholars, etc. It seems to me more likely that this is about strategies to prevent big wealthy companies from exploiting folk musicians and traditions.