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Lunar New Year “Read” #35: Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Creativity, by Lawrence Lessig

As I’ve mentioned in recent posts , I’ve been listening to the free & legal mp3 set that makes up the audiobook distribution of Lawrence Lessig’s very important book Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Creativity.

Now, I know some people will have trouble counting it as a “book”, or my interaction with it as “reading”, since it’s an audiobook. However, I want to note a couple of things:

In any case, I am surprised to find myself completely fascinated with the American copyright situation, as it is, to me, just one more example of how Big Businesses are destroying whatever is left of culture.

I have to say that I am skeptical about the kind of “creativity” that Lessig feels is exemplified by Disney; for my own part, I find that the majority of derivative work is usually not worth the paper it’s printed on. For every Shakespeare (whom we all must admit wrote derivative works) there are a thousand furry-fanfic authors; for every Picasso (whom we must agree pirated bits of African art into his work, at times) there are hundreds upon hundreds of crap-cartoonists; for every Billie Holiday (who sang the songs of hundreds of other artists, but composed very little herself), there are a thousand talentless garage bands hacking their way through someone else’s songs.

It seems to me that Western culture has become a rip/mix/burn culture mainly because technology allows it very easily. In the past, people did do the analogue-tech version of “ripping” and “mixing” and “burning”; it was called studying, imitating, and performing or publishing. One still had to master something, however. Thelonioud Monk had to master musical theory and the pianoforte (and for that matter ear training and bandleading) before he could transform “Just a Gigolo” into something that was legitimately a “derivative” work, a “version” of the song, rather than just a paltry rendition of someone else’s tune. Shakespeare’s work is definitely derivative, but it is certainly not “merely” derivative; far from it, Shakespeare is one of the great examples of how great genius can take cultural dross and transform it to golden art. But this is a far cry from sampling bits and pieces of Marvin Gaye and Sly and the Family Stone and slapping them together; or, further, ripping bits of Björk in Apple’s GarageBand application and making some so-called remix with a different canned drumbeat. Now, if we are honestly to proceed, we need to come to grips with that fact: the vast and overwhelming majority of all “derivative work” is dross, not art.

But Lessig is not arguing from the point of view of art appreciation: he is not defending art, but culture. It is because of this distinction that he is correct, and that I must overlook my art-elitist misgivings and give him fair hearing. For what Lessig is concerned with are the following things:

As you may or may not imagine, this was a fascinating listen, though it took many, many hours. Still, I think for any creative person living in our time, it’s well worth the read; for anyone who enjoys creative works, too, it is a worthwhile investment, whether you invest your money or just you time into it.

Since the distribution of the Audiobook is completely legal, I’m now hosting it. You can start a Bittorrent download by clicking on this link for the magnet URI (it should work in Azureus, for example). But I want to support Lessig, so I will be picking up a copy of the book, or at least some of his books, as soon as I get a fair chance. You should, too. Of all the people out there, this guy is fighting for your culture, for you to have a free culture. If you want to know why, and how, read the book. And more important, if you don’t care, then read the book. Trust me, after you do, you will care.

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