Thursday, November 5, 2015

Blog Assignment 4

Fair use is the copying of copyrighted material done for a limited and transformative purpose, such as to comment upon, criticize, or parody the copyrighted work.  In the case of Girl Talk, it is tricky to say whether or not his music violates fair use policies or not.  On the one hand, those arguing against Girl Talk could say that his music is too similar to the original songs that he samples. The opposing argument could be made that even though he uses large chunks of songs, he changes them and makes them his own.

As far as damaging the profits or reputations of the original copyright owners, an argument can't really be made.  Because Girl Talk does not sell his music, the only way he profits is by performing live shows for an audience. It could be argued that this is simply a way of self-expression that does not infringe upon the reputations or financial gains of the copyright holders.

In reality, artists that Girl Talk samples should be flattered that someone cares enough about their music to try and expand upon it. All he is doing is showing his appreciation for multiple genres of music by mashing them together.

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