RIP: A Remix Manifesto sets the stage for a compelling discussion on multifaceted discussion on copyright law, creativity, and remix culture. This documentary demonstrates how remixing, taking existing work and reimagining them in new wats, has become a powerful tool for artists to express themselves, This documentary highlights four key points being
- Culture builds on the past
- The past always tries to control the future
- Our future is becoming less free
- To build free societies, we must limit the control of the past
Personally, I agree with Brett Gaylor that copyright laws are limiting creativity and monopolizing culture for profit by corporations. A core example of this would be the “Happy Birthday” song, the royalties are not even paid to the original creators or the families of the creators, it’s being paid to Warner/Chappell Music. It is insane that singing a song that won’t even monetarily benefit an everyday person in a public place is considered breaking the copyright law and have to pay royalties. There are so many songs that use samples or remixes of other songs, but most of the time, the artist doesn’t just copy the song, they build upon it and make it their own. They would use the sample to enhance their song experience and it would also bring recognition to the original work that was sampled or remixed. For example, BLACKPINK’s “Shut Down,” it samples a part of “La Campanella” by Italian composer Niccolò Paganini. After that song’s release, many fans that weren’t big classical music fans found out about “La Campanella.” Remixing and sampling songs are not only beneficial for the artist that is remixing or sampling, it is also beneficial to the original artist, if credited properly.