Class visits by Andrew Kilgour and Don Hogarth definitely altered my perception on: music, art, piracy and copyright. Although Mr. Hogarth’s perspective was quite informative and knowledgeable, I strongly favored Mr. Kilgour’s perspective on art and copyright. Andrew Kilgour offered a very honest and comprehendible perspective on today’s copyright laws. Furthermore, he was able to portray his perspective very powerfully, without entirely criticizing the opposite side of the argument. Instead, he somewhat offers an alternative to many arguments made by those in favor of copyrighting.
Andrew Kilgour was able to convince me that the music he’s creating is a thoroughly creative process. “I believe what I’m doing is a creative process… I believe I should be compensated.” Kilgour offered a perspective I hadn’t previously thought about, but was able further convince me of the creativity put into a mixer’s music. The perspective was analyzing the affects of copyrighting and illegally downloading music on a society. This was demonstrated when he says, “I like the idea that if it doesn’t hurt anybody, then it’s okay.” The music he’s creating alongside the process in which music is being illegally downloaded doesn’t dramatically affect a society. I’m sure people in a society would prefer to have music being downloaded freely as opposed to any physical crimes that could possibly be committed.
Andrew Kilgour provided many useful examples that supported many of his ideas. One significant example Mr. Kilgour used was a piece he created from a song originally made by Dutch jazz artist, Bo Hansson. After playing the piece for the class, he continued on to say, “I don’t think Bo Hansson would think that these two songs sound the same now would he?” This statement was quite thought provoking because it offered an immediate counter-argument to what some people would argue is “stealing,” Bo Hansson’s music. “I’m not sure where my creativity begins and Bo Hansson’s creativity ends.”
Although I initially agreed with the idea of freely downloading music and producing music by mixing songs that have already been created, I was unaware of the financial aspects that created the basis of copyrighting. Mr. Kilgour quoted that, “unless it’s making a lot of money, then nobody cares.” Which extended my original understanding of how copyrighting functions. Furthermore, Andrew Kilgour successfully portrayed the passion and creativity that comes with the creation of such “illegal,” music. An example of this portrayal would be when he said, “I’m sampling Motown Records because I love Motown Records. I love the way they sound!”
Andrew Kilgour’s perspective was very fair to both sides; however, he constantly reiterated his argument. All the previously listed aspects allowed me as a listener to comprehend all of Andrew Kilgour’s points. Although Don Hogarth’s points regarding competition aspects and the long tail theory were extremely informative, they did not entirely alter my perspective on the subject. Overall, Andrew Kilgour’s perspective allowed me to alter mine so that I had the same basis of understanding that he himself did.
