Unoriginality

In today’s society it is very easy to share information with other people. Whether it is a video or a quotation, with a click of a button we can share it with our closest friends and family. For that reason, it is very easy for someone to remix another person’s work. In pop culture most recently, we’ve seen a circulation of fashion trends and music that is reminiscent of ones that were popular 20-30 years ago. Trends like chokers, overalls, and crop tops have gained an increased popularity and that was something commonly seen in the 80’s and 90’s. No one would have ever predicted they would make an appearance again. In addition, many songs contain samples tracks and back tracks of popular songs from decades ago. They have reassembled it with new lyrics and a possible track on top of it, but it still contains unoriginal material. Take Selena Gomez’s song, Bad Liar, includes a sample of the 1970’s hit by the Psycho Killers, Talking Heads. Here is a link to both songs so you can compare both for yourself: https://youtu.be/NZKXkD6EgBk & https://youtu.be/O52jAYa4Pm8 . 

Copyright gets complicated in the music industry as some new artists do not credit the tracks that they have sampled and are making a boat load of money on a song that is not entirely original. Many artists have attempted to sue but have been unsuccessful as the music industry is very much driven towards making a profit rather than giving people the credit they are deserved. With social media and the Internet having such a large role in the spreading of ideas it is important to give credit for info when it is rightly deserved. Everyone acknowledges that information is easily shared and in most instances, content is created so it can be shared to a large audience. It is important to consider the authors of the content that have inspired your content. This includes anything that has music or content that was not originally created by them. It is very easy to take credit for week that is not originally yours and, many times, even copyright protection like the one available on Youtube cannot reach all the posts the infringe on the copyright law.