Mcleod

Reading about current and developing laws surrounding music sampling really made me concerned about the creative opportunities that are being stripped from the music industry and public as a whole. Some can see copyright laws as being put in place for the good of creative artists when really it "has more potential to suppress authors than it does to motivate them." The chapter talks a lot about the hip-hop revolution that took place in the 1980's and 90's. I found it intriguing when Mcleod speaks about the evolution of hip-hop as being "a series of events built around mistakes that sounded good, and which were further developed." This seems so important to me, we are able to see how the hip-hop generation was fueled by the creative minds who built on past work, pushing the envelope to develop their own unique style and meaning within their music. It seems so obvious for the music community to take what is human nature, to build and perpetuate the pursuit of knowledge through experimental practices. And how could it be that laws would be enacted to prohibit such practices. We are shown through the chapter why these laws are put into place and who the true benefactors are; corporate giants. It's often not the creator or artist that holds copyrights to their work, but instead their record label who benefits from the monetary funds collected through fees, fines and litigation.

It seems more important than ever to reaffirm our ability to express our creativity through various mediums. Pushing the boundaries of expression is what the hip-hop revolution was built on, even in its smallest form, carrying these concepts into our everyday life can help develop a collective understanding of the common good developed through creative platforms. From making small adjustments and pushing our thoughts and actions in everyday life to pushing for government reform; we just might be on the cusp of another revolution.