Tag Archives: Licensing

Today’s Presentation – Professor Sikand

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It was truly eye-opening today to hear Professor Sikand’s talk about copyright in the world of film, especially with the issue of the high costs associate with licensing music. What I found a bit saddening was the fact that these costs often dissuade filmmakers from making certain works. In a way, copyright in this case holding back the progression and evolution of film. Granted, we should protect artists and ensure that they do not lose out on revenue from their works. However, perhaps some efforts should be made to ease up on the rules regarding the usage of songs. After all, who knows what potentially great films the world could be missing out on because of all the restrictions in place?

Today’s Class – Using Songs vs. Product Placement (Shark Tank)

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In the discussion in today’s class, somebody brought up the topic of song sampling vs product placement, particularly in movies and in television. Some people argued that if companies pay directors and producers to have products featured in movies and shows, artists should do the same thing for the exposure they are getting. I didn’t get to speak on the issue, but my argument has to do with the purpose of such actions. When a song is included in a show or movie, it is usually intended to impart some sort of mod in the particular scene where it is seen. In a sense, the song ends up becoming a part of the show or movie as an art form, and several movies are known for the music featured in them. Product placement doesn’t do any of this, as is seen in the example video below with one of my favorite shows, Shark Tank. The T-Mobile product placement here is not only utterly ridiculous, it adds nothing to the show in terms of value or artistic merit. If there was no licensing deal made here, there is no reason that the producers of the show would include this in there at all. Essentially, even though having a song featured in a movie or show gives exposure to the artist, it is because the directors and producers want to use the songs to ad to their work that differentiates this from product placement.

Licensing and Translation

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Now, I am someone who is a big fan of things like anime and manga, and naturally the issue regarding them is finding a translation that I can understand. Nowadays, many companies exist solely to translate and distribute the media. However, for a large consumer such as myself, I would say they do not license and bring over enough. This essentially forces me to rely on fan translations, which at essence, is pirating: taking a book, translating it, and distributing it for free around the internet. At heart, pirating robs the possible income for a company and creator. However, also DUE to it, a wider audience is reached, thereby creating a GREATER possible income.

Despite being a clear violation of IP rights, online distributors are more or less left alone to their own devices while consumers blissfully increase their digital collection. This leaves me to wonder if pirating, while still giving credit (but not profit) to the authors, can actually serve as a functional, international advertisement method.