It’s been interesting to follow the debate about copyright law.  Some would seem to say that copyright laws should serve the public and not the “Rulers and the Divine Profits”, and that anything else is totaliterian and draconian.  If music is so important as to require free file-sharing for the good of the public, what about food?  Should that not also be freely available to all who are hungry?  Or housing – doesn’t everyone have a right to shelter?  Yes they do, and as a society our taxes go to help those “in extremis”.  But you can’t give food and housing free to the whole general public as a right – it’s simple logistics to understand that the builders of the houses, the manufacturers of the materials, the farmers who grow the crops should be paid, so they can grow more.  Composers should be paid, so they can write more.

If you try to skew the arguments with claims about “giant corporations” bleeding the country dry, that removes the identity of the composer, the musician, the initiator of the music.  This is where it all starts.  These are the forgotten people who make it happen.  They should be paid, and valued.

Those who take issue with the control and distribution of this created music, who object to the profits of the record companies, should instead of piracy find a new distribution system that connects the composer to the public.  They can’t just help themselves to whatever they want.  Some bands and artists make their music available to be downloaded for free – great.  That’s their choice, and it can be a useful way to promote a band.  At www.royalty-free.tv we connect the composers of production music direct to the media producers and TV programme makers.  We are composers ourselves, and the internet allows us to control the license terms and distribution of our tracks and those of others.  Great.  Let’s empower composers, not ignore them and tell the public to help itself to whatever.

Buy bread.  Buy houses.  Buy music.