Open source record label
Encyclopedia
Open source record labels are a reaction against what some musicians see as corporate control of music via means of copyright
. They believe that creativity requires that musician
s reappropriate and reinterpret music and sounds to enable them to create truly innovative music.
Open source
record label
s hold that the fight over free
, libre
, and open content
and media is a struggle over the freedoms of expression and speech
, with the goal of radically opening up the possibilities of media. To this end, open source record labels attempt to release music under so-called "copyleft
", a license that enables musicians to develop music collaboratively and equitably and then release it into the same licence.
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
. They believe that creativity requires that musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
s reappropriate and reinterpret music and sounds to enable them to create truly innovative music.
Open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
s hold that the fight over free
Liberty
Liberty is a moral and political principle, or Right, that identifies the condition in which human beings are able to govern themselves, to behave according to their own free will, and take responsibility for their actions...
, libre
Gratis versus Libre
Gratis versus libre is the distinction between two meanings of the English adjective "free"; namely, "for zero price" and "with little or no restriction"...
, and open content
Open content
Open content or OpenContent is a neologism coined by David Wiley in 1998 which describes a creative work that others can copy or modify. The term evokes open source, which is a related concept in software....
and media is a struggle over the freedoms of expression and speech
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
, with the goal of radically opening up the possibilities of media. To this end, open source record labels attempt to release music under so-called "copyleft
Copyleft
Copyleft is a play on the word copyright to describe the practice of using copyright law to offer the right to distribute copies and modified versions of a work and requiring that the same rights be preserved in modified versions of the work...
", a license that enables musicians to develop music collaboratively and equitably and then release it into the same licence.
Examples of open source labels
- Calabash MusicCalabash musicCalabash Music is an online music company established in 2001 by Brad Powell. Calabash Music is based in Somerville, Massachusetts. Its goal, as quoted from the website, is to provide the listener access to "talented musicians across the globe," as well as to help "independent artists sell directly...
- JamendoJamendoJamendo is a music website and a community of music authors. It bills itself as "the world's #1 platform for free and legal music downloads under Creative Commons licenses."...
- LOCA RecordsLOCA RecordsLoca Records is an independent electronica and post rock record label based in Brighton, UK. All the music, artwork and videos are released under copyleft licenses and distributed physically on vinyl, CD, and cassette...
- MagnatuneMagnatuneMagnatune is an American independent record label based in Berkeley, California, founded in spring 2003 by John Buckman, then-CEO of e-mail software company Lyris. It aims at treating both its musicians and its customers fairly—its tagline is "We are not evil"...
- OnClassicalOnClassicalOnClassical is a small Italian independent record label based in Pove del Grappa, Italy. It features classical music mostly for piano or chamber ensemble.- History :...
- OpsoundOpsoundOpsound is a website which aggregates links to music released under Creative Commons licenses. Opsound aggregates links to music hosted on other servers, as well as providing discussion forums and organizing real-world events and concerts...
- Small Brain RecordsSmall Brain RecordsSmall Brain Records is an open source record label started in 1993 in Traverse City, Michigan by Jim Ryan and Sheamas O'Donnel . At that point in time everything was released on cassettes and reels. Over the years she has taken roots in the Detroit area, bringing together Detroit electronic music...
- Hexawe
- Copyleft Records