There is an art and a craft to taking existing content and creating new meaning. With the availability of digitalized text, images, video clips, and audio files online, there are endless possibilities for creative expression through remixing. Remixing originated with sampling different music tracks to create new mashups, but it has evolved beyond audio. The combination of available content, simple tools, and social platforms has made remix culture an everyday norm. People craft photo collages, videos, and other web projects, making use of all kinds of existing content while adding in their own unique interpretation. This was not possible with older media institutions as much of the content was not digitalized nor readily sharable on mass.
The topic of remixing seems to evoke interest in academics, artists, musicians, lawyers, political scientists, and digital media experts alike. It is fascinating as it brings people across the spectrum to the same table.
For more on this discussion topic, check out the accompanying Flickr images and watch or re-watch the first remix dance video that got a billion people shaking.
References
Benkler, Y. (2006). The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom. Yale University Press, New Haven.
Fitzgerald, B. and O'Brien, D. (2005). Digital sampling and culture jamming in a remix world: What does the law allow? Media and Arts Law Review, 10(4), 279-298. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/Zd0dMk
Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence Culture: Where old and new media collide. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/Z6BuKK
Knobel, M. and Lankshear, C. (2008). Remix: The art and craft of endless hybridization. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52(1), 22-33. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/Xu35dp
Lessig, L. (2004). Remix: Making art and commerce thrive in the hybrid economy. Penguin, New York.
Lynskey, D. (2013). Harlem Shake: Could it kill sampling? The Guardian. Retrieved from
The Harlem Shake Hits 1 Billion Views (2013, April 4). The Visible Measures Blog. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/Xu515P
McKinley, J. (2013, March 10). Surprise hit was a shock for artists heard on it. New York Times. Retrieved from http://nyti.ms/13YpHWx
Great post and Flickr presentation on remix culture Sylvia. I really enjoyed the case study you presented on the Harlem Shake highlighting intellectual property. Fascinating to see how things will play out in terms of ownership, credit, and royalties. Rodrigues, Delgado and Musson are claiming the music, but the real phenomenon has been the participatory remix activity around the videos. Your topic highlights how unprepared we are to deal with issues like this as digital media explodes globally, and more and more people have unprecedented access to music sampling. I see that we both found Lessig to be a great resource for this topic. Lessig's comment that "culture as a whole can be seen as a remix", is a perspective I share with you. I really appreciated how mainstream and relevant your topic was to remix culture!
ReplyDeleteHi Sylvia, I really enjoyed the Flickr stream and your very interesting array of pictures and academic insight to demonstrate the span of remix creation. I lost a lot of time actually looking at the other videos of this phenom on YouTube. Now that I know how to do this dance – thanks to Mahalo.com (Professor Locke) I have to find a dance floor soon ☺
ReplyDeleteI am encouraged to see that copyright owners are taking a more relaxed stance on remixing -- for example, the Gangnam Dance video -- also being remixed across the world and in violation of copyright violation that is not being pursued. I find this encouraging, the owners no doubt recognizing that the revenue streams created from the collective buzz is enough.
I took a peek at all the video renditions of the Harlem Shuffle (the Gangnam Dance too). I guess some things are just irresistible in terms of wanting to copy. No doubt there will be an academic doing a long term study on what goes viral and why – but it seems to certainly center firmly on music and dancing – those basic human tribal instincts. YouTube is an amazing reflection of our culture and our folklore.