Melbourne Conservatorium of Music - Theses
Permanent URI for this collection
Search Results
1 - 2 of 2
-
ItemCan copyright cope with music?( 2001)The purpose of this dissertation is to consider whether the copyright regime that presently exists in Australia adequately protects different kinds of music. It reviews the history of music and copyright law with particular emphasis on English law as this forms the basis of Australian law. It examines how the courts have handled music under the copyright regime and considers the problems that the history of copyright law present for the protection of improvised and indigenous music. The dissertation concludes that although copyright has problems coping with some kinds of music such as jazz, aleatory music and indigenous music, these problems do not warrant wholesale changes in copyright law. Copyright, while trying to protect all forms of creative works is also trying to protect two mutually exclusive objects, the creator and the public. Nineteenth century developments in copyright gave much greater protection to the creator, but began to lose sight of the other important rationale for copyright, dissemination of information and creation of the public domain. Present day developments are going even further. The balance is changing and the public, and ultimately the creator, is the loser. The question that confronts today's legislators is, should the copyright regime, with its inherent philosophies based on eighteenth and nineteenth century ideas of property and creativity, be retained and simply amended as required, or should it be abandoned altogether. This thesis posits the view that wholesale alteration of copyright law to include improvised music and music which is orally transmitted and collectively composed will not benefit the public. It is not in the best interests of creators who have a right to reasonably freely available information. Nor would it be of benefit to indigenous societies since it would be imposing ideas that might conflict with the creative ideals of those societies.
-
ItemDreamtime wisdom, modern-time vision: tradition and innovation in the popular band movement of Arnhem Land, Australia( 2002)This thesis presents a detailed study of popular bands from Arnhem Land. It documents the history and scope of their creativity, and attests to the ingenuity and dedication of the musicians and communities who have fostered this regional movement of musical expression. Its specific aim is to establish how concepts and practices which are integral to the social and intellectual foundations of local cultures have influenced the creative approaches of these bands, and have guided the syncretic incorporation of traditional themes, aesthetics and musical materials to their repertoires. Research has been largely guided by direct consultations with musicians and other local commentators from Arnhem Land which have been conducted over a series of field trips to the region and other destinations. It was through these consultations that the regional development of the popular band as a new medium for celebrating and extending profound expressions of the ancestral and of the binding kin relationships between band members became a focal research interest. Popular bands from Arnhem Land have been at the forefront of stimulating and guiding social debate about balancing the continuity of tradition with socio-technological change in their communities since their inception in the mid 1960s. Their activities are predicated on technological and inter-cultural exchange, and the history of their development reveals much about the strategies deployed and challenges met by local peoples in this endeavour. Even so, their activities are still circumscribed by the endemic qualities of their traditional cultural heritage. Song analysis with a particular emphasis on lyrics and form is utilised in this thesis as a principal method for demonstrating traditional influences in their repertoires. Interpretive commentaries provided by musicians in the field and secondary references to relevant ethnographic studies also contribute to its development of a new framework for understanding and appreciating the creativity of these popular bands. Ultimately, this thesis demonstrates how musicians in popular bands from Arnhem Land have conducted their creative engagements with new musical media and technologies to intellectualise, advocate and effect the continuity of their own durable traditions.