Anytime I go onto github, f-droid, or whatever, it is (supposedly) easy to find if the work is under the GPL or some MIT license. So it’s pretty easy to know what I can and can’t do with the work.
I have looked for something similar on artist pages, but haven’t seen what I think I’m looking for. What I imagine is that every track will have listed if it’s under like a Creative Commons license or something.
It isn’t really an issue now. But, for example when the download function starts up, how do I know what I’m allowed to do with the song? Am I allowed to share it with a friend? Can I sample the song to make a remix? If I do, what are the requirements I have to meet? If I redistribute, does it have to include certain metadata? Do I have a fee to pay?
(Yes, I know it’s obvious I know nothing about copyright.)
Hey Dan, yeah, you’re right, you don’t understand copyright hahaha. Don’t feel bad; most people don’t.
I think we’re a few months off from being able to easily add a CC-like functionality. The core components are the new User API and our Community Credentials app. Those put together will make it easier for artists to designate their preferences, which is then rendered as an agreement between the two parties.
For example, one artist could state that song owners are allowed to share the file with a few friends (yes, honor system implied of course). Another would be allowing remixing, where the derivative work is then co-owned by the original artist. May take some time for that kind of scenario to become fully functional in all its variations, but the fundamentals will be there soon for these features to be used and evolve.
