MASHED: Mashup Music, Copyright, and Platform Regulation

Digitization has contributed to an increase in sample-based forms of expression that circulates the Internet, including music. At the same time, more and more internet platforms have used algorithmic tools to, among other things, regulate copyright infringing content. It has long been debated whether sample-based music, in which the use of samples is not cleared, is illegal or whether it can be defended under various copyright exceptions, such as parody and citation (EU law) and "fair use" (USA law). If the latter turns out to be the case, this raises questions about the right of internet platforms to censor this content - that is, by doing so they will in practice undermine these copyright exceptions. MASHED has delved into this problem by focusing on mashup music - a form of music that is based solely on samples. Specifically, we have been interested in examining (1) the social and aesthetic value of mashups (and sample-based music more generally); (2) the legal conditions regarding sample-based music, as well as the mashup producers? understanding of the legality of this music as well their ethical perspective regarding their use of samples; and (3) the mashup producers' experience of, and the legal-political conditions associated with, internet platforms' regulation of this music. The project has emphasized that sampling is diverse, and should also be treated as such in a legal context. Moreover, some forms of sampling (including much mashup music) should be understood as falling into the legal copyright-exception categories of parody, citation, and "fair use." The project has further argued that the concept of parody is well suited to describe much mashup music in that it has an ironic, critical distance to the material it appropriates. Important aspects of parody include humor, politics, and aesthetics, and the project has demonstrated how all these aspects also contribute to the social value of mashups. Extensive interview- (n=30) and survey- (n=90) data shows that mashup producers' attitudes towards copyright, and their views on their own sampling activity, often contradict common prejudices against sampling as unethical plagiarism and copyright infringement. The majority of mashup-producers believe that their music can be legally defended and emphasize their ethical guidelines, which include crediting the original artists and making the sources of their mashup identifiable, as well as not profiting economically on their mashups. The data also show that the majority of mashup-producers experience major challenges when it comes to internet platforms' algorithmic and automatic content moderation tools. This became clear in the interviews, and in the survey 82% reported that their mashups had been blocked or taken down from a platform because of copyright claims; 53% responded that their mashup account had been suspended for the same reason; 53% reported that content moderation oof internet platforms had affected their motivation to make mashup-music; and 9% said they had stopped making mashups because of the challenges of these regulatory tools. In other words, it's clear that internet platforms' handling of content has significant impact on mashup activity. The project argues that algorithmic and automated platform regulation does not adequatly accommodate for copyright exceptions and thus often eliminates gray-area content. The fact that platforms currently constitute some of the main forums through which we as a society currently communicate also means that they have much power both in terms of which cultural expressions reach the people and in terms of how the legislation is enforced. Ultimately, the use of algorithmic and automated regulatory tools by internet platforms may lead to a privatization of copyright with a skewed distribution of power in favor of rightsholders, which in turn may lead to unpredictability and low motivation among mashup producers and other sample-based artists to make and distribute their music.

Prosjektet viser at enkelte samfunnsmessige utfordringer må håndteres med integrert innsikt fra fagfeltene populærmusikk, medier og kommunikasjon og jus og kan dermed inspirere til tilsvarende tverrfaglige konstellasjoner. Prosjektet bidrar med betydningsfull innsikt i sentrale kontemporære utfordringer knyttet til digitalisering. F.eks. gis det innsikt i den sosio-kulturelle betydningen av sample-basert musikk og andre approprierte uttrykksformer; hvordan mashups og annen sample-basert musikk stiller seg juridisk; maktstrukturer som utspiller seg mellom internettplattformer, opphavsrettshavere, og brukere; samt sample-baserte artisters opplevelse av å få sin musikk sensurert og kontoer suspendert av internettplattformer, og deres kunstneriske, etiske og juridiske syn på sin musikkvirksomhet. Innsikten fra MASHED kan også bidra til prosessen med å kalibrere opphavsretten, samt reguleringen av kunstneriske uttrykk, i forhold til den teknologiske og kulturelle utviklingen.

Social media platforms' implementation of algorithms intended to block copyright-infringing content has returned to the forefront a long-simmering debate: How can we best balance the incentives of copyright with the purposes and desires of sample-based music in order to protect freedom of expression? The profound changes that digitization has entailed for the production, distribution, and use of artistic content have triggered an explosion of musical mashups, that is, user-generated musical remixes that commingle pre-existing music and media content. These mashed remixes reside in the contested area of copyright law, thanks to their extensive and unauthorized use of pre-existing material. As such, they suffer from online service providers' recent implementation of algorithmic regulatory systems that translate copyright laws into concrete actions on an enormous scale and, as a result, govern the distribution and public lifespan of content. As Western society trends toward ever more sample-based remixes and disputed algorithmic copyright-regulation, MASHED will combine expertise in the areas of popular music studies, law, and social science to devote sustained attention to the complex relationship between, on the one hand, participatory culture and remix creativity, and, on the other, copyright regulation. First, MASHED will examine the underlying aesthetic principles and values that have emerged within the mashup scene and discuss how these principles resonate with sociocultural vantage points. Second, the project will discuss the tensions between the global aesthetics of mashup music and localized legal systems, and examine how mashups can be understood in terms of the global but also localized legal concepts of transformative use, parody, criticism, and quotation. Third, the project will critically assess the algorithmic regulatory systems of user-generated online platforms and their impact on mashup producers and mashup aesthetics.