Life's Theater

In reading this article "It's a fiddle!", I am beginning to feel that Intellectual Property Rights laws pertaining to music are beginning to get really out of hand. If such a law is passed, the costs will definitely be transferred to the purchaser of the musical instrument, whose playing of a familiar riff or lick is nothing more than simply the testing of the instrument, which does not constitute a public performance.

In the event that such a motion is passed and that a public performance is defined as any recognizable music/riff that is heard by anyone other than the musician himself, I shudder at the thought of how draconian our IP laws in Singapore may become in the years to come.

Coupled with the news on the crackdown on online lyrics and music scores, I seriously feel that the music industry, in years to come, may regret its decision in making such a move. In increasing the gradient of an already steep learning curve for musicians by restricting sharing and removing and limiting the number of sources where budding musicians can learn how to play the songs which they love, such a law may backfire in that fewer and fewer people might decide against becoming a musician. The lack of learning resources and the high prices of buying "original" music scores (which are only released by a handful of bands/musicians, as most musicians do not publish their scores) would, in turn, alienate the followers and lovers of music.

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If you feel against what the MPA is doing, why not sign this online petition?