Re:Mix Culture

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Remix culture is a term employed by Lawrence Lessig to describe a society which allows and encourages derivative works. Such a culture would be, by default, permissive of efforts to improve upon, change, integrate, or otherwise remix the work of copyright holders. Lessig presents this as a desirable ideal and argues, among other things, that the health, progress, and wealth creation of a culture is fundamentally tied to this participatory remix process.

Sampling in musicmaking is a prime example of reuse, and hip-hop culture’s implicit acceptance of the practice makes it a remix culture.

This term is often contrasted with permission culture.

Lessig is now using the term ‘Read/Write Culture’ to refer to broadly the same thing and ‘Read Only Culture’ to refer to a permission based culture. He has been queried as to his reliance on a binary opposite rather than a spectrum of permissions but this he explains is his way to broadcast this message to a mainstream audience.

Free Culture (book) by Lawrence Lessig (Free Download)

Video Resources

• Remix Culture Symposium: Panel 1: Creative Commons Music
• Remix Culture Symposium: Panel 2: Legal, Licensing and CC
• Remix Culture Symposium: Panel 3: Creativity and the Commons

Word up to Wikipedia for the Cultural enlightenment above. :)

Technorati Tags: Remix Culture, Free Culture, Culture, Creative Commons, Derivative Works, Permission Culture

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