The role copyrighting plays in society is that it preserves one’s intellectual property. The value of copyright is that it prevents one from stealing an original idea from someone else and using it for their own benefits. Although this concept seems very straightforward, there are many controversies regarding as to what is considered as “creative” and “original.” Larry Lessig’s reading provides us an insight of the two styles of creativity; RO (Read only) and RW (Read and Write). RO gives the power to the creators while RW allows the possibility for others to join in and give input. RO is supposedly set for professionals, while RW is for professionals and amateurs as well. Although they are both very significant to our culture, they are both judged differently from a legal standpoint, as RO appears to be very supported by our laws but RW is considered illegal due to copyright claims that are set in stone with our government regulations. Lessig believes people should be able to remix songs, or utilize the ideals of RW with no legal issue. “There is no plausible argument that allowing kids to remix music is going to hurt anyone. Until someone can show that it will, the law should simply get out of the way” (Lessig 114). He encourages this notion further in his TED talk, by stating that we should have a culture where “people produce music out of love, not just for money”. I too agree with this in the sense that as long as people aren’t profiting from the mix of music, I don’t see why the issue of copyrighting should come in play. Only when one is taking music created by others and keeping the revenues themselves should be dealt with accordingly by the law.

With that in mind, I believe that remixing songs actually bring more attention and revenue to the original songs, as most people would be curious to see where the song had originated. Ed Sheeran, for example, created a great song with “I See Fire”, but Kygo, an EDM producer, created a famous remix that millions of others, including myself have loved and adored. I think that remixed songs can actually enhance the original work to a certain extent. This can be observed by Danger Mouse’s album. By remixing two well-known artists in creating a new style of music, they not brought fame and publicity upon themselves; they have also brought even more attention and recognition to Jay Z and the Beatles. However, I believe that such remixes should be constructed in such a way that part of the profits should go back to the original artists, and that copyright laws should apply this rule in one manner or another. This is because although the RW people carry some sort of creativity and intellectual property themselves, their creativity was a source of the creativity from the original artists, so some credit should go back to them. I feel like this is also a way for us to appreciate the music culture to another level as we are respecting those who established the pavement for us to enjoy. Copyright laws are very important to maintain, but it shouldn’t be regarded so black and white on originality. Since the concept of creativity is very vague, this law should only be enforced to ensure that every artist is receiving credit when credit is due, including those have remixed the original songs as well. This will truly enhance the music culture, which will continue to enlighten us for the next generations to come.