Stealing

But it was my idea?

We can’t help it. Some call it plagiarism. Some call it copyright infringement. Some call it stealing.

Everyday we read something or hear something or even say something that has never crossed our mind before. It may be significant enough to remember and that may carry over into another thought or action or sound or statement that wasn’t really ours to begin with but we just picked it up.

Isn’t that how we are educated?

We are taught facts and figures and our mind jumbles all these thoughts and calculates a new understanding of them with our personal experiences. As we regurgitate these facts we put our own spin on the meanings, as we understand it.

You will hear a note progression and remember the phrase and while writing a personal work add it into the piece. As a writer you will tend to phrase a statement with remembrance of a former read sentence.

Is this stealing another’s thought or just expanding the idea?

For all thoughts are built by exposure to other’s thoughts and ideas. Can education be copyrighted?

If you create something you want to protect the rights to that creation, but only if the lawyers allow you to do that.

A creative person has made a statement or performed or created a sound that is new and different and interesting, so why should it always be for profit. The artist still needs to survive to create another work but respect the appreciation of others to appreciate their work and copy it.

Copyright is a legal right created by the law of a country, that grants the creator of an original work, exclusive rights to its use and distribution, usually for a limited time, with the intention of enabling the creator to receive compensation for their intellectual effort.

Plagiarism is the "wrongful appropriation" and "stealing and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions" and the representation of them as one's own original work. The idea remains problematic with unclear definitions and unclear rules. The modern concept of plagiarism as immoral and originality as an ideal emerged in Europe only in the 18th century, particularly with the Romantic Movement.

A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for detailed public disclosure of an invention. An invention is a solution to a specific technological problem and is a product or a process. Patents are a form of intellectual property.

As you can see there are many laws and many more to protect an artist’s ideas and creations, but no matter what, someone will pick up a line or a tone or a beat or a word or a move and include it into their creative repertoire.

Even our most celebrated artist has picked up bits and pieces that have come before. We build upon our history and hopefully make it better.

So I understand an artist needs to have compensation for their creations, but feel somewhat complimented that your ideas have been copied. The rest of us will call them ‘covers’.

Critic

Knowledgeable or just a disguise for a bad attitude

One of the most fearful consequences to producing a work of art is the critic review. No matter if it is a book or painting or performance, someone can read or view or listen or just attend then write their opinion of the work.

Some may have the knowledge of the performer or writer or artist but his/her words can excel to stardom and riches or crash a career. One person with a few moments can understand or not the ideas and emotions of the art. With a few politically incorrect words can debase the author, performer, and creator without legal repercussions.

And we all read these words and judge whether we will attend a performance or go to a movie or purchase a book or download the song and then we pass on the review. We hold the opinion of these critics, as we do to our trusted friends can prejudice our own attitudes and taste.

Now every piece of art or music or literature or design or fashion or even hairdos should be viewed and commented on so the artist can learn and expand his/her thoughts for future works. A friendly critique can be a helpful discussion without sounding like an authority spout out.

“Marvelous”, “Stunning”, “Shameful”, “A Disaster”, “Must See”, “Screeching Noise”, “A Wonderful Experience” and many more splatter the pages of magazines and newspapers and websites followed by a respectable experienced and licensed critic. As these words sway naïveté, no one thinks of the phrases as basic advertising.

My point is to you Mister or Miss or Misses or whatever ‘Critic’. I will read your review with a grand of sand and perhaps give it a bit of thought, but I will make up my own mind for what I like and what I don’t like. It may be great, but I don’t like it. It may be poor, but I like it. That is just the way it is.

What Makes You Famous?

Everyone now a day has the opportunity to write and publish on the web. Anyone can become a writer and author without needing a publisher to edit, print, bond and distribute their work. 

The same is for musicians and dancers and artist. Though much of the performing arts need to be seen and heard in public, all the advertising and promotion can be done electronically. 

So other than tickets at a show or sales slips, how do you know you are famous? Maybe you are not as good as you think you are.

Just like the NSA collecting data, every artist must evaluate their work and the public response to see if they wish to continue with this line of work. 

Some web sites are effective and get attention and some don’t. The same is true for books and magazines. 

If you measure the number of hits on a website, is that a conclusive number of views? If you sell so many magazines, does that mean everyone who buys it will read your article? What about books? No matter how many are published, unless they become classroom text may only windup in the bargain bin. 

But the promise of being on the New York Times bestseller list or welcoming a movie deal keeps every artist hoping. 

I started out with 3 to 4 reads when I started. Now I’m up to 40 to 50 averages reads. Is my writing any better? Probably not, but it is rewarding that more eyes read this mess. 

All artist want some response for their efforts otherwise they would just do cave drawing for themselves. Just like the paintings hanging in the museum, does everyone appreciate them even though that they have been valued by the appreciation experts that they are worthy of hanging in a museum?

Distribution

It is an economic reality. Whatever it takes to create art, and however the promotion is used to make the public become aware, the art has to be disturbed to the location the public uses. 

Today the distribution of artwork or music can be handled through the Internet. Website can be established for branding or distribution sites can be uploaded with samples that can be observed but not downloaded without a charge. There are also other social networks to inform the public and guide them to your site. 

There are also the tours of festivals and fairs but the booths will have to be carried from location to location and a library of work carried. With the music is by one or several, instruments and sound systems must be moved and repaired from place to place. The same process holds true for any other performance art. 

Along with travel to distant destinations the distribution off your art includes eating, sleeping, and washing arrangements along with financial processing. Also every state and community has certain legal requirements for setting up and displaying your art.

The Audience

Most of us are in the audience. 

We pay for a ticket and attend a venue to watch and listen and enjoy a performance, but we are the audience. 

The audience has paid their fare but they are rude. Most are not there to appreciate the artistry being performed before them. For high-end venues, the audience is to be seen and will cough and squirm and leave at the first intermission. The smaller stage will present an audience who paid less per ticket but are true fans of the performance.

Due to the constant chatter from the audience, the volume gets louder to gain attention. 

The same is true for artwork of every kind. 

Flashy and bright artwork zooms across computer screens trying to catch the viewer’s attention. It seems no one has the patience to sit and enjoy a full opera or walk quietly through a museum to view the details of the artwork.

For sales of static art or performing art helps to know what the audience wants. Don’t take a violin concerto to a rock festival.

So as you plan your website and book your presentations, consider your audience.

Why do you write?

 

There are hundreds of thousands of books, short stories, magazines, website presenting ideas, opinions, factual observations, historical research, and more. Fiction, Science Fiction, Graphic novels, Cooking, Science, History, and even E-Books, the list goes on and on about subjects and categories. Behind all the different methods to deliver these words, someone is writing them.

What drives a person to sit down and write their thoughts for others to read? Some strive for the recognition, fame and fortune. Some hope for changing ways of thinking. Some just enjoy creating sentences that will tell a story that someone else may connect with and enjoy.

The same is true for anyone with a creative slant. Painters, dancers, musicians, performers what to entertain, inspire, and overall influence their audience. The reviews and comments are much more cherished than the paycheck.

I Want Your Money

Everything is for sale; at a price. And we sell everything. 

We sell our personality and qualities and education and skills to acquire employment. We sell our ideas to make more money. We apply our experience and knowledge to make even more money.

Then once we have some money, everybody else wants it. 

Television, radio, Internet, stores, transportation companies, health companies, investment planners, animal shelters, public service organizations, even the beggar on the street wants some of your money. 

Certain requirements in life demand you give them some of your money. Shelter, food, clothing, transportation, childcare or education, and the occasional gift to your sweetie to keep life balanced. Then all the insurance companies come by to tell you that you MUST have insurance on your auto, house, and family or you are a bum. Then the health companies come by and tell you that you MUST have health insurance to cover catastrophic accidents and to cover the massive array of meds to keep you healthy. The list goes on and on.

Now bankers and investment planners say you should save money, so give it to them to keep in a safe place. They even offer a tiny interest while they use your money for their own purposes. If they didn’t no one could get a mortgage or loan. Who would let you buy a house if you didn’t have that much money in assets? 

Yikes! Did I say “loan”? Borrow money from someone else to purchase something that you cannot afford with only the legal agreement and your signature to pay back. Shoot there in an entire industry for credit. There are ratings and score, just like football teams. If you rank high enough, in their calculation, you get a ton of junk mail offering you “free money” for only a little fee. If your score is not the best, you better pay the cash that is in your pocket and when that is all gone; stop buying. 

So how are all these big expensive projects get paid for and how do all those rich people make all their money? I’m not an economist or a financial advisor by any means. All I know is I have some money in the bank. After I pay my bills and taxes, the rest of it can be spent on anything I choose. I can buy myself gifts, or splurge on fancy dinners, or indulge in luxurious entertainment, or just keep it in the bank. I also know that if I spend more than I have, I’m in trouble. 

But I will give this advice. Get a sponsor! 

Think about it for a minute. Take NASCAR for example. They have a huge outlay of money in equipment, transportation, salaries, and repairs. Some money they can get from network coverage, but if you look at the drivers (and the cars), they are covered with stickers. Logos of companies who will give money to a team are plastered all over the place. These companies want to associate their name with a winner. It isn’t charity or a free grant, but a partnership with one who has money and one who wants money.

So when you are trying to be creative, your mind should be on your work and not on making money. Find an organization, company, foundation, or philanthropies and sell your reason why they should invest in you. Have a good business plan for success and with a little leg work, your financial troubles will be over. 

Don’t say, “I want your money.” That is robbery.