Why Remix Matters

When Gregg Gillis (a.k.a. Girl Talk) comes to Columbus, the shows sell out (including his first time, at the Wex). Millennials know the Barack Obama version of “Never Gonna Give You Up” better than the Rick Astley one. Until recently, despite national acclaim, Nina Paley is still being prevented from distributing her film, Sita Sings the Blues (shown here last month) in a normal manner because of the music it contained. Today, music and images are appropriated, reshaped, and shared with unprecedented ease (especially online). With that in mind, the Moritz College of Law and the Wexner Center have collaborated to present Remix/Mashup 2009: The Future of Creative Production and Ownership. It seeks to explore the issues of intellectual property and copyright law associated with user generated content and the growing use of mashup in the arts. The keynote address for the conference by Paul D. Miller (a.k.a. DJ Spooky) this Thursday at 7 PM in the Mershon Auditorium is like a good dance party, it's free and open to the public.

UPDATE: To get a taste of whats in store tomorrow, check out DJ Spooky's "Ghost World Mix" here.