Can you explain the concept of "royalty-free sample CD" to my mom?

beatzero · 08-26-2006, 06:45 AM

I'm dead serious. I was talking to her about buying sample CD's, and I'm like, "this stuff's royalty-free," but she's all, "but its sum1 elses work lolz it must be illegal i mean wut about napster isnt dat illegal? i dun lyke da artists not getting paid DDDDDDDDDDDDDDD:<"

So I say, "It's not like Napster. It's not illegal. This stuff is just a bunch of building blocks for my work. Riffs and sounds," to which she responds, "wtf isnt dat takin other ppls work and callin it ur own? i mean how wuld u feel if sum1 took ur awesome riff from a mediocre song n called it their own?"

That's when I had to tell her that a lot of what most call "techno" is a series of patchwork genres, created by assembling existing sounds, and has been that way since the musique concrete days of the 50's.

So I know damn well what royalty-free is, but I can't quite put it into her brand of English. Could you help me out so she doesn't think I'm a criminal by buying royalty-free sample CD's?

Beer Can · 08-26-2006, 09:27 AM

Tell her it was produced so that other people could use it. If you tell her the CD was produced with the intention that other people would use the sounds, she should be able to understand that. Plus, if you're actually buying the CD's, use that to explain that the artists are getting paid for it.

P.S. Napster's not illegal anymore.

**helix eternal** · 08-26-2006, 01:05 PM

Tell her it's like making a quilt out of a bunch of pre-made patches. Someone else made the patches, but you are "sewing the quilt together" which makes the final product your work.

idk that sounded good lol

jihnsius · 08-26-2006, 08:47 PM

I like the way helix put it.

WiLLiSTER · 08-26-2006, 09:13 PM

What kind of job or career does your mom have?

Starmony · 08-27-2006, 05:56 AM

Tell her the the artist's purpost was to share with the community in order to benefit the music business in general and that they are just doing a nice thing for the world and it would be illigal to almost not take their music in which would hurt them more because now their origional purpose has been unfulfilled and that makes them

jihnsius · 08-28-2006, 04:06 AM

Just punch her in the face and take her credit card.

**helix eternal** · 08-28-2006, 11:58 AM

I like the way jihnsius put it.

GOD GODDY · 08-29-2006, 03:59 AM

Tell her "Izz a bunj of sampos ppo made so u can leik make music and make it sound gud. Dey made it for freez so u dun hab 2 pay for it.

"

jihnsius · 08-29-2006, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by God

Tell her "Izz a bunj of sampos ppo made so u can leik make music and make it sound gud. Dey made it for freez so u dun hab 2 pay for it.

"

Is that your attempt at an English accent?

GOD GODDY · 08-29-2006, 03:45 PM

Nope, it's the voice I hear in my head when I read the text in AIM sent to me by a female friend of mine.

babbagamp shramp camp · 08-29-2006, 06:49 PM

Tell her that the phrase "royalty-free" means that the people who have agreed to let their samples be on the CD have placed said samples into the public domain and are free to use by anyone for any purpose.

See "copyleft."

Rush More! · 08-29-2006, 07:29 PM

Tell her its your God-given right to use whatever royalty-free samples you want, and that if she doesn't let you right now you'll call the cops on her for violating the first ammendment. If all else fails, download instead of buying.