Chiptuning IP Between Creative Commons and Moral Economy

Published in IASPM@journal 3.1 (2013)

Abstract: A multitude of legal restrictions imposed on digital creative expressions impact how musicians are able (or unable) to practice their craft. This essay considers how chipmusic deals with this impact. In exploring the form’s close ties to appropriation-based production techniques and its use of Creative Commons licenses, I describe it as an active site for implicit critiques of restrictive copyright regimes. I conclude by considering the concept of a moral economy of appropriation-based creative techniques as a new framework for understanding digital creative practices that are characterized by shared cultural norms and resist conventional intellectual property policy.

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