It is of course obvious that copyright issues are also a big problem in music education, if we consider using technology in music learning. In fact, in my view, they are the biggest thing that hinders pedagogical development along with issues relating to the culture of learning and teaching. The copyright system is very complex, and complex systems tend to be hard to adjust, they change very slowly. There are too many different organizations handling copyrights, for whom we are obliged to

1. write reports of the music we use in online learning and
2. pay, and in some cases ask separately for permissions.

In Finnish copyright law, the owners of copyright have right to ban the use of their works in general (in education etc.) – even if copyright organizations handle their business. That is pretty dangerous for education. Read the rest of this entry »

Nokia has launched a new service called MOSH. It is basically a site where you can share content created with and for mobile devices. In this case content means audio, video, games, other applications, and most importantly images. We have had a vision about similar service to educational purposes, but are still waiting for the devices to develop in to the point that students would have gadgets with decent cameras and WLAN-connection. They could then create their own soundscapes, videos, and mashups by for instance recording in their natural surroundings, composing their own music to their scores – similar to what Jonathan Savage has done with his students in the past. Read the rest of this entry »

Youtube made an interesting deal in England, according to Reuters. Google, who owns Youtube, will pay royalties to MCPS-PRS Alliance, the UK group that collects royalties for more than 50,000 composers, songwriters and publishers.” This means that around 10 million musical works will be licenced, and thus legally played as backing tracks in youtube videos. However, this seems to concern mostly British songwriters, composers and publishers (50 000 of them). Hopefully this will be a lasting and spreading trend. I wonder whether this applies to music videos and rare live footage in Youtube, which I find extremely valuable cultural information. Read the rest of this entry »