I sent this recently to the CEO and President of the Houston Symphony, regarding its 2030 Strategic Plan (pdf), which aims to “establish the Houston Symphony as a world-class orchestra.” Pillar 1 of the 2030 Strategic Plan includes the following goal/initiative:
Regularly engage in touring and recording projects:
To establish ourselves as a world-class orchestra, we need to increase our visibility beyond Houston through touring and recording. A comparison with other major U.S. orchestras shows that most orchestras have returned to some touring over the past two years, while Houston has not toured. Additionally, the orchestra has released only three albums in the last five years. To address this, we will prioritize periodic international touring and focus on building our recording identity with unique commissions and performances that showcase Houston’s distinct character. Touring and recording projects are critical for the orchestra’s artistic development, for making our artistry more broadly accessible, and for cementing our reputation as a world-class orchestra.
My letter is below. The copyright mindset runs deep, so it is unlikely this advice will be heeded. Still, I thought it worth a shot.
Update: Jeff Tucker informs me of something I was not aware of in the music industry. Apparently there are modern editions or arrangements or “engravings” of classical, public domain works which the publishers claim copyright in, and modern orchestras usually use the more recent engravings when they record or perform. If this is right, then to be able to release a recording of a classic work into the commons the orchestra might want to use the original score or a later public domain engraving. Still, I see no reason it could not be done.
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Dear Ms. Condic and Ms. Burger,
I am a longtime fan and occasional member of the Symphony. My wife and son and I attended the Beethoven Emperor Concerto Friday night, which was superb.
I noted with interest your 2030 Strategic Plan, mentioned in the Program. I am writing to suggest that you consider an approach in support of your objective on p. 4 of your strategic plan, “To establish ourselves as a world-class orchestra, we need to increase our visibility beyond Houston through touring and recording. … Touring and recording projects are critical for the orchestra’s artistic development, for making our artistry more broadly accessible, and for cementing our reputation as a world-class orchestra.”
I am an intellectual property attorney and have long been a critic of copyright law which in effect puts artistic works, such as musical recordings, behind paywalls where permission is needed for use of the work. I have to assume that virtually all symphony orchestras employ the standard model of using copyright to protect their recordings. I would suggest that the Houston Symphony release all future recordings under a
Creative Commons BY (attribution only) license.
In this way, a Houston Symphony recording of a classic work would be more likely to be used, for example for movie or television scores and scenes, since no permission would be needed and no licensing fees would need to be paid. Many legacy institutions who are used to the old copyright model would balk at this approach for fear of losing licensing fees. But in reality in most cases the fees are fairly trivial, especially compared to the publicity and other benefits that could be achieved by using an open license.
Note: for this strategy to succeed, the license must be CC-BY, not a more restrictive CC-BY-NC (non-commercial) or -ND (no derivative works) license. Adding NC or ND would defeat the purpose of this strategy. To the contrary, the Symphony should actively want commercial operations such as movies and television to feel free to use Houston Symphony recordings (with appropriate attribution, of course, which is what the BY part of the CC-BY license ensures). If this approach were adopted, it should be published far and wide and the relevant players in the music, film, and television industry be alerted to the fact that Houston Symphony recordings are available for permission-free and license-free use.
I suspect this approach would be a unique one as most institutions are mired in the copyright mentality. This could be a chance to make a bold statement, a splash, and to see broader circulation of the Symphony’s music and reputation.
I would be happy to discuss any of these ideas if any of you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Stephan Kinsella
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