Abstract

In this chapter I seek to illustrate the degree to which digital composition strategies—and in particular remix and mashup—dramatically complicate the task of ascribing authorship, and throw into relief the degree to which inherently collaborative compositions (like most recorded music and all films) defy ready mapping onto the “author/work” model that typically serves as the default model for the creative process. The author/work model also is foundational in the development of most copyright laws and especially US copyright law, which is rooted in a clause in the US Constitution calling for “securing limited rights” for “authors” in their “writings.” All subsequent expansions of US copyright build upon this foundation, even though many contemporary composers of texts—whether written, musical, cinematic, and/or digital—bear little resemblance to the solitary author invoked in this clause. ¹