Music Modernization Act and Native American ‘Personal Data’

 
Written by Chelsea North


Trump standing beside Kid Rock prior to signing the Music Modernization Act. Image Credits: SAUL LOEB
https://www.billboard.com/amp/articles/business/8479469/music-business-reactions-music-modernisation-act-law-signing



Native Americans have a rich culture of music, ceremonies, rituals, and a great connection with their land and their culture. Since the colonization of America, Native people have had both their land and their overall culture exploited. Native Americans have been left feeling lost without the ability to properly practice their cultural and religious beliefs effectively. The most common conversation today is about the ownership and destruction of Native American’s land through governmental regulations and laws allowing many companies to exploit their land, stripping it of all its resources. This exploitation of the native peoples land effects their cultural and religious practices, and in some cases destroys not only their resources, but their lands spiritual importance. A seemingly less common conversation in todays news is the exploitation of Native Americans intellectual property.

Grahm Lee Brewers’ March 5, 2019 article, “Is a new copyright law a ‘colonization of knowledge’?” , discusses the exploitation of recordings of Native American ceremonies, rituals, communications, and song. Brewer discusses how these ethnographic recording are being sold with out the knowledge of many of the original tribal members. Brewer explains that “The Music Modernization Act establishes a system to find and compensate artists whose music was recorded before 1972 whenever their work is streamed online today. If the performer cannot be located, though, the act allows early folk and ceremonial songs to become public for non-commercial purposes,” (Brewer, 2019). Those individuals who are located can prevent the use of the recordings being publicized, however those who are not located may not know that this is occurring.

For Native Americans, Brewer explains that there are many cases where in the early part of the 20th century, Sociologists and Anthropologists made recordings of religious ceremonies often without the knowledge of the native people involved. These recordings are now being held in university and museum collections, and are in danger of being released for streaming. With The Music Modernization Act, Brewer states that these recordings may now be released online for public access. One issue lies in the fact that these recordings often were taken without permission or without an explanation of their intended purpose, and they are now possibly being released for the use of the public without proper recognition of its source. Another issue is that because the Music Modernization Act is to help ensure music creators get paid for their work, many Native Americans are not being paid for this very public access to the cultural music they’ve created. Brewer explains that a provision is in the works to incorporate a “reasonable search” for the person(s) or tribe associated with the ethnographic recording in question allowing the native people to opt-out of the release of their cultural recording.

Brewer quotes Aaron A. Fox of Columbia University, ‘ The problem with intellectual property law is you cast all value in monetary terms. The ethical perspective on Native American field recordings, from anthropologists at least, and from many Native American community members too, is that other kinds of values attach to these,” (Brewer, 2019). Both Fox and Brewer explain that these oral traditions of the native people hold a significant and sacred value to the people involved, creating a knowledge that is very sensitive the Native American people.  This knowledge is one of their culture and their history rather one of exchange, making these ethnographic recordings very different that those of a local non-native musician.


Though it is now 2019, it is unsettling that Native Americans are facing great exploitation of their culture. Not only is their land being torn away from them, again, but their private cultural practices are being released to any individual that can access the internet. This sacred knowledge of the Native Americans must be viewed as more than just an exchange, but rather a sacred cultural piece of information where the individuals themselves must be taken into consideration.  Fox explains that with some hope the amendment of the Music Modernization Act will act much like a NAGPRA (Native American Grace Protection and Repatriation Act) in that it will help tribes repatriate “lost intellectual property” (Brewer, 2019). This would allow tribes to make connections to lost information and recreate the culture they lost.

 

 

Citation:
Brewer, G. L. (2019, March 05). Is a new copyright law a 'colonization of knowledge'? Retrieved from https://www.hcn.org/issues/51.5/tribal-affairs-is-a-new-copyright-law-a-colonization-of-knowlege




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