My opinion on Plunderphonics

John Oswald’s “Plunderphonics” is an essay that discusses sampling and the fine line between borrowing and stealing copyrighted material. The author continuously raises questions to the reader about what is considered legal and illegal in terms of borrowing and creating original work. He uses several examples of artist who, accidentally, created songs that resemble others and had to face legal actions for it. To me, this is a very delicate subject. At what point does an artist know where he is overstepping his boundaries on something that belongs to someone else? As an artist, I would like to consider it impossible to know every single pattern of notes and melody that has ever been created. Of course, I am talking about someone who is legitimately unaware of what he is copying. At least there is the Canada Copyright Act Oswald refers to throughout his essay. I am sure this gives authors a bit of peace of mind on their work and possibly a different means of getting some extra money :)