0662 - Someone Nicked my Tune: Stories of songs that sounded a bit too familiar, and how AI may change the songwriting game forever
Course Description
From a time in the early 60s when radio from the North Sea broadcasted new sounds from North America to a British public hungry to step out of a black and white and into a technicolour world, repurposing of melodic, rhythmic and lyrical ideas has become more and more commonplace. It begs the question(s): Who owns a melody? Can a drumbeat be copyrighted? This lecture dives deep into the stories behind songs that may have borrowed too much, how popular music’s tendency to ‘nick’ has evolved with the technology involved in its creation, and how the rise of artificial intelligence may blur the lines to a point where it’s impossible to decipher human creations from mashups of the works of recorded history.
Instructor
A self-identified music fanatic, Stuart Reed caught the bug around the time that Nirvana took over top spot from Michael Jackson in the charts in the early nineties. A guitarist from 13, a drummer three years later, he is hardly a professional but rarely strays far from an instrument or a turntable. In 2022, he co-authored (alongside music industry veteran Jackie Dean) a 4 course certificate program ‘Navigating the Music Industry Ecosystem’ at Laurier’s Faculty of Music, focusing on subjects such as copyrights, licensing, record deals, business planning and diversification. He is lead instructor on these courses, as well as currently adapting them for a non-credit cohort.
Location
Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex, Community Pavilion (101 Father David Bauer Drive, Waterloo, ON)
- Parking is free.
- Download the facility map (PDF) to find facilities and parking lots.
Notes
- Lecture Time : 130-300 pm
- Lecture Cost: $16.00 + HST
- Participants must register before the day of the lecture.
- Laurier’s online registration system accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Visa Debit, and MasterCard Debit.
- You will only be able to purchase 1 seat at the time of registration. If looking to register more than 1 person, each registrant will require their own account to complete the registration.
- Lectures are non-refundable
Contact
If you have any questions please email lifelonglearning@wlu.ca.