peermusic's statement on protecting creative expression

A Day Without Music

Creative expression is protected and encouraged by laws known around the world as either author's rights or copyright. . These laws are a measure of the value society places on the creative endeavors of the human enterprise. The essence of copyright is to give creative artists - composers, authors, artists and other creators - moral and economic control over their work. It upholds the idea that artists themselves should determine how their work reaches the public, and ensures that they are compensated accordingly. The concepts of authors' rights have been codified in the laws of many nations for centuries. It is the mechanism by which society as a whole and each of our lives individually are enriched by the time and energy artists devote to their craft.

Since it is limited to the concrete expression of an artist, such as a song or a poem, copyright does not constrain ideas. The same idea may inspire any number of artists: for instance, how many songs have been written about the subject of a broken heart? But copyright does ensure that each expression is equally protected, no matter what style the artist uses and no matter what medium delivers the message.

Imagine a day without music! Peermusic believes that the creations of the songwriters and artists it has the honor to represent are a genuine contribution to the daily lives of those who enjoy the music and that its songwriters and artists have the natural as well as legal right to the protection of the appropriate laws and to receive remuneration when others benefit from their creations. Without authors' rights, our life would be much poorer.