Thoughts on copyright and digital media readings

    In place of a singular reading for the week, multiple pieces were suggested to help develop thoughts on copyright in the modern digital world.  With recent events such as the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) still fresh in our minds, these readings made a lot more sense when viewed with copyright as a main focus.  Though Ethics of Web 2.0 and the Article on Copyright and Fair Use provided a good background to what internet copyright is, I found that I could really relate to the video by the DJ more than reading the articles.
   Having experience with mixing music, I am familiar with the Fair Use policies as they relate to music production and distribution.  I feel DJ Spooky creates an EXTREMELY strong argument in the closing statement of his video when he states that he "doesn't mind when people use his music as it is still repaying him through its use."  To me, the ideal music library of the internet would let anyone sample tracks for their own editing and self-promotion.  As long as no monetary gain is being made, the user is simply promoting their ideas and their art, something any artist does while getting started. 
   Touching on the topic of self-promotion for artists, I feel Ethics of Web 2.0 does not give due credit to the "fake media sharing sites" like YouTube and the contributions made to the overall digital world of music.  Sites like UKF Dubstep or Machinima are good examples of sites that share media and sustain themselves through the traffic they generate.  For a site to self-sustain off web traffic, the site must obtain an audience and keep them engaged and coming back or spreading the word (rhetoric and audience??).  Once the audience is engaged in the media presented, the site or group has to make their media easily obtained by new members and older members alike.  This different type of web rhetoric seems to create a type of grey-area that I think the Web 2.0 article tries to address, but does not quite succeed.
    As far as copyright on the internet, I feel that we are in a comfort zone that has become extremely resistant to change.  When users push the boundaries of Fair Use, lawmakers should (and do) step in to take control of the situation and make sure everyone is respecting their fellow artists.  On the opposite side of the spectrum, we see internet users and artists become very vocal when their Fair Use laws become the target of legislature or new Anti-Piracy laws.  It is this middle ground that has made the internet what it is today, and I do not expect that to change anytime soon.  Being such a give-and-take situation, the only result is a "final web" in which all members are satisfied with the compromises they have made.