Copyright is extremely important for Black artists, reforming and educating about the copyright system is far better than getting rid of it

It really disgusts me to think about how capitalism has turned musicians into products. When I think about marketing and branding of major musicians, it's often to sell the general public a product. Often times, its hard to not compare these practices to that of chattel slavery within the US, the same way JAY-Z did in “What’s Free’. Instead of empowering musicians to be independent and trust in their artistic direction these corporations want to limit artists and churn out popular hits. But not every Black artist is interested in creating music to be popular, but instead to partake in their own personal cultural production. I imagine cultural progress is where we see this shift from music labels dominating the industry to independent artists equally taking up space. IP scholars are empowering people through this acknowledgement of what needs to shift for there to be a progressive future. Our current copyright legislation fails to provide equitable access for marginalized American musicians and entrepreneurs. Due to how hard it is to turn a profit as an independent artist, many musicians are encouraged to sign to music corporations to share and monetize their music. The truth is, there needs to be more options beyond independence or signing to a label. This illusion of personal responsibility for taking on the financial burden of independence is exactly why we need more community based initiatives that are focused on educating marginalized creators and musicians about their intellectual property rights. IIPSJ is directly targeting Black and brown musicians, some of the most trailblazing groups in the music industry. There needs to be a major shift in how we imagine the groups of people responsible for providing us with the most original musical content. What happens when Black people begin to protest by not releasing music for the sake of gaining back their power as creators. Would we see a major decrease in the rate of new ideas in our music. It’s no secret that African Americans are musical trailblazers. If there was a way for all Black musicians to come together and speak out about the lack of access and inclusivity around intellectual property, maybe there could be a major shift in the institution as a whole. Owning the copyright is extremely important if you want to protect the music and I don’t think we should get rid of the concept of copyright. I think there needs to be more access and education to copyright within Black communities, where original music is being produced at an extremely fast rate. IIPSJ is bringing together this community starting with the Black lawyers that can provide the knowledge and building out from there. If the power in the music industry changes from the major corporations to the individual creators, and pulls away from the sole prioritization of economic gain, it’s possible that we could actually see more original art being produced. Who knows exactly how much music has never seen the light of day because the music label thought it didn’t fit the sound or image they were looking for. And truthfully Black people thrive when they stand out, not when they stand in. By empowering Black musicians and entrepreneurs, IIPSJ is working towards a larger shift in these industries for everyone, not just Black people. If you can empower the most oppressed group by taking away financial burdens and providing necessary education, you change the game for everyone. If our legislators truly want copyright to be neutral and equal for everyone it needs to be free and it needs to be known.