Abstract
This article examines discourses of legal and symbolic ownership in Norwegian folk music. The point of departure is a growing tension between different conceptions of musical property rights: one centered on cultivating a shared heritage of musical style (the tradition); the other based on notions of artistic autonomy, individual rights, and legal ownership (copyright). By means of a case study documenting the use of a traditional song in popular music production, the analysis highlights the incompatibility between market and symbolic economies and explores questions of agency and authorship that pertain to the ongoing debate over "unauthorized" usage of traditional materials.
The text of this article is only available as a PDF.
Copyright 2014 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
2014
You do not currently have access to this content.