Finders Keepers? Repetition, Meaning and Ownership in the Use of Recorded Sound

The reproduction of sound through the use of recording technologies would appear to be a clear example of repetition in music. The recording and reproduction of sonic events, however, inevitably involves the reframing of those events, often in ways which were not imagined by the original producers of the sounds. Reproducing sounds in new contexts changes the reception of those sounds, often subtly but also often in ways which may significantly alter any meaning the sounds may have had, possibly without the consent of the original authors. This paper examines these issues and explores parallels with repetition and reproduction in architecture and the visual arts, specifically with regard to attribution, ownership and meaning. The importance of environment, place and context in architecture has resonance when considering the recontextualization of recorded sound. Recorded sounds, when reproduced, can become divorced from their original contexts and take on new meanings suggested by their new environments. Their original contexts, however, cannot be erased fully. Ways in which musicians have repeated the work of other musicians, as well as ideas from the wider culture also have parallels with the visual arts. This paper considers repetition in music through recorded sound in a broad context to explore any similarities with borrowing and copying in other forms of music, and with other arts. Different categories of appropriation are examined and illustrated with examples from music, architecture and photography. The paper concludes by considering ethical implications in the deliberate or accidental appropriation of authorship in the arts.