FAQ
Q: What is FreeCulture.org?
A: FreeCulture.org is a national movement of students and others who care about issues like artistic freedom, freedom of information, and generally making sure that new technologies make the world a better place, rather than putting limits on the ways that people can express themselves and use/remix/share culture. We were founded at Swarthmore College in 2004 and currently have chapters at 36 universities across the U.S. Check out the national website to take a look at some of our projects.
Q: What kind of music are you looking for?
A: All kinds! The laptops are going to kids from many different cultures, so music from around the world, as well as classic or iconic music, is encouraged. But there aren't any rules. If you love a song, chances are that other people will love it too. Just make sure that the license allows the song to be used in a variety of ways.
Q: Why the insistence on "free" licensing?
A: Culture isn't a thing, it's a process: music builds on what came before. Want proof? All you have to do is look at anything from Mozart's music to the collaborative creativity of 1930s jazz to the Chronic(what?)cles of Narnia rap and any of the thousands of videos on YouTube that take songs or samples and add their own touch by remixing, recasting, and combining them to make something new. Building a library of freely licensed work is our way of not only helping people discover new songs and share their favorites with others, but also providing a free-content base to help them jumpstart their own creativity.
Q: What is the deadline for submitting songs?
A: If you have a song that you'd like to see on the OLPC laptops, then the earlier the better -- music will be considered in the order that it's received and there is limited disk space available. The first children's machines will be shipped soon and we'd like the music to ship with them, although we'll still be considering submissions for this project until April 1st. But the Iconic Music project is ongoing and the more music we get, the better for everyone!
Here's what we suggest: if you already have some favorite freely licensed tracks, send those now. If you want to look around for more freely licensed music, want to see about changing the license your work is under so that it can be used in this project, or have an idea for a remix of your own, work on that and upload whenever you can.
Q: I want to submit a song, but I don't know what the license is. How do I find out?
A: Copyright is the default for songs, so it's a pretty good bet that a lot of the music you listen to is copyrighted. If in doubt, check the website or album cover (or the online music store) for dead giveaway #1: the © symbol.
Most music that is licensed under an alternative copyright (sometimes cleverly called copyleft) scheme will have this information easily available. Creative Commons licensing is the most common form of alternative copyright read the blurbs about the music you want to use and look for the CC logo somewhere on the site. Click on the logo to find out what the terms of the license are, and then include the name of the license (e.g. CC-BY for Creative Commons Attribution) when you upload the song.
Q: What is Creative Commons?
A: Creative Commons is a non-profit organization that provides flexible licenses to let artists and authors choose which uses of their work they want to encourage. For this project, we prefer music submissions with the fewest possible strings attached in license-lingo, this means that we prefer things licensed with an attribution only (CC-BY) or if you must, share-alike. Music licensed with non-commercial (CC-BY-NC) provisions can sometimes cause problems when it comes to remix and reuse, but we definitely won't turn songs away because of it.
Click here for more information on Creative Commons licenses or here if you already know what wei're talking about and want to put your work under a CC license.
Q: What is public domain?
A: Copyright provides an extremely long (often more than 100 years) period of protection for creative works, but it does eventually expire. Works whose copyright has expired are referred to as in the public domain, which means that you are generally free to use/copy/share/remix them as you choose, and they can definitely be included in the OLPC media. However, even if a music composition has fallen into the public domain, the recording, broadcast, or performance may still be subject to copyright. Please make sure that no aspect of the song is still subject to copyright before sending it to us.
If you have a great piece of music in mind that has this problem where the composition is in the public domain but the performance is not send us the title and name of the artist. We're working on ways to get freely-licensed recordings of old classics so that a new, OLPC-enabled generation can enjoy them.
Q: What is OLPC?
A: One Laptop Per Child is a non-profit organization that creates, manufactures, and distributes laptop computers affordable enough for every child in the world to be able to access new channels for learning, sharing, and self-expression a critical step in eradicating poverty. The first-generation OLPC laptop is a low-cost, child-friendly computer that will be sold to governments of developing nations and given to school-aged children on a one laptop per child basis, beginning in 2007. Find out more here.
Q: How will I know if a song that I suggested ends up on the laptops?
A: Memory space on the laptops is limited, so the songs chosen will depend in part on how many people decide to send us something. The laptops have space for up to 20 megabytes of audio (in compressed form). Songs that don't fit on the laptop or that have more restrictive licenses (e.g. with non-commercial clauses) may still be included in the larger library of content that will go to schools that participate in the OLPC program. The more submissions the better -- the goal is a wide variety of good music from genres around the world.
Q: This is a cool project! Are there other ways I can get involved with FreeCulture.org, OLPC, or Creative Commons?
A: If you are an author, artist, or composer, and like the idea of sharing and allowing remixes and reuse of your work, think about putting your stuff under a CC license (and then uploading it here), and let your friends know about the project. If you are a student or free culture enthusiast and want to take action to support the cause of open access to information and culture in your community, take a look at FreeCulture.org's handy list of ways to get involved. If you support OLPC's goal of improving education for students in developing countries, consider sharing your ideas and suggestions and connecting with other volunteers on the OLPC wiki. If you are a band in need of recording time and would like to release your music under a CC license check out Antenna Alliance.
Q: My question wasn't answered here. Where can I go for more information?
A: If you've read all this and still have questions, send us an email
A: FreeCulture.org is a national movement of students and others who care about issues like artistic freedom, freedom of information, and generally making sure that new technologies make the world a better place, rather than putting limits on the ways that people can express themselves and use/remix/share culture. We were founded at Swarthmore College in 2004 and currently have chapters at 36 universities across the U.S. Check out the national website to take a look at some of our projects.
Q: What kind of music are you looking for?
A: All kinds! The laptops are going to kids from many different cultures, so music from around the world, as well as classic or iconic music, is encouraged. But there aren't any rules. If you love a song, chances are that other people will love it too. Just make sure that the license allows the song to be used in a variety of ways.
Q: Why the insistence on "free" licensing?
A: Culture isn't a thing, it's a process: music builds on what came before. Want proof? All you have to do is look at anything from Mozart's music to the collaborative creativity of 1930s jazz to the Chronic(what?)cles of Narnia rap and any of the thousands of videos on YouTube that take songs or samples and add their own touch by remixing, recasting, and combining them to make something new. Building a library of freely licensed work is our way of not only helping people discover new songs and share their favorites with others, but also providing a free-content base to help them jumpstart their own creativity.
Q: What is the deadline for submitting songs?
A: If you have a song that you'd like to see on the OLPC laptops, then the earlier the better -- music will be considered in the order that it's received and there is limited disk space available. The first children's machines will be shipped soon and we'd like the music to ship with them, although we'll still be considering submissions for this project until April 1st. But the Iconic Music project is ongoing and the more music we get, the better for everyone!
Here's what we suggest: if you already have some favorite freely licensed tracks, send those now. If you want to look around for more freely licensed music, want to see about changing the license your work is under so that it can be used in this project, or have an idea for a remix of your own, work on that and upload whenever you can.
Q: I want to submit a song, but I don't know what the license is. How do I find out?
A: Copyright is the default for songs, so it's a pretty good bet that a lot of the music you listen to is copyrighted. If in doubt, check the website or album cover (or the online music store) for dead giveaway #1: the © symbol.
Most music that is licensed under an alternative copyright (sometimes cleverly called copyleft) scheme will have this information easily available. Creative Commons licensing is the most common form of alternative copyright read the blurbs about the music you want to use and look for the CC logo somewhere on the site. Click on the logo to find out what the terms of the license are, and then include the name of the license (e.g. CC-BY for Creative Commons Attribution) when you upload the song.
Q: What is Creative Commons?
A: Creative Commons is a non-profit organization that provides flexible licenses to let artists and authors choose which uses of their work they want to encourage. For this project, we prefer music submissions with the fewest possible strings attached in license-lingo, this means that we prefer things licensed with an attribution only (CC-BY) or if you must, share-alike. Music licensed with non-commercial (CC-BY-NC) provisions can sometimes cause problems when it comes to remix and reuse, but we definitely won't turn songs away because of it.
Click here for more information on Creative Commons licenses or here if you already know what wei're talking about and want to put your work under a CC license.
Q: What is public domain?
A: Copyright provides an extremely long (often more than 100 years) period of protection for creative works, but it does eventually expire. Works whose copyright has expired are referred to as in the public domain, which means that you are generally free to use/copy/share/remix them as you choose, and they can definitely be included in the OLPC media. However, even if a music composition has fallen into the public domain, the recording, broadcast, or performance may still be subject to copyright. Please make sure that no aspect of the song is still subject to copyright before sending it to us.
If you have a great piece of music in mind that has this problem where the composition is in the public domain but the performance is not send us the title and name of the artist. We're working on ways to get freely-licensed recordings of old classics so that a new, OLPC-enabled generation can enjoy them.
Q: What is OLPC?
A: One Laptop Per Child is a non-profit organization that creates, manufactures, and distributes laptop computers affordable enough for every child in the world to be able to access new channels for learning, sharing, and self-expression a critical step in eradicating poverty. The first-generation OLPC laptop is a low-cost, child-friendly computer that will be sold to governments of developing nations and given to school-aged children on a one laptop per child basis, beginning in 2007. Find out more here.
Q: How will I know if a song that I suggested ends up on the laptops?
A: Memory space on the laptops is limited, so the songs chosen will depend in part on how many people decide to send us something. The laptops have space for up to 20 megabytes of audio (in compressed form). Songs that don't fit on the laptop or that have more restrictive licenses (e.g. with non-commercial clauses) may still be included in the larger library of content that will go to schools that participate in the OLPC program. The more submissions the better -- the goal is a wide variety of good music from genres around the world.
Q: This is a cool project! Are there other ways I can get involved with FreeCulture.org, OLPC, or Creative Commons?
A: If you are an author, artist, or composer, and like the idea of sharing and allowing remixes and reuse of your work, think about putting your stuff under a CC license (and then uploading it here), and let your friends know about the project. If you are a student or free culture enthusiast and want to take action to support the cause of open access to information and culture in your community, take a look at FreeCulture.org's handy list of ways to get involved. If you support OLPC's goal of improving education for students in developing countries, consider sharing your ideas and suggestions and connecting with other volunteers on the OLPC wiki. If you are a band in need of recording time and would like to release your music under a CC license check out Antenna Alliance.
Q: My question wasn't answered here. Where can I go for more information?
A: If you've read all this and still have questions, send us an email
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