You know, every month that I enter these, I wonder how much of the 5,000 songs I've written in the last almost 40 years has crept into my OSC entry. If I had to bet, I'd say that maybe 75% of my songs have probably been taken from bits and pieces of hundreds of songs I've written or heard over the 50 plus years I've been listening to music.ontrackp wrote:Frostline --
If you think that someone has violated the rules, send a personal message to BJ and let him handle it. He will speak to the person with the questionable entry and make a determination.
As far as the whole "original song" aspect of OSC, I always approach each month with a totally clean slate and let the sounds of the synth point me in a direction. I also try to think larger concept and think I pretty much end up with something different than I've ever done before. That being said, there are stylistic similarities that can come up over and over. I like soft beginnings that build -- so many of my songs have that. Similar concept + different notes = new song. Many of the OSC participants go out of their way to experiment with different styles and types of compositions that are out of their comfort zones, which is a huge positive.
As Wags pointed out, there are thousands of songs that use the same chords, but what you do with them, especially if it is driven by the capability and sound of the synth of the month is what makes an original song for OSC. If you use C - Am - F - G but put a fresh melody and feel on it, you have not committed plagiarism. If you blatantly use a melody that is clearly derivative of another song you should change it.
As composers we all probably have little bits and pieces of songs that we've come up with over the years, and yes, some of those will make their way into OSC entries. That's a normal part of the creative process. As long as the overall piece is driven by the sounds of the synth and an overall concept that is specific for that month, I think it's ok.
At the end of the day it's an honor system. If someone has a song that they've been working on for themselves, and repurposes it for the OSC, nobody is going to know anyway, so it's kind of a moot point. This is a fun and friendly contest that allows us to challenge ourselves. In my opinion, If someone wants to cheat, they're really cheating themselves more than the rest of us.
Last -- I agree with Wags. If you feel that someone has violated the rules or the spirit of the competition, give them a low score. They may ask you once the scores are published why that is, and it's up to you to answer or not.
Original music? I don't even know what that is anymore.
Go to Youtube and pull up a video that says something like "Top 100 dance tunes of the last 10 years" or whatever. How many of them sound like every other EDM track you've ever heard, more or less? Originality in electronic music is almost an oxymoron these days. At least that's my personal opinion. I'm not saying that people blatantly steal from others. No, not at all. I'm saying that the nature of what so much of EDM is makes it so that in order to conform to a particular sound, you're boxed into a very specific construct. Within that construct, yes, there are different melodies. But the overall feel of the genre so blurs together that, for me anyway, very little stands out. And that goes for my own music as well. I'm certainly not above the "sameness" that I find in the genre.
Of course, I'm not really an EDM person and I think that's obvious from my work. But what I do, whatever genre you want to call it, is still generic within the construct of that particular genre. If it wasn't, I'd be famous. But I'm not. I'm just another musical hack like a lot of people in this business are. Doesn't mean the music isn't enjoyable. I've given plenty of 4s and 5s over the years doing this. But ask me if I remember any one particular track because it stood out so much, like a rock standard like Free Bird, just to pull a song out of thin air? Forget it. It all blurs together for me.
Point is, if anybody could absolutely say with 100% certainty that a song in this contest was ripped off from another contestant or a copy of an earlier song that the person did, I'd say they were dreaming. Unless they've got an eidetic memory. And I don't think there are too many people, if any at all, who do. I sure don't.
But yeah, if you think somebody cheated in whatever way you think they cheated, mark them down. I mean we're not talking about giving out Grammy Awards or song contracts here. It's a forum contest. It's not Woodstock.
TLDR - Don't make this a bigger deal than what it is.
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