May I borrow your creative works?

Disclaimer: P. Lynne Designs is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

 

I want to turn your attention away from Covid and away from the riots for a moment to get back on track. 

Like the posts containing “Covid-19”, “Corona”, “Rona”, and other names I have been calling it, I could be talking about racism until I am blue in the face, stand up and sing soprano all day long.  It is an uncomfortable subject to talk about, but there should be active as well.  I do not have all the answers, but one of the actions should be an understanding of another person’s race, gender, and culture.  Even to this day I never could understand the problems that others have with African Americans and women or even American Indians.  All three I identify with, although I do not know what tribe my grandfather’s mother comes from. All people want to do is to live the life given to them. It is the ones who cause the problems in the very beginning (slavery for Africans and restrictions for First Nations and women) are the ones who fail to understand that we are all humans and we all have needed to thrive within this country.  I am done with this conversation, for now, let’s move on.

 

Different types of creative works.  
Photos by Pixabay.com

I am actually a pretty good soprano, reaching a C6 when I was a teen, for those of you who are musicians, for the rest of you, it is called a Mezzo-Soprano.  These days, I am just a soprano, or second soprano, inching closer and closer to a first alto.  Oh, I do not mind, as long as I have some ability to still sing soprano.  It is what I am comfortable at.  I blame allergies for this problem, as well as when you age, you lose some elasticity in your vocal cords.

In addition to being a content creator, a freelance writer and graphic designer, and singer, I am also a musician (almost classical trained), a dancer (ballet, jazz and contemporary, tap, and liturgical), and I know a little bit about computer coding.  All of these “hats” allow me to be creative and put my stamp on a piece of music, recording sessions, writings, choreographed works, and websites, if I put my mind to it. This brings me to a question that was asked on Quora.com, This person wanted to know if it was “okay” to use someone’s created media in their product for a video that he was making on YouTube.   He did not say YouTube per se, but I assumed that he was hinting towards YouTube or even Vimeo. He also wanted to know if that person can sue him. My answer to that was this:

“Yes, you can be sued. They might be nice and send you a cease and desist letter, asking you to remove the music. you really needed to ask permission from the creator if using the music is okay or not.

I want to leave you with two examples. The first one is I am also a creator of music. I am not perfect at it, and I have not published any of it online. If I had published my latest, which is called, Corners of my Mind, and someone did not ask for permission to use the music, I would write a cease and desist letter because I feel that I could go further with this piece of music before it was perfect in my eyes. I have several reasons for not being satisfied with this piece of music. one of them is the keyboard I originally recorded it on is limited in the potential that this piece of music deserves. Most of the time, people share to let others know of their process and to find out that someone who is too lazy to create their own music is using a taking credit for that piece is disheartening to me. It takes time to create a piece of music. Yes, computers make the job easier, but the work is still there, as thoughts of music are coming from the head of composers into something tangible for the world to enjoy, not the for the vlogger to take credit for their own personal gain.

Likewise, when I first started blogging, I used someone’s photo, and I forgot to give that person credit. A couple of years later, another blogger asked for my permission to use the photo. I could have said yes, but instead, I explained the situation, then I quickly changed the photo to prevent others from asking to use it.

I am not saying that you are lazy, but you must give credit and/or ask for permission before using the creative works of others.”

Explanation of the answer.

We would all like to be talented in the art of creating that perfect piece of music, a piece of art that will drive millions to see it, or even a t-shirt that speaks volumes, but not everyone can do it.  Some people are not interested in learning how, and there are some people who feel like they do not have a creative bone in their body.  Some are too shy to do it.  It does not mean that you are lazy, and I do not see the problem of a person sharing their works.  The problem lies when a person who worked hard on a piece is not given the credit they deserve when someone takes a copy and puts it on their project. 

We have all done it, even me, and I got caught.  Not by the original photographer themselves, but by another person, who wanted to share it on their website or blog.  I felt embarrassed by the gesture.  I wanted to say yes, because I placed the perfect font on top of the photo, centered it just right, and it was gold to me.  When I saw it, it was the perfect photo, and I could have placed any of my photos under the font layer, which I should have.  As soon as I replied to the blogger, I quickly went to my blog and replaced it with one of my photos.   To be honest, I did not remember that I had done it.

I also explained to the questioner on Quora that I am always nick picking about my latest piece of music called, “Corners of my Mind”.  I am always changing the speed of the music, the rhythm of the drum kit, and the instruments that would accompaniment the drum kit.  Most of it is slight deviations of the original song.  For the moment, on my Casio CTK 631 (made in 1998), I have a Rave for the drum kit (oh so 1990s), the tempo is between 78 and 84 BPM, and I created a piano 1, an organ 2 (which is as close to a Hammond B25 AKA church organ as I can get it), and a soft wave (I think, I am not looking at my keyboard at the moment).  I have had the song in a Trance rhythm, 105 BPM, a Piano 3 (created), saw synth, saw wave, you name it for instruments.  I have even changed notes and transposed it a couple of times.  I am due for a new keyboard, and my goal is a Yamaha Modx7, which is the latest Yamaha, with all the bells and whistles to make further changes to this song and to create plenty more with that came from.  I have played on the Yamaha Montage, which is a bit pricey for me. Apparently, Yamaha thought so too, so they created the Modx6,7, and 8 with the Montage powerhouse inside at a lower price point. And you thought all that I know about was social media, content, freelance writing, Disney, organization, decorating, and graphic design.  Give me a musical keyboard, a tutu, and some tap shoes, and you have seen nothing yet, LOL.  This was the reason I talked about Abby Lee Miller so bad back in 2012 if you have been reading this blog that long. (to this date, it has received over 2200 views)

OK, I got off track, time to pull it all together.

The point I am trying to make is If it takes that much thought into my little song, can you imagine how much I can mix it at a recording studio with all the bells and whistles that a recording studio can give.  It gives me chills when I know how much a recording engineer can do to a basic song to make it a hit.  It is things like these that make a composer tell a video maker to get their own music if all that person is going to do is make it into theme music for their little video.   I do not mind sharing my music, but since I spent all this time composing and having someone mix it for me, I better get the credit and it better get lots of air time.   This is the thought that goes through people’s minds like Beyoncé and Katy Perry and companies like Disney, as that thought turns into music like “Single Ladies”, “Roar”, and “Into the Unknown” from Frozen 2.

That is the reason I gave this person the answer he or she asked. 

I am talking about:

·         Photos

·         Graphic designs

·         Poetry works

·         Novels and e-books

·         Computer programs

·         Prototypes of products

And the list goes on and on.

“So, Patricia, I get it.  How do I solve the problem?”

First of all, do not beat yourself up for it.  Everyone makes mistakes, and with mistakes, there is a solution.  To prevent you from getting caught either by the creator of the media you want to use or by someone who thinks that you are the creator of the piece of media that they want to use going forward:

·         Ask Permission.  When you see a piece of media that you want to use, contact the creator of that piece.  As a writer, I put down my contact information on every piece of a blog post when I write for someone.  I used to do that with my own blogs, but Google got picky.

If you are a writer, you can do that too.  write a quick footnote like this:  Patricia is the writer and owner of My Ambiance Life, Home Prep, and P. Lynne Designs blog and website.  If you have any questions and/or want to reuse any of the material written in this post, please contact her at plogan721@att.net. It is simple and to the point.  You do not have to write how you are the president of the Yacht club, you are the parents of 15 wonderful children, or that you own a plot of land in Shri Lanka. All of that information should be in your bio (or should it?).

·         Give Proper Credit:  When you contact the creator and they say it is okay to use that item, they will often times mention how they want to be credited.  I simply want to be credit as Patricia Logan-P. Lynne Designs or Patricia Logan-P. Lynne Designs’ The Writing Cove if it is a written piece.  If you are in the US, you should know the proper way to footnote something. Logan, Patricia, “May I borrow your creative works”, My Ambiance Life Blog.  The good news is a long time ago, you had to write the whole citation.  Now you can write a shorter version of it. The author, the name of the post sited, and the site.

·         When the creator says no or when you cannot contact them:  It is not you.  remember the example I gave the person on Quora.  The piece may not be shared because it is not ready.  It is in process or this maybe this person’s private piece.  You may wonder why share it in the first place?  There are many reasons why they have shared their works.  

·         Use royalty-free products.  For photos, I use Pixabay.  For music, I use Epidemic Sounds.  I do have a photographer friend who can help me with authentic photos and videos around town or I take them myself.  He is not free, and I would not have it any other way because he has a family to feed.

I want to stop right here with the last statement, a family to feed. The reason why most people do what they do is because of the passion, the dedication to the craft, and they have bills and a family to feed.  What a person does 9 times out of 10 will not amount to that of a millionaire unless the money they make either with their craft and skills, a 9-5 job, or both is to invest in something.  If half the things I have not learned how to do as a child or a young adult did not earn me a seat at the table to buy at least a tube of toothpaste, I found other ways of getting it.  That is what I call, earning multiple streams of income.  You cannot just sit and do nothing.

That statement I just mention is the statement that helps me sleep at night.  To know that if things are done properly, we would all win.  Asking the author for permission to use his/her materials and finding other ways to help yours when they say “no”, will allow you to make your passion and your job much, much easier, but hackers and scammers just. Do. Not. Get. It.  I hope you do.

I am done.  Be well. Stay safe.  I will talk to you later.  God bless you.

Journaling Highs and Whoas

I have been journaling up a storm lately.  It is one of the things I do when something is bothering me (my recent problem with a client that ended up in a divorce from him), figuring out my next moves for a trip that I and the family are taking, and getting into bible journaling (more on that next week).  Sometimes I forget that part of this writing a blog is teaching you how to make the most of journaling, and how journaling can do wonders for your mind, body, and soul (prayer is another), allows you to have some clarity to some of deepest thoughts, and allows you to look back on it as a lesson learned.  So today, I am focusing more on rules and regulations of journaling, especially when things do not exactly go your way, and I have a small little trick up my sleeve that will help you boost your confidence about journaling.

Image by David Schwarzenberg from Pixabay 

First of all, a little scalding if you do not mind….

YOU ARE YOUR OWN WORST ENEMY!!!

There I said it, and I meant it.

We, as humans, tend to do what as known as self-deprivation.  We like to tear ourselves down and we like to take others along for the ride. 

Take, for instance, food.  Now I do not know what happens in your house, but in mine, a conversation inside my head goes a little like this (It usually starts in the car, yes, the car):

Me thinking: “I am hungry, what do I want to eat”

Next thing I know, I go through my favorite foods and cuisines: “When was the last time I had sushi?” (last week).  “Do I want it again this week?”  Maybe, but how about Poke (pronounced- “Poo-kay”- a Hawaiian dish that has made it to the mainland United States that is quite delicious (at least to me))?  “What about Mexican?” The list goes on and on, and continues for about 5 minutes.   When I have settled on something, I will as myself if I want something sweet with it? If the answer is yes, then I will get it, feel guilty about eating it, then write in my journal about how stupid it was for me to get it in the first place because I am fat, I am saving for this trip, and it is that time of the month.

Please, please, please, say that you either made a mistake for eating the desert (or eating out in the first), or say “next time I will think twice before I eat out”.  I am telling myself that as well.

Tip #1:  Affirmations

One of the things I am learning to post not only on social media but in my journal as well as positive affirmations.  This is a clip I found on YouTube.  This is Jessica, and she has a morning affirmation that I like.  This was shot in 2011, but the attitude should be the same then as it is now.  She explains in the mirror what she likes and only that.  It is all positive.  While you do not have to climb on the counter in your bathroom like this spunky, little 4-year-old (who is probably in middle school now), have that same enthusiasm in your journal, as she has in the video, which you can see here.

Now with that, you can place your problems in your journal, and you should, but do not say how stupid you are, hate is such a strong, powerful word, and mention how you will come out of it.

OK, let’s move on….

Your writing.

Tip #2: Write like you are in school

I say that because I realized how bad my writing has become and it is creeping into my blog posts.

I have certain saying that I put in my journal that I do not say when I write out blog posts, or at least it should not.  For example, in the beginning of this post, I wrote, “It is one of the things I do when something is bothering me (my recent problem with a client that ended up in a divorce from him), figuring out my next moves for a trip that me and the family are taking, and getting into bible journaling (more on that next week)”.  I almost wrote, “figuring out my next moves for a trip that I and the fam are taking”.  This part of the sentence would have been reserved for my journal, not this blog post.  The professional way of writing is to avoid all personal abbreviations because not everyone will understand them.  How many people would understand that the abbreviation “fam” is actually “family”?  Probably less than .1 percent.

So my tip for you is do not separate your journal writing from your former writing.  This includes business and school. Now, if you do not work or you are not in school, this naturally does not apply to you, but get in a good practice anyway.  This includes spelling and grammar.

This is not sponsored, but I use a program called Grammarly.  I have mentioned this site a few times, but it has really helped me.  I am on the free version, which does not go deep into the grammar part, nor does it correct that part either.  It is reserved for the premium part.  Once you pay for premium, it will check and correct everything, but while it is doing this, please learn from your mistakes so the program does not have to correct you again.  I know by next month; I have to pay for it because now I use it in place of MS Word’s spellcheck and grammar check.  Now MS Word’s spell and grammar check will still do its thing, but Grammarly will go behind it, in case the feature misses a problem.

  

Tip #3:  Have fun with your journaling

I have mentioned this before, but have a mixture of journaling posts.  You can have your hardcore journaling where you are upset with something and you need to have it solved.  You can have your project journaling posts where you are working on a project, having to list your project, materials, and cost estimates.  You can also have your maternity, baby, and child update journals, where all you list are what is happening that day and how are you feeling and so forth.  All of that is fine, but do not forget to stop and smell the roses along the way.

What do I mean?  Add humor to those posts.  Add a little fun, positive fun in your posts, so when you look back on these posts, you can laugh a little as well.

For example, I am doing a project journal.  I am redoing my craft room. I am finding do much humor in planning the craft room, my small space, and even choosing my furniture and the cost of that furniture.  I decided to go the Ikea route, (not sponsored) like so many crafters.  The reason why this furniture is often choosing is for the flexibility of this furniture and in comparison to the most costly furniture, it is cheaper.  Now if I only put in the boring stuff, how can I look back and laugh at when I was building my Alex drawer units only to find out I put the wrong screw in (you do know that the instructions do not come with words, right?), or had the wrong measurements to the space I was putting them in? humor help with the spots that no matter how much you feel like you have not done anything, you have really accomplished a lot.

Tip #4- find a quiet spot.

It does not matter what you do in that spot when you write, make that spot as free from distractions as possible.  For me, it is my bedroom.  I have a television in the room, but it no longer works.  I also write in the craftroom, late at night.  The only problem is the cat, who wants attention, but when she realizes that I am in my zone, Gizmo Elizabeth will go and lay down.  This is when I feel alone and serene.  Sometimes, I will throw on a little gospel or some of my favorite types of music and chill when I write.  This now my new way of writing my blog posts as well.  No television, no distractions.

This is how I would like to see you writing in your journal, both handwritten and digital.  This is the only way you can get put your true thoughts and be your true self.  Raw, and uninterrupted.  Put on your favorite music, I suggest no harsh rock music, but maybe a rock ballad.  Same if you listen to rap, hip hop, or even Holy Ghost feel-good praise music.  Now is the time to quiet the mind and relax.  Sip your favorite beverage (yes, ladies wine is allowed), and start writing.  My drug…uhm…. drink of choice tonight was pumpkin spice latte coffee with a couple of McDonald’s cookies I picked up on my way from my parent’s house. 

 Tips and Tricks

I always say no matter what is going on in your life, writing helps.  Screaming only escalates the problem.  It helps you to let go.  No, you do not have to read it back right away.  In fact, wait a few months after it is over with.  With breakups, that is a totally different situation and something that you should read back years later.  For abuse situations, burn the entry, or at least read it when you are ready to read it.

Add humor when possible.  Write your entries like business or school documents, such as spelling and grammar corrections, but not for the idea.

One last tip.  If you handwrite your entries, decorating is allowed, as long as you can read it.  No one likes to lift up a sticker just to read an entry.

Have fun, be safe, and do not beat yourself up if you make a mistake.  You are only human.

God bless you.

ITS NOT YOURS!!!

(c) 2016 P.Lynne Designs

I often speak about copyrights and ownership on this blog, especially when it comes to images you decide to download and use on your blog or website to make the site prettier, stately, and for drawing traffic.  The correct way of getting to use a particular image on your blog or website is to simply write the person who took the picture in the first place, introduce yourself, and say something like, “Hi, my name is Patricia Logan, and I am a blogger of MAL blog.  I noticed that you have taken a picture of x, I would love to use it in my soon to be released blog post about blogging, which I think your image would go perfectly with it.”  next explain that you always give credit to the person who takes the picture.   If the person says, “sure, thank you for asking”.  No problem.  If the person says, “I charge a small fee for the use of my images.”  Simply ask what that fee is, and determine at that time how valuable is the picture is worth to you. If the person says no, or the price is too high, kindly thank the person, and move on.  It is that simple, right? Not so fast.

A lot of times, people do not think of the time and effort for that photographer takes to find the perfect moment, mood, and angle for that photo session.  I really had to think about it in the past few months, because, I have a few friends who are photographers, and I recently in the past year or so have been dabbling in the art of photography myself.  I do not have all the filters.  In fact, it is just me, my phone or my Ipad, and the subject.  I also have Photoshop and Lightroom on my desktop.  I had a small camera in the past that I absolutely loved, which was an HP point and shot camera.  It is broken from years of use. The last place I took photos was at Disneyland, around San Diego/Los Angeles/San Bernardino/Hollywood, CA, as well as Kansas, Nebraska, Illinois, and Indiana.  That was 2007. After that, it was cameras inside of smartphones and tablets.  I really miss the feel of a real camera, and cameras these days’ upload to YouTube just like smartphones and tablets do. If I can find one that is within my budget of $100-$250 but works like it is in the $500-$850 range, I will be happy. 

Anyway, back to copyrights and ownership….

The same thing about copyright and ownership can be said about any posts written, interviews given, videos, or any music download onto Itunes or Spotify music players.  I recently had a reminder of downloaded music with Spotify.  I am a huge Michael Jackson and Prince Fan, I listen to their music all the time, and today, just like I did with Michael and Whitney Houston when they died, I wanted to drown myself into Prince’s music.  I only found a few pieces of his music on Spotify, and on Pandora. 

I remembered reading that he was heavily against sites like these, because if a person listens to the music without paying to download it (and you don’t if you have Spotify free, I have the premium app), the artist does not get paid the royalties that they deserve.  I think according to Prince, an artist gets maybe $.02 of that money, and he thought artists needed to be paid more money.  This is the reason why more musicians do not allow sites like Spotify to have their music.

Anyway, later on, I was thinking what are his lawyers going to do with any unpublished music, which is now put on the backburner permanently, because of Prince’s death today.  I really did not think the executors and overseers handled Michael Jackson’s estate very well, due to all of the unpublished music Michael had, and they did not allow his family to have a say in it at all.  if that was the case, the family would have decided when that last album would have been released, if at all. To me, it was an unfinished album, and Michael was just a pawn for the producers to get what they wanted.  I do not think any of the album money went towards his mother nor his children.

I wanted to see once again how unfinished that album felt, so I went to the Spotify app on my desktop to pull it up, and they got rid of the music.   I am not protesting, but I think Michael’s family or executors must have threatened to take them to court on the album.  

So the moral of the story is, you do not own a single copy of the music on Spotify, Pandora, or Itunes, none of it.  It is not yours, and it never was yours to begin with, you are just borrowing a copy of that song, and Spotify (or whatever site you are listening to music on) has the right to pull that piece of music whenever the artist or executors of their estate pull out the “Sue” card for illegally playing their music.  

Will I stop using Spotify, Itunes, or Pandora?  No, but I am now more aware that I do not own a copy of the remaining music I listen to.  I am merely borrowing it, and I do not have the right to share it with someone else. 

If you want any type of media, such as music or images, and are very creative, take your own photos (unless noted, most of my photos now have my P. Lynne Designs copyright on it), design it, compose it, or pay someone to do it for you.  If you do the latter, do not forget to give them credit for it.  For $5, you can hire someone from Fiverr to do it for you.   

P.S.... RIP Prince, we will miss you, and thank you for offering your talent to the world

.

#Grammys

(c) 2014 http://www.metalinsider.net/

So the Grammy are on right now, and there are some things that are different, while others stayed the same. While there are some people forgot that Beyoncé was black (oops), she is supposed to present for album of the year.  Taylor Swift opened the show, and while I was behind, expecting her to open with Shake it Up, the opening number was nice.

I was a little vague on what happened next (someone at Longaberger forgot that this show was on, and scheduled an online consultant’s meeting (another oops)) for the little bit I heard, it was pretty good.  I actually thought that it started to be a bit on the boring side, but it perked up a little bit with rap segment. Next thing I knew, it when south, as in AT&T Uverse decided that I didn’t need to see it, and it lost the signal. It also decided that I needed to take a break from the internet AND my landline phone.  I was two seconds away from using my cell phone to connect this big butt of a computer. 

(OK, side note:  what happened to Beyoncé presenting Album of the Year, Ooops, my bad, Record of the Year.)

Anyway, I thought that Lady Gaga was a changed person.  Nope, she just took a break when she sung with Tony Bennett.  I was not impressed to say the least.  Adele had throat surgery, so her subpar performance is excused.  Not sure what Justin Bieber was doing, but I ignore him anyway.  The tributes were wonderful.  They picked the right artist for them.

Well, that is it for the awards.  Next award show is the Oscars, and I have no plans to watch it.  It is not what Jada Pinkett Smith or what Stacy Dash said.  I am so over that.  I never really cared for the program.  That is all.