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Virtual Summer Aesthetics Festival: The Ethics of Cover Songs (Panel)

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Friday 10 June 2022: 3:00-5:00 pm EDT

A cover song, on a typical definition, is a recording of a song that had earlier been recorded by someone else. Philosophers of music considering cover songs have debated the adequacy of this definition, argued about the aesthetic evaluation of covers, and worried about their metaphysical status. This panel asks instead about ethical issues that arise from recorded music. Are there obligations which artists have when recording covers? If there are, do they arise from general ethical considerations or from norms within musical communities?

In the first half, each panelist will give a short talk. In the last half, questions and discussion will ensue.

THE SHORT TALKS

“Ethics, Appropriation, and Expertise”, Jeanette Bicknell
“Why There Are (Almost) No Rap Covers”, Evan Malone
“The Ethics of Re-recordings”, Brandon Polite
“What Artists Might Owe to Each Other”, P.D. Magnus

ABOUT THE PANELISTS

Jeanette Bicknell is an independent scholar based in Toronto. She is a pioneer in philosophy of song, and her work includes Philosophy of Song and Singing: An Introduction (Routledge, 2015).
Evan Malone is on the cusp of completing his PhD in Philosophy at the UAlbany. His work deals with issues of genre and aesthetic properties.
Brandon Polite is Associate Professor and Chair of Philosophy at Knox College. He has published on a range of issues in philosophy of art and music, and he is the host of the YouTube series Polite Conversations.
P.D. Magnus is Professor of Philosophy at UAlbany. His work on covers includes “Judging Covers” (2013, with collaborators Cristyn Magnus and Christy Mag Uidhir) and the forthcoming book A Philosophy of Cover Songs.

This event is sponsored by the University at Albany Philosophy Department as part of the American Society for Aesthetics Virtual Summer Aesthetics Festival.

The panel will be conducted via Zoom. Contact pmagnus@albany.edu for access information.