Payment for the Arkestra

I have the following policy for paying when I get bootlegged material for Jimi Hendrix, be it CDs, cassettes, videotapes, and so on: I send at least the minimum royalty payment -- for cassettes that's at least $2 -- to Al Hendrix (Jimi's dad), regardless of who the courts say "owns" the copyright.

Might I suggest a similar principle here? At least $2 to the Arkestra per cassette, without whom there would be nothing to bootleg in the first place!

SKIP THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH IF UNINTERESTED IN REASONS: The reasoning behind this is a modified version of H.L.A.Hart's so-called "Principle of Fairness" as follows. You're obligated to pay the costs of for receiving the benefits of a practice if, were the only way to obtain the benefits from participating in the practice to pay the costs, you would pay the costs. I'd pay for Sun Ra tapes commercially available with pleasure; ergo, I'm obliged to pay for bootlegs. As for the recipient... well, here it's a lot more intuitive, but the underlying intuition is that those who directly contribute to the production of an artwork deserve to be paid for the enjoyment of it. Full details available on request. Nobody has, to date, ever requested full details. END OF STATEMENT OF REASONS

Sorry folks, it's an occupational hazard, like losing touch with reality...

Peter King King.4@osu.edu Department of Philosophy The Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio 43210