MONDAY NIGHT LECTURE SERIES | INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY/INTELLECTUAL PIRACY

Artist Levellers and Digital Diggers

FEBRUARY 20 @ 6 P.M. | Daniel Family Commons, Usdan University Center

The arguments against intellectual property are really old, boring, and ultimately regressive. So why are they suddenly in vogue with an intellectual elite?

David Lowery is a mathematician, writer, artists’ rights advocate, musician, producer and serial entrepreneur based in Athens GA. Lowery is one of the key writers for www.thetrichordist.com. This blog examines Artists’ Rights in the digital age. Two of Lowery’s lengthy blogs have gone viral: Letter to Emily White Intern at NPR All Songs Considered and Meet the New Boss, Worse than the Old Boss? He has become an outspoken critic of technology companies for unfair treatment of songwriters and has been featured in the NY Times.

While studying mathematics and computers at the University of California Santa Cruz in the early 1980’s, Lowery founded the critically acclaimed ensemble Camper Van Beethoven and associated record label Pitch-a-Tent Records. With these two entities, he helped jump start the Indie Rock movement.

In 1991, Lowery moved on to the ensemble Cracker, which produced five, top ten alternative/rock radio tracks and three platinum albums. During this time he produced a variety of albums, including albums for critically acclaimed and commercially successful artists, such as The Counting Crows, Magnolia Electric Company and Sparklehorse.