Fête dans la région de Vranje, Serbie, 2002 © P. Fernandez
Abstract
This article explores the ethical ideas that underpin the practice of professional Gypsy musicians in Eastern Europe and, more particularly, in Romania. These musicians present themselves as "creators of emotion" and frequently attribute their economic success to such values as "trickery" or "guile". A good musician should be an "intelligent thief", both in his interactions with his peers and with the melodies themselves. Virtuosi play with "trickery" and these tricks can also be "stolen" by other musicians.
People who use this vocabulary of theft do not condemn it, but distinguish between the theft of musical ideas and that of material possessions. Although they are professional musicians who consider their music to be a commercial undertaking, they remain sceptical as to usefulness of copyright or "intellectual property rights". What then does it mean to "steal" tricks if they belong to nobody? How is this thief's dexterity related to ideas of creativity? What sort of economic and moral models do these musicians hold to? And how does it relate to notions of copyright?
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