The Mashup that I chose is the mashup from Glee, titled "It's My Life/Confessions." The songs mashed up together are by Bon Jovi and Usher, respectively.
1. What is this mashup trying to communicate? Is it technical experiment, social or political commentary, a comedic parody, or an abstract work of media art?
This mashup, which is by all the males in the Glee Club, is a social work of art. This mashup was created by the males in hopes of winning the mashup competition against the ladies, who did a mashup of "Halo/Walking on Sunshine." This mashup also shows that the males are able to take control of their lives and do whatever they want, just as the mashup's title says.
2. Did its creator follow or break copyright laws in its production?
I think that the creator of Glee followed copyright laws in this mashup's production, since he asked permission to use the song on the show. The mashup was released as a single, which means that the profits from the downloads of the songs could've been used to pay the money to the singers of the original songs. The creator did not break copyright laws because each song was still somewhat represented in the mashup. Each song had its own part before the second song was added. In this example, It's My Life was used to start the song, while the second part used Confessions. After, the song combined both It's My Life and Confessions, by using the background music from It's My Life, and using the lyrics to Confessions.
3. Do you think that mashup like this requires copyright permission? Why or why not.
I think that a mashup like this requires copyright permission, since it combines two different songs from two different artists and makes it into one. Also, the mashup itself became a single, which means that anyone who covers this song would have to follow copyright laws, and might have to pay the Glee Cast money. I also think that this requires copyright permission because it was used on a popular television show and I believe that it has become its own popular song, rather than just a mashup that was created.
