The Labour Process and Digital Commoning: Copyleft Practices among Producers of Sampled Music

• In Event: 2451 - Section on Organizations, Occupations, and Work Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 1. Creative and Knowledge Workers

Abstract

By applying the labour process theory approach (LPT), this paper proposes a critical conceptualization of the relations between creative production and alternative copyright frameworks, known as copyleft. This study is based on interviews with creators of sampled music, who actively participate in the consumption and production of content that is distributed using the Creative Commons. The findings reveal how copyleft’s legal structure supports a distinct labour process that is based on commoning, which is performed by sharing and sourcing musical pieces. Even though the exchange value and content markets are identified as crucial elements of this process, its function is mostly tied to the undiscovered use-value, which might be unveiled and valorised by other users in the process of commoning. In this labour process, formal control is replaced by a set of actions connected to self-control and reputation. In the discussion section I provide arguments for two current debates in critical organization studies: (1) a debate on ‘free labour’, which I compliment with a conceptualisation of ‘commons-based labour’, and (2) the ‘false consciousness’ controversy, depicting illusory resistance within the digital commons discourse, which I confront with my findings on labour and digital commoning. In the growing debate on digital labour, my adaptation of LPT helps to better highlight labourer relations, production processes, products and their relationships to capital accumulation.

Author

• Milosz Miszczynski, Kozminski University, Poland