Senior Project Overview:

Name: Adrianna Laferriere

Title of Project: The Treble of a Song: Protecting Artists Creativity

Title of Research Paper: Dont Repeat the Beat: Crimes Against Music

Synopsis of Research Paper: My paper discusses several aspects of how copyright was created,
different forms of copyright including fair use and public domain while also discussing the main
limitations of copyright in these forms. Copyright infringement cases and loopholes of copyright
are discussed as well as international copyright cases. I also discuss the process of getting music
cleared, notifications or notices that could be given to those suspected of copyright. Then I
conclude the argument of why the copyrighted works of the owners of art forms are threatened
by the individuals who fail to follow copyright laws.
Project Description: The main goal of my project was to inform others about the importance of
copyright laws as it pertains to protecting an artists work. At the beginning of my project, I
showed a documentary that explained copyright laws, peoples interpretation of them, as well as
how they can be seen throughout peoples daily lives. I then held an activity where the audience
could participate by going to the different stations around the library and determining which song
they thought the original was. For the last part of my project, Chesapeake Teacher of the Year,
Mr. Oare answered questions in a Q&A session with my audience about the impact copying
someone elses music can have on the artist, publisher, and arranger. My project was concluded
with a survey.
Relationship between Project and Paper: In connection to my paper about copyright laws, my
project was related because my documentary was about copyright laws, my activity focused on
comparing original versus copied songs, and then my speaker discussed the implications of
copyright laws. The paper and the project were related because they both are centered around
different aspects of how copyright laws are helpful to artists and their work.
My background Experience in the Area: Since I was 5, I have been involved in music and
playing different instruments such as piano, guitar, and clarinet. My interests really picked up
around the 7th grade when I joined band. My passion for band has grown throughout high school
as I continued in advanced band, joined several ensembles, performed in musicals, in honor
bands, and military bands. By the time senior year began, I found out that I had earned the
highest leadership position possible within the band and thats when I knew that I wanted to dig a
little deeper and complete my LSA senior project and paper on something related to music.