We’ll be announcing further series shortly.

To celebrate the Creative Commons release of Lawrence Lessig’s latest book, Remix, we’re hosting a competition called REMIX THE REMIXER. Prizes include a ‘remixed’ book signed by Cory Doctorow, a copy of Remix signed by Lawrence Lessig and £200 (approximately 300 USD) worth of any Bloomsbury books.
To enter: Find any video, interview, or written work of Lessig’s, mash it up with another piece of Lessig’s work and create something new, unique and creative. It can be a video (3 min max), photo or text. Entries should be submitted on our new Facebook page, by joining the ‘Remix the Remixer‘ event and submitting your remix on the wall. All entries should be received by 31 May 2009, after which public voting will begin.

Some people have asked why it took so long for us to post Remix on a Creative Commons (CC) license. The contractual arrangements with the originating publisher – Penguin USA – only allowed for CC release on the 1st of May. With other titles, where we have global rights, CC licensing will happen simultaneously with the print publication.

Check out our new Bloomsbury Academic page on Facebook here.

Remix: Making art and commerce thrive in the hybrid economy

Our first publication, Remix: Making art and commerce thrive in the hybrid economy (Lawrence Lessig) is available to purchase now in ebook and paperback formats.

Is burning a mix CD for a friend an expression of creativity or a criminal offence? 
Copyright laws were originally put in place to protect artists. However, today they seem mainly to serve corporate interests and effectively prohibit further creativity. In Remix, Lawrence Lessig highlights how these copyright laws may potentially criminalise our own children – the generation who don’t think twice about burning CDs, ‘biting’ riffs from films, videos and songs to make new art – and indeed anyone else who creates, enjoys or sells any art form.

Lessig, the reigning authority on intellectual property in the digital world, advocates a solution which rests not on abolishing copyright but applying it where it was intended – namely in the commercial sphere. He explains:

• how the new collaborative yet profitable ‘hybrid economy’ based on a ‘read-write’ culture works;
• how it will become ever more prominent in every creative realm – from news to music;
• how we can and should use it to benefit those who make and consume art.

Remix is more than an authoritative statement on copyright in the 21st century. It is an eloquent plea to decriminalise that which comes naturally to young people and to untie the shackles that prevent us creating and using our culture. Tremendous opportunities are out there in the ‘hybrid economy’ for those who are prepared to embrace it.

Press reviews

‘Lessig… has written a splendid combative manifesto – pungent, witty and persuasive.’
Financial Times

‘Lessig…is a lawyer who gets things changed not for the benefit of corporations but to unleash the creative potential of ordinary people in a digital age.’
The Guardian

‘… Lessig is surely right that digital culture requires governance that is more subtle and ecological, judging a balance of forces between commerce and community, than precise and draconian.’
Books of the Week, The Independent

Find out more about Lawrence Lessig, or listen to him talking about Remix here.