User:Obscuretrick

Bio
Hello. I am a student attending a community college in the Pacific Northwest. My academic plan is to attain a bachelor's degree in business. I dabble in a little of everything because I love to try new things. My hobbies range from reading young adult novels to exploring beautiful scenic views. I value individualism and diversity. On the other hand, I am a very opinionated person. However, I respect others' views and I like to listen to different perspectives because it broadens the mind.

I tend to use WIkipedia for plots of films I do not want to finish and musicians I am most curious about. I am also interested in record labels' pages. I do not think I would be able to properly contribute to the encyclopedia because I consider myself as more of a consumer rather than a producer. If I were to contribute, I would focus more on indie artists.

Article critique
Music is an intriguing subject. I love music because it promotes the benevolent side of humanity. There is a long process in between creating and listening to music. There are musicians that focus solely on playing instead of writing. In order to do so, they need to know the original writer’s rights and their own. I consider myself this type of a musician so I became curious. I visited the performing rights page on Wikipedia, and found three aspects of it worth commenting on: its lack of recent editing, its need of more information, and its current quality.

Lack of recent editing
Performing rights is not an ‘always changing’ topic but the article needs to be reliable. There is a link under the External links section called Common terms used in music licensing that leads to a nonexistent website, which should be removed. The Pro Music Rights home page is under construction, which should be taken off of the article. Also, there are absolutely no citations. There is a paragraph dedicated to inform readers of George Clinton’s involvement in H.R. 848, which should be cited.

Needs more information
The article contains a paragraph informing the ways of how to use other musician’s works in the United States. Musicians are not only based in America. I think the article should include other major music consumer countries.

Current quality
Despite the lack of editing and the need for more information, the article presents itself well-informed of music performing rights, at least in America. Performing rights involves the payment for the original writer’s work in order to play their work in public. It consists of direct involvement between the two or between a third party, like a music licensing company. The article is informative and straightforward.

Summary
Wikipedia’s Performing rights article needs an upgrade. The reliability is questionable considering the lack of citations and needed information. Once the article is cited, it would become a reliable source. More information would give readers a better understanding of performing rights in other countries besides America.