GOLDEN PAGODAS AND PLATINUM ALBUMS: DEVELOPING AND DECOLONIZING COPYRIGHT IN MYANMAR D. Bondy Valdovinos Kaye BA, MS Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Communication Creative Industries Faculty QUT 2021 Keywords Copyright, decolonizing, critical media industries studies, Myanmar, Burma, music industries, digital music, cultural labour, empirical law research ii | Page Abstract This thesis investigates copyright and musical artists in Myanmar. Theoretically framed by critical media industries studies and decolonizing methodologies and informed by in-depth qualitative interviews with informants in the Myanmar music industry (n=38), this thesis illustrates how a music recording industry can flourish in the relative absence of copyright. Further, findings demonstrate how cultural conceptions of copying and authorship can shift dramatically in the absence of or prior to copyright reform. The only copyright law in Myanmar was passed in 1914 and was used so seldomly many artists quoted in press and previous studies stated there was no copyright in Myanmar. Myanmar returned to the international stage after five decades of isolation under military rule in the 2010s. During the years of military rule, the Myanmar music recording industry developed informally with seldomly enforced copyright policy. By the time copyright reform was at hand in Myanmar in May 2019, many informants highlighted in this study were eager to welcome its arrival despite critiques levelled against dominant international copyright regimes. The central questions of this thesis are: 1) how do artists in Myanmar understand copyright; 2) how did the relative absence of copyright shape the Myanmar music recording industry; and 3) what do artists want from a copyright system in Myanmar? This thesis raises questions about the colonial legacy and power dynamics of international copyright regulation in the Global South. iii | Page Table of Contents Keywords ........................................................................................................................................ ii Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... iv List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. viii List of Abbreviations ..................................................................................................................... ix List of Myanmar (Burmese) Words ................................................................................................ x Statement of Original Authorship .................................................................................................. xi Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................... xii 1. Golden Pagodas and Platinum Albums....................................................................................... 1 Music ‘without’ Copyright in Myanmar ..................................................................................... 2 Objective and Contribution ......................................................................................................... 7 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................................... 9 Methodology ............................................................................................................................. 13 Outline of this Thesis ................................................................................................................ 20 2. Copyright Expectations ............................................................................................................. 25 A Brief History of Copyright in Myanmar ............................................................................... 26 Copyright and Society............................................................................................................... 28 Four Theories of IPR ................................................................................................................ 30 Welfare Theory ..................................................................................................................... 32 Fairness Theory ..................................................................................................................... 34 Cultural Theory ..................................................................................................................... 35 Personality Theory ................................................................................................................ 37 Copyright Industries.................................................................................................................. 40 Informal Economies .................................................................................................................. 43 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 46 3. Copyright Controversies ........................................................................................................... 47 Copyright Debates .................................................................................................................... 49 Digital Copyright Expansion ................................................................................................ 49 Fair Use and Fair Dealing ..................................................................................................... 51 Infringement .......................................................................................................................... 53 Copyright Debates in Myanmar ............................................................................................ 55 iv | Page Copyright and Globalisation ..................................................................................................... 56 Cultural Imperialism and Globalisation ................................................................................ 56 WIPO and TRIPS .................................................................................................................. 61 Development, Disjuncture, and Discord ............................................................................... 63 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 66 4. Policy Informality, and Power .................................................................................................. 68 The Early Days of the Myanmar Popular Music Industry ........................................................ 70 Music Policy and the State ........................................................................................................ 71 Circumventing Authority ...................................................................................................... 73 Promotional Policy and the Myanmar Music Association ................................................... 78 Informality and Copy Thachin .............................................................................................. 83 Performing Under Pressure ....................................................................................................... 87 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 90 5. Constructing the Original Artist................................................................................................ 92 Turbulent Times ........................................................................................................................ 94 Subjective Relationships in the Myanmar Music Industry ....................................................... 96 Condemning Copy Thachin .................................................................................................. 97 Authoring Own Tunes......................................................................................................... 102 Problematising Pirates ........................................................................................................ 107 Authors, Users, and Pirates in Flux ........................................................................................ 111 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 114 6. Cultural Production and Conflict ............................................................................................ 116 A New Democracy at the Digital Frontier .............................................................................. 118 The Production of Conflict ..................................................................................................... 122 Law and Regulation: Lawsuits............................................................................................ 123 Technology: Digital Music ................................................................................................