J.S. Epperson

I’ve been on a long hiatus. During this time, I’ve been thinking a lot about positioning my work going forward and the question that’s front and center is: should I even move forward with my work at all?

And the answer is yes, of course I should continue my work as an artist. Music is how I mark my journey through life; it’s my journal. I can hear a piece of my music and instantly reconnect with the people in my life at the time, the places I spent time, and the things going on around me when I created it. Music is my touchstone and I’m not giving that up, but going forward I’m not sure I trust y’all enough to share it with you anymore.

I’ve been confronted with the types of fraud in the last few years that have chipped away at my trust in the very people that listen to my music and support me as an artist. Every time I discover someone has claimed my work as their own, my heart breaks a little bit more. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great that people give my tunes a chance, but what isn’t so great is seeing people stake their claim to my work while also making it nearly impossible for me to profit from my own work.

So what do I do? Give up? Keep my music for myself? Tighten the screws with copyrights and trademarks and patents and become a lawsuit troll in order to make a living? None of that sounds great.

Imitation might be the sincerest form of flattery, but out-right plagiarism? Not so much.