![]() Innovative businesses that rely on the use of vast amounts of digital media, such as Facebook, YouTube, Pandora, and Instagram, offer the potential to help copyright holders promote their creative material (such as photos, music, and videos) for artistic, educational, and commercial reasons. copyright law 1 in order to determine whether legislative reforms are needed to address technological developments in modes of communication, social interaction, and entertainment. In 2013, Congress initiated a comprehensive review of U.S. § 107) and limitations on the public performance right under specific situations (17 U.S.C. The Copyright Act also sets forth several exemptions from infringement liability for certain unauthorized uses, including the fair use doctrine (17 U.S.C. This report explains how these laws amend the Copyright Act to, among other things, refine the scope of licensing for both types of copyright holders. ![]() However, if the sound recording is publicly performed through digital audio transmission, both the musical work copyright holder and the sound recording copyright holder have a right to receive royalties.Ī more comprehensive understanding of music licensing requires a familiarity with the Digital Performance Right in Sound Recordings Act (DPRSRA) and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Whenever a user publicly performs a sound recording via non-digital transmission, authorization from only the musical work copyright holder is needed. Whenever a user reproduces or distributes a non-digital or digital sound recording, the sound recording copyright holder and musical work copyright holder are both entitled to payment. The licensing system behind the use of musical works and sound recordings differs depending on (1) whether the music is transmitted digitally or through analog means, (2) who the user is, and (3) the particular “exclusive right” of the copyright holder that is implicated by the use. When statutory requirements are satisfied by the party interested in using the copyrighted work, a compulsory license is available if the party complies with the terms of the statutory license as well as pays the statutory royalty fees. In copyright law, they are commonly referred to as “compulsory” licenses. These statutory licenses are instruments that compel copyright holders to allow others to exercise a holder’s rights without negotiated permission. Other licenses are provided by the Copyright Act. Some licenses are negotiated instruments between a copyright holder and a third party (referred to as “voluntary licenses”). If a third party wants to use a copyrighted work in a particular way, he or she must ordinarily seek permission from the copyright holder in the music industry, such permission is often referred to as “licensing.” A license permits a third party to do something with a copyrighted work that implicates a copyright holder’s exclusive right, possibly in exchange for monetary compensation known as a royalty fee, without concern of infringing the copyright holder’s rights. Federal law recognizes copyright protection for two separate and distinct types of music-related creations: “musical works” and “sound recordings.” A musical work refers to a songwriter’s musical composition and accompanying lyrics, while a sound recording is a particular version of a musician singing or playing a musical work, as that rendition is captured in a recording medium such as a compact disc, cassette tape, vinyl album, or MP3 file. ![]() Music is an example of a kind of literary and artistic work that falls squarely within the scope of copyright law. It also discusses four issues involving copyrights in musical works and sound recordings that have been the subject of recent congressional and judicial consideration: (1) extending copyright protection to pre-1972 sound recordings (2) requiring radio broadcasters to compensate recording artists (3) changing the standard used to calculate royalties for digital music transmissions and (4) modifying antitrust consent decrees governing songwriter performance royalties.Ĭopyright law provides protection for original works of authorship by conferring certain exclusive rights upon their creators. This report provides an overview of the complexities of the Copyright Act’s provisions concerning music licensing. ![]()
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