Welcome

Did you know that:

• A U.S. appeals court held that it was illegal to sample even 2 seconds of music from a record?

• Over-the-air radio does not have to pay recording artists and labels to play their music but Internet radio has to pay a fortune?

U.S. law that deals with music creation and distribution is extremely complex. What’s more, the music business has evolved in a way that adds to this complexity. This website will explain these issues in an easy to understand manner focusing primarily on copyright law and policy and briefly touching on communications policy. For a basic understanding of copyright law, please read the tutorial found on this site..

A brief introduction to the sections on this website:

The section on music licensing explores the reasons why digital transmissions and online sales are so difficult: from the fragmented nature of rights in a single piece of music to different middlemen representing each right. It also examines whether the current system is conducive to ensuring a fair return to artists while providing the consumer access to good music.

The section on sampling looks at the state of the law and how it has shaped industry practices.

The section on alternative methods of distribution discusses how digital technology can help artists break free from their dependence on the traditional middlemen – record labels and radio – in getting their music heard. It will also explore how the openness of the Internet that allows this freedom is under threat.

The rest of the sections deal with provisions under current law to enforce copyright and efforts to expand the scope of these provisions. These include a review of the responsibilities of device makers (such as MP3 players) and Internet Service Providers to prevent copyright infringement and whether this responsibility has had any adverse impact on consumers or on innovation.

Our last section – orphan works – talks about how certain rules of copyright law have resulted in obscuring valuable works including music.

We hope you find the information presented on this site useful. If you have any questions please contact us. Thank you for visiting.

Disclaimer: Information presented on this site or in response to your queries is not legal advice. Although we will make every effort to answer your questions accurately, responses will reflect the general state of the law. We urge you to seek an attorney’s advice on how the law applies to your factual situation.