![]() Only in 2017 was Paul McCartney able to settle a lawsuit with a label in order to regain copyrights to the Beatles catalog. Taylor Swift is certainly not the first artist to publicly dispute with a label over the ownership of their masters. Because of these obstacles and the way in which record labels have traditionally used copyright for their own benefit, many artists question whether or not copyright law as it stands today is in their favor. Furthermore, the process to retain these rights is costly and on the burden of the artist. The intent of Congress was to allow artists to regain controls of their master recordings, but depending on the language of the original recording contract signed, some artists may face roadblocks under doctrines such as work-made-for-hire. However, this is exposing gray areas of the law surrounding recording contracts and intellectual property rights. Over the past few years, some acts who recorded their songs in the 1970s have come to reclaim their master recordings by relying on this provision. Copyright Act, which allows artists to reclaim the rights to their master recordings after 35 years. We Are Never Ever Getting Back… Our Master Recordings? On the other hand, an artist who owns the rights in her master recordings would be able to retain creative control of her work, and can release her music at her own bidding through whichever channel she feels appropriate. The simple reasoning behind this model is for the record labels to obtain returns and rewards for the financial risks they take in investing in or supporting an artist from marketing to production. In return, an artist receives royalties from the commercialization of these rights. Traditionally, under a contract between a record label and artist, the record label retains the rights in such master recordings in perpetuity, or until the expiry of the copyright of these recordings. The owner of the master recording is also able to gain profits from the publication or streaming of such songs. These licenses could include the rights to reissue or remix the original sound recording. For example, such master rights holder has the power to grant third-party licenses for the master recording. The copyright owner of the master recording has the rights to exploit the work. ![]() It is important to note that the copyright in the actual recording of a song is distinguishable from the copyright in the composition of the song itself. 2537 (1994) defines a sound recording as “a work which consists of a sequence of music, sounds of a performance, or any other sound recorded on any kind of medium which can be replayed by using a necessary device which is suitable for such medium”. ![]() Copyright Act of 1976, sound recordings are “works that result from the fixation of a series of musical, spoken, or other sounds but not including sounds accompanying a motion picture or other audiovisual work.” A sound recording must also be fixed on a medium that can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated. All other copies of the song are derived from the master recording. These two events have ignited debate over whether record labels are the best entities to be in control of master recordings, and they are only the tip of the iceberg of a complex discussion in the music industry about the difficulties artists face to gain control of their intellectual property, and how technological developments are shaking the current industry model.Ī master recording is the original sound recording of a piece of music. This incident came shortly after the New York Times’ expose of a 2008 fire at a major music label’s archive which destroyed at least 118, 000 master recordings from hundreds of artists, such as Dolly Parton, The Who, Cher, and Ella Fitzgerald. While it is common for artists to not own their master recordings, fans were surprised to learn that one of the world’s biggest popstars had few legal grounds to dictate who controls her master recordings. At the end of June 2019, Taylor Swift took to social media to express her dismay over the purchaser of her former label who now owns the rights to her master recordings.
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