(Berklee Press). With the free-form exchange of music files and musical ideas online, understanding copyright laws has become essential to career success in the new music marketplace. This cutting-edge, plain-language guide shows you how copyright law drives the contemporary music industry. By looking at the law and its recent history, you will understand the new issues introduced by the digital age, as well as continuing issues of traditional copyright law. Whether you are an artist, lawyer, entertainment Web site administrator, record label executive, student, or other participant in the music industry, this book will help you understand how copyright law affects you, helping you use the law to your benefit. * How do you get fair compensation for your work and avoid making costly mistakes? * Can you control who is selling your music on their website? * Is it legal to create mash-ups? * What qualifies as fair use? * How do you clear another artist's samples to use in your own recordings? * What is the Creative Commons/Copyleft movement? * How do you clear music for use in an online music service or store? * Who decides who gets paid how much and by whom? You will learn the answers to these questions as well as: * The basics of copyright law, looking at the Copyright Act while explaining it in plain language * How revenue streams for music are generated under copyright law * The reasoning behind high-profile court decisions related to copyright violations *What licenses are needed for the legal online delivery of music * The intricacies of using music on sites like YouTube, Pandora, and Spotify * Deficiencies in current copyright law and new business model ideas

About the Book: This textbook is designed to inspire debate and discussion about the past, present, and future of the music industry--blending insights from legal, business, and policy perspectives. Students are introduced to the history of music as property in commerce; key technological and business milestones affecting all aspects of the creative process; legal protections for those who create music, those who own it, and those who want to use it; the competing (and recurring) policy debates from the past century that have influenced the way creative participants interact with one another; and the challenges and opportunities presented by the digital age. About the Authors: Julie Ross has been a full-time faculty member at Georgetown Law since 1998, where she has taught courses focusing on legal practice and music law. Her scholarship focuses on music copyright and writing pedagogy. She is a graduate of Hamilton College and Harvard Law School and clerked for the Honorable H. Lee Sarokin in New Jersey. Before moving to academia, she practiced as a litigator in Los Angeles. Michael Huppe is President & CEO of SoundExchange, an organization at the center of many legal, policy and technology issues confronting the modern music industry. With over 20 years in the industry, he has fought on behalf of artists, songwriters, labels, publishers, and studio producers. A graduate of Harvard Law School, he was originally a commercial litigator and now focuses on the business issues affecting creators, especially those relating to music and technology.

The music business is a multifaceted, transnational industry that operates within complex and rapidly changing political, economic, cultural and technological contexts. The mode and manner of how music is created, obtained, consumed and exploited is evolving rapidly. It is based on relationships that can be both complimentary and at times confrontational, and around roles that interact, overlap and sometimes merge, reflecting the competing and coinciding interests of creative artists and music industry professionals. It falls to music law and legal practice to provide the underpinning framework to enable these complex relationships to flourish, to provide a means to resolve disputes, and to facilitate commerce in a challenging and dynamic business environment. The Present and Future of Music Law presents thirteen case studies written by experts in their fields, examining a range of key topics at the points where music law and the post-digital music industry intersect, offering a timely exploration of the current landscape and insights into the future shape of the interface between music business and music law.

This handbook is currently in development, with individual articles publishing online in advance of print publication. At this time, we cannot add information about unpublished articles in this handbook, however the table of contents will contunue to grow as additional articles pass through the review process and are added to the site. Please note that the online publication date for this handbook is the date that the first article in the title was published online.

Provides an in-depth, yet easy to understand, exploration of copyright law and how it applies to the music industry.

Music law involves several key substantive areas of law copyrights, trademarks, and identity rights, to name a few. While traditional entities such as songwriters and record companies have always existed, technological advances in digital distribution have brought important new players into the mix. Concerns about the usage rights of digital music have emerged as well as agreements arising from the use of music in advertising and branding. Inexpensive duplication technology, the portability and ubiquity of mobile music devices, and the ease of transmitting digital files have also become areas of concern. Music Law for the General Practitioner provides lawyers with comprehensive information on the business and legal topics that are likely to be encountered when representing a musical talent, producer, or consumer. Topics include: - Music publishing - Financing of bands - Record companies and producers - Agents - Taxes - Musicians estate

Multi-Sided Music Platforms and the Law explores the legal and regulatory frameworks surrounding copyright protection, competition and privacy concerns arising from the way multi-sided platforms use copyright-protected content in digital advertising. This book suggests how stakeholders in Africa, and their advisors, may ingenuously reform and apply various legal and regulatory frameworks to address these issues which arise from the manner in which multi-sided platforms use copyright-protected content in digital advertising. The book critically engages with the regulatory efforts in other jurisdictions, particularly the EU, with a view to bringing an African perspective to the debate and practice. It undertakes a consideration of this issue by asking how multi-sided platforms may be deployed in a manner that continues innovative uses of copyright content while protecting the economic freedom of African copyright owners as small businesses. Providing the first pro-Africa approach to the regulation of multi-sided platforms, particularly with reference to music, this book focuses on key aspects of digital commercial activity and highlights the main challenges and opportunities for its regulation. It will be of interest to lawyers, policymakers and students across Nigeria, South Africa, and internationally among the African Union, European Union and beyond. .