50-Year Anniversary of Federal Copyright Protection for Sound Recordings

Ethan Barr

Sound recordings — i.e., the recorded versions of musical works — were not protected by federal copyright law until Congress passed legislation on February 15, 1972, giving them limited protection. Until the passage of Title II of the Music Modernization Act (“MMA”) in 2018, sound recordings created before February 15, 1972 were only protected to […]

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American Music Fairness Act: Implications for Musicians and Radio Stations

Ethan Barr

When the pandemic upended the music industry, musicians live-streamed on services like Instagram Live, Zoom and Twitch to recoup lost concert revenue. They pivoted from fully equipped record label studios to furnishing their own in-home recording studios. Revenue from studio-recorded music also did not appear to suffer, given the ubiquity of streaming services and other […]

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