Artists Move to Reclaim Copyrights to Songs
Often times when creating and recording a song, the record label retains the copyright over the song. In exchange, the artist receives a share of the proceeds from record sales and the benefit of the record companies’ advertising and promotional arms.
What happens to those rights over time? Are the record labels’ rights infinite time-wise? Enter The Copyright Act and an important revision in 1976. Among other things, that revision gave the musicians termination rights that allowed them control of their own works after 35 years.
Now, 35 years later, recording artists are lining up to assert those rights and the reeling record labels are not happy about it. In an article published yesterday, The New York Times details the back and forth between the record labels and the artists and planned Congressional action to clarify any ambiguities from the 1976 amendment.
