Music and Copyright

Music has a powerful influence on society, like mass media and television. In our society today, music has the ability to define our culture. Many people around the world listen to music while driving, at work, doing housework, or even studying. Music may be seen as simple and unproblematic, but looking at the structure behind it is very important. One of the key features of music is music copyright and what that means to the music industry. Defining what this means in the historical context is of great significance. Music and copyright is a vital aspect of the music industry. The question that remains, however, is what happens with motivation or intension when samples of music are not originally controlled in a larger network. Intellectual property rights such as copyright laws need to be met in the music industry in order for an artist to be protected. If, for example, an appealing sample is created, will this be then adequate enough to confer its author constitutional copyright protection if the other requirements of copyright are satisfied since copying is a crucial component of infringement? The music industry over the years has grown to be a rather profitable industry and is “one of the fastest growing export sectors of the global service economy” (Anderson et al 2000). Intellectual property plays a significant role in what the music industry is all about. It is defined as a law in which governs the exploitation of culture and of the private ownership of creative production, which also includes copyrights and trademarks (Hermanns 2005). The holder of the intellectual property rights has certain exclusive rights to the creative work that they produce in which they are protected under this right. According to Anderson et al (2000), intellectual property plays a critical role in determining its performance in the music industry. It also transforms the expression of one’s intellectual efforts, for example a script or movie, or even music, into a piece of

Cited: Anderson, Birgitte, et al. “Copyrights, Competition, and Development: The Case of the Music Industry.” No. 145. (January 2000). 1-31. Buckley, Willie. “Legal Protection? Or Cultural Suppression?: Examining the Role of United States Copyright Policy.” College of Communications (July 2002): 1-14. <http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/dp_145.en.pdf> Burke, E Hermanns, Kwela. “The Hand that sets the table…” International Journal of Media and Cultural Politics (2005): 67-88. Imfeld, Cassandra., and Smith, Victoria. “The Music Industry and the Legislative Development of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s Online Service Provider Provision” Communication Law and Policy (Summer 2005): 291-312. Khalilah, L. Liptrot. “A Musical Interlude: Sampling Goods vs. Stealing Goods.” Northwestern University Medill Journalism (2004). <http://docket.medill.northwestern.edu/archives/000932.php> Lorimer, Rowland, and Gasher, Mike McCann, Anthony. “Traditional Music and Copyright – The Issues.” Common Property Resource Digest. University of Limerick. 1998. <http://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu/archive/00000088/00/mccann.pdf> Rodgers, Tara