Music Copyright Essay -- Copyright Laws Music Industry Essays

What is a Copyright? Music Copyright is a very important aspect of the music industry. The Copyright law was established to preserve the creativity and rights of authors, composers, performers of expression. Copyright is the law that protects the property rights of the creator of an original work in a fixed tangible medium. (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/copyright) A fixed tangible medium is something substantial like copying lyrics on paper or putting a song on tape or CD. Copyright can be seen every where in the music industry. Many music artist of our culture today have been involved in copyright issues. Recently, on MTV news it was stated that, "As the music industry becomes increasingly concerned about protecting the integrity of artists copyrights in the age of MP3. Prince has now filed a motion in New York federal court aimed at shutting down several websites offering free downloads of the Artist's songs." (http://www.mtv.com†¦19990304/prince.jhtml) In addition, in recent music news, "Nine Inch Nails lead man Trent Reznor copyright infringement suit was dismissed. Another artist claimed that the Reznor had stolen material for his last album." (http://www.mtv.com†¦19991202/nine_inch_nails.jhtml) The copyright law has become an important legal aspect to know our music generation. What works can be copyrighted? Copyright applies to more than musical works. It protects many different things. It protects musical works, literary works, dramatically works, dance works (choreography), sculptures, graphic works (maps, graphs, etc.), pictorial works, motion pictures (videotapes), sound recordings, and even computer creations (computer programs, databases). (http://askjeeves.com/copyright/html) Although there are a lot categories that can be protected by copyright, not every expression can be protected. These original expressions are not eligible for copyright protection. Ideas and discoveries are not eligible for copyright protection. A speech or music performance that is not recorded, written (in a fixed medium) is not protected. Titles are also not eligible for copyright protection. For example, if artist A writes a song titled "That Thing" and then artist B writes a totally different song, but titles the song "That Thing" also. Artist B has not infringed on the copyright law. How can an artist copyright their work? Copyright prot... ...ts new and old artist from having their original forms of expression stolen. A performing artist or songwriter should have a good understanding of the factors of the copyright law. An artist always wants to protect their work so the wrong people can not abuse it. By having a deep knowledge about the copyright law, the artists can save themselves from paying endless unnecessary legal fees. . Work Cited Baskerville, David. Music Business HandBook and Career Guide. 7th ed. California: Sherwood Publishing, 2001. Copyright in Music. Apr. 1999. Duration. Mar. 2000. Fair Use. Jan. 1999. Mechanical Licensing. May. 2001. Prince Files Copyright Infringement Suit Against Website. Mar. 1999. Court Dismisses Copyright Suit Against Trent Reznor. Dec. 1999. What is Copyright? Apr. 2001. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/copyright