Swifties are commonly asked, ‘who actually owns Taylor’s lyrics?’, ‘will Taylor still get paid if I listen to the originals?’ and ‘when is Reputation (Taylor’s Version) being released?’. These questions can only be answered by delving into the music copyright and contract law behind the re-recordings, and their influence on the future of artist contracts, except for the last question, which remains a secret to even the most dedicated of Swifties. 

Dmitri Shostakovich was one of Soviet Russia’s most prolific and significant composers. His impressive orchestral works, such his fifth, seventh and eighth symphonies solidified his standing in Russia as one of its foremost symphonic composers. Which is why, towards the end of World War Two, Shostakovich was requested to compose a symphony that would be an ode to Stalin and Soviet Russia’s success in the war. It was to be his ninth symphony.

Inspiration or stealing? The requirements for interpolation and sampling. In a previous blog post, the concepts of the doctrine of fair...