Copyright is a form of Intellectual Property that automatically protects works which meet set requirements. It differs from country to country, but copyright law is largely similar across the globe as it is based on international law, and the rules and regulations set out in the Berne Convention. In South Africa the Copyright Act regulates protection and sets out relevant requirements for works to qualify for protection.
Copyright is an automatic protection that applies to one’s own work. It must be a physical manifestation of an original work, made by a qualified person who contributed labour, skill and intellectual pursuit to the work. One common misconception about copyright is that ideas can be protected, but by looking at the eligibility requirements, one can see that ideas cannot be protected, as only physical works are protected. Copyright protects various forms of works, including, literature, artworks, and musical works amongst others.
Taylor Swift is a prime example to use with regard to the functioning of copyright in the music industry. Swift was involved in a very public dispute regarding the ownership of the Master recordings of her first six studio albums, which were sold to Scooter Braun without a fair chance for her to buy them. It is not uncommon for musicians to not own the Master recordings to their music, and often new and emerging artists sign away their rights to the Master recordings when signing their first contract in exchange for exposure and promotion by the record label. This is exactly what happened to Swift. When she signed her first contract with Big Machine Records, she signed a thirteen-year contract which stated that in exchange for her promotion and exposure by the label, it will own the Master Recordings. However, upon expiry of this contract, Taylor signed with another label and felt that it was fair for her to own the Master recordings. Due to alleged unfair circumstances and a bad personal relationship with Braun, this never materialised, and Swift still does not own the Masters.
When it comes to a released song, there are two types of copyrights that are applicable in the music industry. The first being the Master recording, which is the original recording made in the studio and that is released, copied, sold and streamed. Every time someone plays or purchases the song, the owner of the Master recording gets paid. The second copyright is known as the publishing right, which belongs to the person who wrote the song, composed and arranged the music and lyrics in a certain manner. Fortunately, Swift is able to re-record her music, despite not owning the Master recordings because she holds the publishing right to all of her music. She holds these rights, because luckily for her, she writes all of her music. This allows her to release covers of her original music without having to compete in a bidding war for the Masters, and her initial contract with Big Machine Records gives her the right to re-record her music five years after the release of an album. The only requirement here is that the new cover of the songs sound slightly different than the original, which is why the famous “Taylor’s Version” songs sound a bit different to the ones we know so well.
Another reason for her choosing to re-record her music, is so that she can solely give permission to companies who want to use her music in advertisements and films. In order to use the music in an advertisement or film, the company needs to license the song. To license the song, it needs permission to use it from both the owner of the Masters and the publishing right. This is a very clever move on behalf of Swift, as she has now created a competition between the two versions available, and she will never give her permission for the ‘stolen’ versions to be used in films (which would require her and Braun’s permission) and she will only give permission for the use of the “Taylor’s Versions”. She will hold the monopoly over all her music, enabling her to control the licensing of her songs for commercial use known as synchronization by evading the owners of older masters and subsequently devaluing them.
Upon reflection, one can see why it is so important for artists to own their own work. It is even more necessary for artists to learn how to protect themselves during negotiations. Copyright law was developed to protect one’s own work, but somehow it protects the wrong people and very seldomly the artist. As Swift said, “You deserve to own the art you make.”
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