U.S. Copyright Office Sides with Artistic Control

U.S. music licensing is about to get really interesting.Last Thursday, the U.S. Copyright Office released its findings, claiming it's about to shake things up a bit on behalf of music artists.The office has been deliberating while entrenched amongst lobbyists of all sorts--PROs, TV broadcasters, radio stations, Pandora, arts advocates--over how U.S. Copyright can best revamp it's legal protocols to better suit the modern digital age."The structures that evolved in the previous century to facilitate the lawful exploitation of musical works and sound recordings, while perhaps adequate for the era of discs and tapes, are under significant stress," states the office's 245-page report. "From a copyright perspective, we are trying to deliver bits and bytes through a Victrola."Summarized beautifully by The Hollywood Reporter, the report proposes multiple new legal measures to help modernize U.S. copyright law:

• sound recordings would get public performance rights with terrestrial radio broadcasts;

• full federalization of pre-1972 recordings (severely impacting the flagrant 'free' use of older recordings by the likes of Pandora, SiriusXM, etc.);

• reviewing 75-year-old antitrust decrees for ASCAP and BMI;

• allowing music rights owners to withdraw streaming rights;

• PROs given stronger music rights negotiating power;

• shifts to which rights fall under compulsory blanket licensing, giving music rights owners more negotiating power; and

• streamlining licensing procedures.

There's lots to still be worked out, including when Congress starts addressing the report. But it's certainly exciting to see the U.S. Copyright Office striving to restore flexibility and control of one's art back into the talented hands creating the music.