{"id":90526,"date":"2022-05-26T13:46:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-26T17:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/?post_type=bu-article&#038;p=90526"},"modified":"2022-08-01T15:00:17","modified_gmt":"2022-08-01T19:00:17","slug":"license-to-stream","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/record\/articles\/2022\/license-to-stream\/","title":{"rendered":"License to Stream"},"content":{"rendered":"\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin record-block-editorial-leadin is-style-text-over-image has-media has-box has-media-focus-center-bottom has-text-position-x-right has-text-position-y-top has-secondary-theme\">\n\t\t<div class=\"container-lockup\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-leadin-media\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1500\" height=\"1297\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/RECORD_inside_cropped.png\" class=\"\" alt=\"Front of a kayak moving through a stream with music notes, headphones, etc. floating in the stream\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/RECORD_inside_cropped.png 1500w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/RECORD_inside_cropped-636x550.png 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/RECORD_inside_cropped-1024x885.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/RECORD_inside_cropped-768x664.png 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/RECORD_inside_cropped-955x826.png 955w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/RECORD_inside_cropped-789x682.png 789w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/RECORD_inside_cropped-1194x1032.png 1194w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/RECORD_inside_cropped-398x344.png 398w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/RECORD_inside_cropped-612x529.png 612w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/RECORD_inside_cropped-796x688.png 796w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/RECORD_inside_cropped-1224x1058.png 1224w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/RECORD_inside_cropped-1157x1000.png 1157w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin-caption wp-prepress-component-caption\">Illustration by Aldo Crusher<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-outer\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-inner has-opacity-70\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wp-prepress-tag\">Entertainment Law<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"head\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLicense to Stream\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"deck\">New technologies have made making and enjoying music easier than ever, but they&#8217;re running into the same old complications of copyright law that have always rocked the industry.<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar record-prepress-layout-metabar\">\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-date\">May 26, 2022<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-credits\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul data-credit-type=\"By\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/record\/authors\/rebecca-beyer\/\">Rebecca Beyer<\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-share js-bu-prepress-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-action\"><\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-introparagraph record-block-editorial-introparagraph is-style-dropcap-dimensional has-dropcap has-dropcap-color-secondary\"><div class=\"wp-block-editorial-introparagraph-content\"><p>When a client trying to launch a new music streaming service wrote to Boston University School of Law student <strong>Ross Chapman<\/strong> (\u201922) with a series of questions about how she could acquire the rights to the songs she wanted to offer on her platform\u2014and how much she would have to pay to do so\u2014Chapman responded in two ways.&nbsp;<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>First, he and a fellow student offered short answers, designed to provide the requested information simply and succinctly. Then, they offered long answers, in an effort to explain how they arrived at the short ones.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image alignfarright\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Chapman-Ross-streaming-1-636x557-1.jpeg\" alt=\"Headshot of Ross Chapman with glasses, dark teal paint stroke at bottom of picture\" class=\"wp-image-90518\" width=\"268\" height=\"235\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Chapman-Ross-streaming-1-636x557-1.jpeg 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Chapman-Ross-streaming-1-636x557-1-393x344.jpeg 393w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Chapman-Ross-streaming-1-636x557-1-604x529.jpeg 604w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 268px) 100vw, 268px\" \/><figcaption>Ross Chapman (&#8217;22)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Most of the questions had long answers, and it\u2019s no wonder.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Music copyright law is complicated; the 2018 <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.copyright.gov\/music-modernization\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Music Modernization Act<\/a> <\/strong>(MMA)\u2014which included a provision that took effect starting in 2021 that changes the way music streaming services acquire certain licenses\u2014almost doubled the number of words in the 1976 Copyright Act it amended.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf you\u2019re not a lawyer, you would expect that there would be very simple answers for basic questions such as \u2018How much do we need to pay to use this music?\u2019\u201d Chapman says. \u201cBut what that required was a very close reading of the federal regulations that have come about as a result of the Music Modernization Act.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chapman\u2019s client wasn\u2019t real\u2014her questions came as part of an assignment for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/record\/articles\/2022\/a-mock-music-service-teaches-real-legal-skills\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">new transactional simulation course<\/a> designed by <strong>Samuel L. Taylor<\/strong> (\u201912) called IP Counsel for New Music Streaming Service. But there\u2019s nothing fictional about the complexities behind the music streaming business.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image alignfarright\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Vector_Graphic_Headphones.png\" alt=\"Circular graph showing 83% in yellow with an illustration of headphones in the middle\" class=\"wp-image-90524\" width=\"225\" height=\"220\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Vector_Graphic_Headphones.png 500w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Vector_Graphic_Headphones-350x344.png 350w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><figcaption>In 2020, streaming services accounted for 83% of revenue in the music industry<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2020, streaming services in the United States brought in $10.1 billion in revenue\u201483 percent of the music industry\u2019s total. But they also must pay to license the rights to every song they offer on their platforms. They pay to reproduce and distribute musical compositions, to publicly perform musical compositions, to reproduce or distribute sound recordings of musical compositions, and to publicly perform sound recordings. They pay licensing fees to songwriters and publishers, record labels, and performing rights organizations, among others. And that\u2019s just scratching the surface. The copyright regime for music streaming is so complicated and so uncertain that Spotify identified several licensing scenarios as risks when it released its financial results for the second quarter of 2021.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI love to start off my course by saying, \u2018Music licensing is a shit show,\u2019\u201d laughs Taylor, who serves as assistant director of the BU\/MIT Startup Law Clinic. \u201cThat\u2019s the baseline, and then we go from there.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image alignfarleft\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Taylor-Sam-streaming-1-500x500-1.jpeg\" alt=\"Headshot of Sam Taylor with light blue paint stroke at the bottom of the image\" class=\"wp-image-90523\" width=\"268\" height=\"268\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Taylor-Sam-streaming-1-500x500-1.jpeg 500w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Taylor-Sam-streaming-1-500x500-1-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Taylor-Sam-streaming-1-500x500-1-344x344.jpeg 344w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Taylor-Sam-streaming-1-500x500-1-300x300.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Taylor-Sam-streaming-1-500x500-1-100x100.jpeg 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 268px) 100vw, 268px\" \/><figcaption>Samuel L. Taylor (&#8217;12)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Taylor\u2019s class couldn\u2019t be timelier. In 2020, the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crb.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Copyright Royalty Board<\/a><\/strong> increased the rates streaming services would be required to pay to songwriters and publishers for the use of their musical works. The services\u2014Spotify, Amazon, Google, and Pandora\u2014then challenged those new rates in court and won on the grounds that they hadn\u2019t been given proper notice of the increase. And early in 2021, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/music\/musicians-protest-outside-spotify-offices-worldwide-for-justice-at-spotify-campaign-2901582\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">musicians organized protests at more than 30 Spotify offices around the world<\/a>, demanding increased transparency in the company\u2019s business model and more money per stream.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Battles over royalties are nothing new in the music industry, and neither is the centuries-old balancing act behind them. Article one, section eight of the US Constitution gives Congress the power \u201cto promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cCopyright law is not just for copyright owners,\u201d says BU Law Professor <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/profile\/jessica-silbey\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jessica Silbey<\/a><\/strong>, whose work explores intellectual property in the digital age. \u201cCopyright law is a public good, meant to promote progress. That\u2019s what copyright law is supposed to do. When we debate, under the MMA, who gets which money, we\u2019re losing sight of what copyright law is for.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignfull size-large is-style-default\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"231\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Background_Vector_Graphics-1024x231-1.png\" alt=\"Blue and teal paint strokes and dots to represent waves\" class=\"wp-image-90516\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Background_Vector_Graphics-1024x231-1.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Background_Vector_Graphics-1024x231-1-636x143.png 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Background_Vector_Graphics-1024x231-1-768x173.png 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Background_Vector_Graphics-1024x231-1-992x224.png 992w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Background_Vector_Graphics-1024x231-1-500x113.png 500w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Background_Vector_Graphics-1024x231-1-1000x226.png 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2><strong>The Napster Effect<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The MMA passed the US House of Representatives and Senate unanimously in 2018, a testament to the widely acknowledged reality that copyright law had failed to keep up with changes in the way people listen to and share music.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An early\u2014and unwelcome to the traditional music industry\u2014harbinger of that change was Napster, a peer-to-peer file sharing service that allowed people to play and exchange music for free online. Beloved by college students DJing parties from their dorm-room desktops, Napster was shut down by a federal judge in 2000 for copyright infringement. But the cat was out of the bag. People had grown accustomed to the idea that they shouldn\u2019t have to buy a CD to have access to their favorite music.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-bu-pullquote record-block-bu-pullquote alignwide is-style-modern has-image-focus-center-middle has-secondary-theme\"><div class=\"wp-block-bu-pullquote-inner\"><blockquote><div class=\"container-lockup\"><div class=\"container-icon-outer\"><div class=\"container-icon-inner\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"container-text\"><hr\/><div class=\"quote-sizing\">Copyright law is a public good, meant to promote progress. That\u2019s what copyright law is supposed to do. When we debate, under the MMA, who gets which money, we\u2019re losing sight of what copyright law is for.<\/div><footer class=\"caption\">Professor Jessica Silbey<\/footer><hr\/><\/div><\/div><\/blockquote><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Silbey says \u201cbreakthrough innovations\u201d like Napster should be celebrated.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image alignfarright\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Silbey-Jessica-streaming-500x500-1.jpeg\" alt=\"Headshot of Jessica Silbey with light blue paint stroke beneath the image.\" class=\"wp-image-90522\" width=\"268\" height=\"268\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Silbey-Jessica-streaming-500x500-1.jpeg 500w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Silbey-Jessica-streaming-500x500-1-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Silbey-Jessica-streaming-500x500-1-344x344.jpeg 344w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Silbey-Jessica-streaming-500x500-1-300x300.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Silbey-Jessica-streaming-500x500-1-100x100.jpeg 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 268px) 100vw, 268px\" \/><figcaption>Jessica Silbey, Professor and Yanakakis Faculty Research Scholar<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s something about pushing the envelope and challenging the rules that creates this new marketplace of opportunity that made music much more accessible to us today,\u201d she says. \u201cWhatever we think about piracy or hackers, we should be less judge-y about it. There\u2019s an ecosystem for challenging existing rules and celebrating loopholes.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In other words, early innovators\u2014even when they\u2019re bending or breaking the law\u2014drive the progress component of copyright law.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Services like Spotify emerged to legally fill the void left by Napster but found it cumbersome to negotiate the panoply of licenses required to offer music to their paying and nonpaying subscribers. That\u2019s where the MMA comes in. One of the law\u2019s central features was to streamline that process, making it easier for providers to acquire rights and for rights holders to get paid.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Before the MMA, \u201cthere were a lot of gaps in the law,\u201d says <strong>Jay Fialkov<\/strong> (\u201981), deputy general counsel for public media powerhouse GBH in Boston and a professor at Berklee College of Music, where he teaches classes about legal aspects of the music business. Those gaps led to litigation between streaming services and copyright holders, with the latter arguing that the services were building businesses worth many billions of dollars based on their musical works without acquiring the rights to do so. It was a case of the \u201cwine bottle becoming more valuable than the wine,\u201d Fialkov says. \u201cOne of the goals of the MMA was to clean that mess up.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The MMA created a separate entity\u2014the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.themlc.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mechanical Licensing Collective<\/a><\/strong>\u2014which collects a blanket licensing fee from streaming services and then pays royalties out to songwriters and publishers, balancing the competing interests spelled out in the Constitution.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThat compromise\u2014to keep the legacy industries happy but also facilitate new industries\u2014is classic copyright legislation,\u201d Silbey says. \u201cThe impulse is absolutely praiseworthy. But it\u2019s super messy.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<aside class=\"wp-block-editorial-modal record-block-editorial-modal js-bu-block-modal has-secondary-theme\"><div class=\"wp-block-editorial-modal-callout\"><div class=\"wp-block-editorial-modal-media\"><figure class=\"wp-block-editorial-modal-image\"><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-editorial-modal-callout-content\"><div class=\"modal-valign\"><h1><strong>MEDIA MAKERS<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h1><p class=\"editorial-modal-callout-text\">Success in media, entertainment, and related industries is nothing new to those who have walked BU Law\u2019s halls. We highlight here just a few alumni who have made their careers in these fields.<\/p><p><a href=\"#\" class=\"js-bu-block-modal-trigger-overlay button\">Read more<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-editorial-modal-content js-bu-block-modal-overlay\"><div class=\"overlay overlay-scale\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"wp-block-editorial-modal-overlay-close js-bu-block-modal-overlay-close\">Close<\/a><article>\n<p><strong>Sumner M. Redstone<\/strong> (Hon.\u201994)\u2014former faculty member and chair emeritus of both CBS and Viacom, the global mass media company whose networks include MTV, BET, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, and Paramount Pictures\u2014developed and taught the first entertainment law course at BU Law in 1982. Redstone\u2019s class, Law of the Entertainment Industry, covered the legal and business dynamics of the field, including antitrust law, federal regulation, and production, distribution, and exhibition agreements.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But even in the 1980s, success in media, entertainment, and related industries was nothing new to those who have walked BU Law\u2019s halls. We highlight here just a few alumni who have made their careers in these fields. We look forward to showcasing the stories of these alums and many others as the school celebrates its 150th anniversary throughout the 2022\u201323 academic year.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"171\" height=\"171\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Vector_Graphic_Microphone.png\" alt=\"Illustration of a microphone\" class=\"wp-image-90525\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Vector_Graphic_Microphone.png 171w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Vector_Graphic_Microphone-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Vector_Graphic_Microphone-100x100.png 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 171px) 100vw, 171px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>OWEN YOUNG<\/strong> <em>(1896, Hon. 1946)<\/em><br>Founder and chair of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), which created the first nationwide radio network: the National Broadcasting Company (NBC).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>WILLIAM LAURENCE<\/strong> <em>(1925, Hon. 1946)<\/em><br>A <em>New York Times<\/em> reporter who won two Pulitzer Prizes, one for his coverage of the development and use of the atomic bomb during World War II.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>RIKKI KLIEMAN<\/strong> <em>(1975)<\/em><br>Legal analyst for CBS News who served as an anchor and legal analyst for the OJ Simpson trial and later for daytime trial coverage on Court TV (now TruTV).&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>SHARI REDSTONE<\/strong> <em>(JD 1978, LLM in Taxation 1981)<\/em><br>Chair of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS) who orchestrated the 2019 merger between the two media giants and oversaw the recent launch of the Paramount+ streaming service.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>DAVID E. KELLEY<\/strong> <em>(1983)<\/em><br>Television writer, producer, and showrunner. Responsible for many well-known legal dramas, like <em>LA Law<\/em>, <em>The Practice<\/em>, and <em>Ally McBeal<\/em>, as well as HBO series <em>Big Little Lies<\/em> and <em>The Undoing<\/em>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>MICHAEL FRICKLAS<\/strong> <em>(1984)<\/em><br>Chief legal officer of Advance Publications, which owns media and entertainment companies, including Cond\u00e9 Nast, and is a major shareholder in the Discovery Channel and Reddit.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>DAVID ZASLAV<\/strong> <em>(1985)<\/em><br>CEO of Discovery Inc., whose acquisitions of channels like the Food Network and HGTV made Discovery one of the largest providers of nonfiction programming. He is the architect of a $43 billion merger between Discovery and WarnerMedia, currently in the regulatory approval process.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>JONATHAN SERBIN <\/strong><em>(1994)<\/em><br>Copresident of Warner Music Asia who has overseen the company\u2019s growth in the region through commercial deals, genre-focused imprints, and recruiting new artists in mainland China.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>KIMBERLY ATKINS STOHR<\/strong><em> (COM 1998, LAW 1998)<\/em><br>Senior opinion writer for the <em>Boston Globe<\/em>, MSNBC contributor, and columnist and newsletter editor for the <em>Emancipator<\/em>, an antiracist publication by <em>Globe<\/em> Opinion and the BU Center for Antiracist Research.<\/p>\n<\/article><\/div><\/div><\/aside>\n\n\n\n<h2><strong>Money, Money, Money<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Even as the MMA created a new process to facilitate a new technology, the law could not settle a very old complaint in the music industry, which is that people aren\u2019t being paid enough for their work, whatever that work is.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSongwriters have historically been the winners in copyright,\u201d Silbey says, pointing to the compulsory licenses required for anyone who wants to record someone else\u2019s song. \u201cThey\u2019re complaining now because performing artists and sound recording artists are going to get more of the pie.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The songwriters are fighting it out with streaming platforms before the Copyright Royalty Board. Meanwhile, the protestors outside Spotify\u2019s offices in 2021 were demonstrating against the company\u2019s so-called pro-rata business model, which pays performers based on their percent of total streams across the platform, a system in which the most popular singers and groups make most of the money. Spotify currently pays out between $.003 and $.005 per stream, meaning it would take more than 250 streams to even clear a dollar. That money is then divided among publishers, distributors, and artists. Protestors argue that a user-centric model, like the one French company Deezer uses to pay artists based on their share of each subscriber\u2019s streams, would be fairer.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe issue that\u2019s potentially becoming the most prominent is that even if you accept [the MMA] as a thoughtful solution that rightfully balances the interests of copyright holders and the public, there are still people who say, \u2018It\u2019s not paying enough,\u2019\u201d Fialkov says.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, streaming is just one, relatively new source of revenue for artists. <strong>Cordaro Rodriguez<\/strong> (\u201912), a classmate of Taylor\u2019s who is a member of the musical quartet <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sonsofserendip.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sons of Serendip<\/a>, says that in 2020, his group had 1.3 million streams on Spotify. More than 350,000 people in 91 different countries listened to their music.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image alignfarleft\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Rodriguez-Cordaro-streaming-516x636-1.jpeg\" alt=\"Headshot of Cordaro Rodriguez with teal paint stroke beneath the photo\" class=\"wp-image-90521\" width=\"268\" height=\"330\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Rodriguez-Cordaro-streaming-516x636-1.jpeg 516w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Rodriguez-Cordaro-streaming-516x636-1-279x344.jpeg 279w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Rodriguez-Cordaro-streaming-516x636-1-429x529.jpeg 429w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 268px) 100vw, 268px\" \/><figcaption>Cordaro Rodriguez (&#8217;12)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>But Rodriguez says his group, which was a finalist on <strong><em>America&#8217;s Got Talent<\/em><\/strong> in the show\u2019s ninth season, doesn\u2019t look at streaming as its \u201cprimary vehicle of income.\u201d Instead, most of the group\u2019s revenues come from touring. (Sons of Serendip has opened for John Legend and Jay Leno, among other bookings.) The next biggest chunk is CD sales, and streaming royalties\u2014from Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, and other platforms\u2014make up the remainder.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rather than striving to write singles that will generate streams on Spotify, Sons of Serendip is focused on making music that \u201cexpresses our artistic creativity,\u201d Rodriguez says. To make up for times when touring is harder to arrange\u2014because of the pandemic, for instance, but also as members start families and need to stay closer to home\u2014the musicians are pursuing television and film deals as well (audiovisual works that incorporate musical compositions or sound recordings are governed by an entirely different set of licenses).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cStreaming isn\u2019t necessarily our main goal,\u201d Rodriguez says. \u201cThat money just trickles in without us having to do anything.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Streaming royalties weren\u2019t even on the table when Fialkov was negotiating contracts for his music clients\u2014including Phish and \u201cMarky Mark\u201d Wahlberg\u2014when he had a private law practice in the 1980s and 1990s.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image alignfarright\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Fialkov-Jay-streaming-636x571-1.jpeg\" alt=\"Headshot of Jay Fialkov with dark teal paint stroke beneath the photo\" class=\"wp-image-90519\" width=\"268\" height=\"241\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Fialkov-Jay-streaming-636x571-1.jpeg 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Fialkov-Jay-streaming-636x571-1-383x344.jpeg 383w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Fialkov-Jay-streaming-636x571-1-589x529.jpeg 589w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 268px) 100vw, 268px\" \/><figcaption>Jay Fialkov (&#8217;81)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThat money didn\u2019t even exist when I represented recording artists and record labels,\u201d Fialkov laughs. \u201cEven if the amounts being paid to rights holders aren\u2019t what they really should be, they\u2019re starting to add up.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Taylor agrees.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cRight now, if they buy the right equipment, anyone can record music in their bedroom, and it can sound professional,\u201d he says. \u201cTwenty years ago, to have a proper recording would have cost thousands of dollars in studio time and you probably would have needed to be signed to a label for distribution. That\u2019s all irrelevant now. You don\u2019t have to spend a lot per month to get on Spotify and blow up that way.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignfull size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"126\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Background_Vector_Graphics2-1024x126-1.png\" alt=\"Blue and teal paint strokes and dots to represent waves\" class=\"wp-image-90517\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Background_Vector_Graphics2-1024x126-1.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Background_Vector_Graphics2-1024x126-1-636x78.png 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Background_Vector_Graphics2-1024x126-1-768x95.png 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Background_Vector_Graphics2-1024x126-1-992x122.png 992w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Background_Vector_Graphics2-1024x126-1-500x62.png 500w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Background_Vector_Graphics2-1024x126-1-1000x123.png 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2><strong>The Short Answer<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Chapman did well in Taylor\u2019s class and on the assignment where he had to explain how much the fictional streaming service owner might have to pay in licensing fees to various rights holders.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But, perhaps more importantly, he also says he has a better sense of the logic behind the concepts he learned about from Taylor and others, including Silbey, with whom he studied copyright law and for whom he later served as a teaching assistant.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Copyright law, says Chapman, a trombone player who majored in music as an undergraduate student at Columbia, doesn\u2019t always make sense \u201cfrom a musician\u2019s perspective.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-end-of-article\">\u201cIt makes more sense as a compromise,\u201d he says. \u201cThere\u2019s only so much money to go around to all of the constituents. If we want a society with so much music available to us, compromises have to be made.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:23% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/news-stories\/issues\/spring-2022\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"791\" height=\"1024\" src=\"\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Record-S22-Cover.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration of kayakers approaching a waterfall made of a music staff, which spills into rapids with clefs and music notes forming the rushing water\" class=\"wp-image-90449\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Record-S22-Cover.jpg 791w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Record-S22-Cover-491x636.jpg 491w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Record-S22-Cover-768x994.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Record-S22-Cover-638x826.jpg 638w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Record-S22-Cover-527x682.jpg 527w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Record-S22-Cover-266x344.jpg 266w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Record-S22-Cover-409x529.jpg 409w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Record-S22-Cover-531x688.jpg 531w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Record-S22-Cover-772x1000.jpg 772w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/files\/2022\/06\/Record-S22-Cover-335x435.jpg 335w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 791px) 100vw, 791px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p><br>FEATURED IN:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2><em>The Record<\/em>, Spring 2022<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/news-stories\/issues\/spring-2022\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">See all stories<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New technologies have made making and enjoying music easier than ever, but they&#8217;re running into the same old complications of copyright law that have always rocked the industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16262,"featured_media":90520,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"bu_prepress_billboard":"{\"post_id\":89263,\"hed\":\"Behind the Grammys\",\"dek\":\"Next Article\",\"class\":\"wp-block-editorial-billboard record-block-editorial-billboard has-media\",\"backgroundId\":\"90499\",\"backgroundUrl\":\"\\\/law\\\/files\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/GettyImages-563585623_edit-1536x729-1-970x456.jpeg\",\"backgroundType\":\"image\",\"backgroundOpacity\":\"100\"}","_bu_prepress_primary_term":"Entertainment Law","_bu_prepress_primary_term_manual":""},"tags":[2100],"bu-publication":[3742],"record-article-category":[3918,3744,3751,3765,3776,3774,3786,3775],"record-topic":[],"bu_edition":[],"media_type":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/90526"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bu-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16262"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90526"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/90526\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":93625,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/90526\/revisions\/93625"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90526"},{"taxonomy":"bu-publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-publication?post=90526"},{"taxonomy":"record-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/record-article-category?post=90526"},{"taxonomy":"record-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/record-topic?post=90526"},{"taxonomy":"bu_edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu_edition?post=90526"},{"taxonomy":"media_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media_type?post=90526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}