when is the public domain really the public domain
In 1998, Congress passed S. 505, which came to be known as the Sonny Bono Act. This landmark legislation extended US copyright protection by 20 years, thereby increasing copyright ownership from the life of the author plus 50 years to the life of the author plus 70 years. Consequently, the duration for protection of works…
Artificial Intelligence’s Napster Moment
In what is the most significant copyright payout in history to date, Anthropic, a leading artificial intelligence (AI) company, has agreed to a record-breaking $1.5 billion settlement in a class action suit brought by a group of authors. The case has not only sent reverberations throughout the tech industry but has ramifications for the entertainment…
DIGITAL OWNERSHIP
On August 21, 2025, Lisa Reingold filed a class-action lawsuit against Amazon in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. The class action lawsuit claims that Amazon misrepresented the consumers’ ownership rights during the purchase process on its Amazon Prime Video platform. Reingold argues that Amazon advertised that consumers could “buy”…
THE AI BOSS
As the influence of artificial intelligence (AI) extends through every part of music organizations, one area that has begun to see the influence of AI is in the realm of human resource management (HRM). Today, most organizations utilize some form of electronic HRM process, whether it is to review candidates for a position or to…
Name, image, and likeness in sport & music
The United States Senate Judiciary Committee began hearings this week into the “future of college sports.” What is at stake during these hearings is not only athlete compensation but the modernization of rules surrounding the compensation of athletes who currently work within the scope of “amateur” compensation. During the two-hour hearing, members of the Senate,…
record labels finally accept ai
On August 21, 2023, Alphabet (Google) announced that, in cooperation with Universal Music Group (UMG), it will explore the use of AI on the company’s YouTube platform. This collaboration aims to ascertain the application of AI for musicians and explore research that intersects with art. UMG is the first label to partner with YouTube and…
A New Report on the effects of artificial intelligence on the global economy
On March 26, 2023, the venerated investment bank Goldman Sachs delivered a report on the impact of Artificial intelligence (AI) on the global economy. This wide-reaching report investigated several industrial sectors in the United States and Europe and concluded that up to 300 million jobs could be affected by generative AI. “If generative AI delivers…
Freedom of Speech Tested Again
In a recent case dealing with Google, the Supreme Court will examine the boundaries of freedom of speech and the limits for online organizations to monitor and control their content. The case deals with Nohemi Gonzalez, a young woman killed in 2015 by an ISIS terrorist attack in Paris. The family of Nohemi claims that…
Endorsements Suits
Music Endorsements The music industry relies heavily on endorsements of related and non-related products. This income has become highly lucrative for established artists beyond their artistic endeavors. For companies, the celebrity endorsement is an essential part of a marketing plan and often is a means to differentiate between competing products. According to Dean Crutchfield, Americans…
Copyright Copywrong
Copyright is a central protection of the music industry. The right protects the financial interests of an artist as well as verifies the originality of their creative works. In the digital age, the number of outlets that disseminate copyright material has grown exponentially. Today musicians can publish their content via a myriad of platforms and…
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The Analytical Musician 