In anticipation of digital and Internet-based music performance, Congress amended the Copyright law in 1998 with The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Among other things, the DMCA provided for a new royalty to record labels for “nonsubscription digital transmissions” on the Web. It is worth noting that radio stations have always been, and still are, exempt from paying the record labels for over-the-air broadcasts.
Under Construction
The basic purpose of copyright law is to promote creative expression. The law encourages such creativity by allowing the “authors” of literary, musical, and other forms of expression to control, for a period of years, the use of their works. The theory of copyright is that, by ensuring that authors will be fairly compensated if they share their creativity, the public will be served by the creation of the widest range of expressive material. >> Read more
There are a number of separate copyrights in music, but the history of ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and the broadcast industry involves only one, the “small” or “non-dramatic” public performance right. For further information on music copyrights, click on “copyright basics.”
The Creation of ASCAP
The right of copyright owners to control the public performance of their music was first established by Congress in the late nineteenth century. >> Read more