Copyright 2021 by Ann Herman Volume 18, Number 2 (2021)
Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property
239
YOU BELONG WITH ME:
RECORDING ARTISTS’ FIGHT FOR
OWNERSHIP OF THEIR MASTERS
Ann Herman
*
ABSTRACT—Copyright law, governed by the Copyright Act, is based
on utilitarian theory, which balances artists’ interests in ownership of their
creations with the public’s interest in accessing and enjoying such creations.
Copyright law provides for rights for creators of sound recordings, which
include master rights—the recording artist’s copyright in the recording.
Taylor Swift has brought the concept of master rights into the forefront of
pop culture. In June 2019, Swift’s masters—the original sound recordings of
her songs—were sold, and she publicly aired her dissatisfaction with the sale,
as well as with overall premise that artists do not have a complete right of
ownership over their masters. In this Note, I analyze the rhetoric of Taylor
Swift and other musicians and determine that many artists, based on their
rhetoric in expressing their views of ownership rights under the current
copyright regime, seem to favor a property rights model of copyright law, in
which the creator of a work is entitled to ownership of it. Based on these
observations, I suggest some solutions which propose changes to copyright
law and state law, inspired by previous solutions posed by other scholars,
that would place artists’ rights to ownership and control of their work at the
forefront of the laws’ purpose. This, in turn, will spur creativity and create a
copyright regime that is fairer to artists and listens to what they want.
I. CALL IT WHAT YOU WANT: THEORIES OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY .................. 240
II. THE STORY OF US: COPYRIGHT LAW AS RELATED TO MUSIC ............................... 241
III. SPEAK NOW: TAYLOR SWIFT AND MUSICIAN RHETORIC....................................... 242
IV. HOAX: CURRYING THE WRONG INCENTIVES ......................................................... 244
A. Mine: The Importance of Control 245
B. Peace: The Importance of Fairness 245
V. TOLERATE IT: WHY WE SHOULD CARE ABOUT WHAT ARTISTS WANT ................ 246
VI. COME BACK . . . BE HERE: THE IMPLICATION OF PROPERTY RIGHTS .................... 247
VII. I’M ONLY ME WHEN I’M WITH YOU: THE IMPLICATION OF MORAL RIGHTS ........ 250
VIII. BEGIN AGAIN: SOLUTIONS.................................................................................... 251
A. Our Song: Addressing Property Rights 251
B. Wildest Dreams: Addressing Moral Rights 260
IX. LONG STORY SHORT: CONCLUSION ...................................................................... 263