Dr. Rat Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 (edited) from the ArtsJournal Artful Manager blog: NPR had a thoughtful overview last night on the challenge of hearing or distributing even fairly recent American recorded music. According to a study by the Library of Congress discussed in the story, "over 70 percent of American music recorded before 1965 is not legally available in the United States." Through issues of copyright clearance and lack of a commercial market, these recorded works are unlikely to enter the commercial market again, and unable to enter a noncommercial market either. Half of the challenge is fairly obvious, and common to the nonprofit world, as well: there's a ton of content, and only a narrow pipe to shove it through. Because recordings take time, energy, and money to re-release, companies are picky about what they spend their time on. The same could be said of other audio heritage distribution channels like symphonies, chamber groups, jazz ensembles, or rock bands. There are only so many groups, who perform only so many times each year. Simple math will show why the bulk of composed works will never be heard again. The other half of the challenge is copyright...the fact that a recorded work contains a bundle of owners that have a say and an interest in whether or not a recording is reproduced. Someone owns the music, someone owns the performance that was recorded, someone owns the master recording. For works recorded before 1972, that bundle of rights can be an endless maze with no way through (if you're particularly interested in navigating that maze, see the Library of Congress report from last month). Arts organizations are often in the business of stewarding and making accessible great creative works of recent and distant history. It's sad to think that such a vast collection of our country's cultural past may be forever out of our reach. --eric Edited January 10, 2006 by Dr. Rat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenLowe Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 need to correct your headline - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Rat Posted January 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 need to correct your headline - Sorry, I guess you're seeing something I'm not seeing. Can you let me in on it? --eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free For All Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 OOP Music, 70% of music made since 1965 unavailable You meant before 1965, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Rat Posted January 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 OOP Music, 70% of music made since 1965 unavailable You meant before 1965, right? Ah, thanks! Amazing what you can fail to see! --eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WD45 Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 What percentage of that was naff pop? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzmoose Posted January 11, 2006 Report Share Posted January 11, 2006 Very little; that's the stuff that's still available... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morganized Posted January 11, 2006 Report Share Posted January 11, 2006 (edited) Makes a strong case for the European copyright model.... Edited January 11, 2006 by Morganized Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Bresnahan Posted January 11, 2006 Report Share Posted January 11, 2006 Blame Mickey Mouse for the United States' current laws. It's his multi-billion dollar image that keeps getting the number extended. Since "Steamboat Willie" is once again coming up on public domain, you can bet Disney's lawyers are working Congress to get it extended again. Maybe what they should do is simply give Disney a special law to extend their copyrights to "infinity and beyond". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzmoose Posted January 11, 2006 Report Share Posted January 11, 2006 Blame Mickey Mouse for the United States' current laws. It's his multi-billion dollar image that keeps getting the number extended. Since "Steamboat Willie" is once again coming up on public domain, you can bet Disney's lawyers are working Congress to get it extended again. Maybe what they should do is simply give Disney a special law to extend their copyrights to "infinity and beyond". I don't mean to duck the issue, but that's just goofy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgraham333 Posted January 11, 2006 Report Share Posted January 11, 2006 You have to admit the life of Walt Disney and the founding of his enterprise really is a Cinderella story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neal Pomea Posted January 12, 2006 Report Share Posted January 12, 2006 They really did a snow job to the public with those copyright laws. A white one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 12, 2006 Report Share Posted January 12, 2006 is anyone going to buy the report- if so can you post it here? many would find it most informative Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neal Pomea Posted January 12, 2006 Report Share Posted January 12, 2006 (edited) The full text of the December report is free online. I downloaded it. No need to post it here (too long). In any case, it's about what libraries and archives can legally do, NOT rogues like me and my site on preserving Cajun music. Edited January 12, 2006 by It Should be You Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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