Charlotte Duly of the MARQUES Education Team reviews Copyright in the Music Industry – A Practical Guide to Exploiting and Enforcing Rights (2^nd edition) by Hayleigh Bosher, published by Edward Elgar Publishing (Price £79.95 paperback, £136 hardback and available here).

The second edition of this text has been updated to include recent copyright case law in the music industry (including Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shape of You’ dispute) and covers topical areas such as streaming and AI.

This is not your usual legal text. This book has a light and humorous style whilst conveying complex copyright issues with clarity and the necessary depth to ensure that the reader is given sufficient information. For a good example on the humour point, look no further than the definition of “Parties” within the “Key Terms” section.

The book explains succinctly the benefit of copyright and why it is important, particularly in the music sector. The foreword from Tom Gray of the band Gomez provides an interesting comparison of copyright to real estate and the importance of ensuring that that is adequately protected stating “And, like any property, it needs walls, doors and a functioning lock. Because if you build a house and leave it open, don’t be surprised when Goldilocks PLC moves in, eats your Weetabix and rents out your spare room on Airbnb”.

This seems particularly apt with the increase in challenges to the music industry from streaming and more recently from the increased use of AI. This book is therefore a very useful text and is also fun and a pleasure to read: a pretty impressive combination.

In terms of the hot topics of AI and how authorship and ownership are treated of AI created works, this text considers the fundamental point of copyright, the core requirements for protection, and whether AI generated works should be granted copyright. No doubt this will be an ongoing conversation over many years and it is interesting to see the different and divergent approaches across the globe.

The lack of specific AI law in this field leads to the need to adapt copyright principles and case law to fit the ever evolving (in some cases rapidly) landscape. This book addresses that problem and provides useful context for dealing with AI in the modern world and balancing rights with technological progress.

A chapter is devoted to deepfakes and personality rights which will be of interest across the board, including to those outside the music industry. Whilst protection against deepfakes remains a difficult topic, the text is thorough and covers general principles noting that they differ from country to country.

There is also an interesting reminder of where you may find particular personality rights, including Guernsey which allows the protection of voice, likeness, appearance and other unique characteristics. This book contains points of interest for anybody involved with copyright whether they are in the music industry or not.

Whilst the music streaming platforms are looking to respond to the challenges that copyright owners face, this will not stop AI being misused and proactive steps combined with a sensible IP protection strategy will provide tools for taking action and being alert to issues early on.

This remains a constantly evolving landscape and copyright, along with other forms of IP, are key for those in the music industry to be able to continue to protect their rights and produce content for us to enjoy. This book is a useful tool in that ongoing challenge.

This post is part of an occasional series of book reviews by members of the MARQUES Education Team published on the Class 46 and Class 99 blogs. The picture shows the cover of the book