In a conversation with Pacific Standard, UCLA Music Industry Professor Don Franzen broke down what the legislation means for the music industry, and what industry-rattling strategies Spotify might be cooking up. Although the new music copyright law will not change the issue of low pay rates for streaming, “some of the changes are pretty important and pretty huge” said Franzen.
“One of the things that hopefully this new legislation will address is getting more of the money to the rights holders that should have been getting paid all along. And that will be through a centralized licensing system and a centralized database, and an ability, therefore, to match recordings to rights holders better. And the new collective will be charged with holding unclaimed royalties for at least three years while they try to identify who to pay them to. It should end up getting money back to the people who should have been getting money all along.”
Read the full article at Pacific Standard.