The intersection of law and music in the digital age
It is no secret that the digital age has completely redefined how music is marketed and sold worldwide. Record companies have continually looked to new distribution models in the hope of increasing growth. This week, USC Law students got an inside look at cloud-based music programs, a new distribution model that may have a long-lasting impact on the recording industry.
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| Ron Gertz, founder of Music Reports, addresses students |
Gertz, an expert in copyright law and music licensing, has studied the intersection of law and Internet in the music industry for years. He noted that problems with royalty collection arise because there is a clash between simplistic technology and a complex music world.
“Multi-territorial licensing is a now a huge problem and cloud services will only exacerbate it. These changes affect how companies do their business. It’s a mess and it’s going to be for a while,” he said.
Cloud-based companies negatively impact the sale and licensing of music because streaming individual songs does not produce value on its own.
“The [cloud-based companies that] will succeed are those who have a great repertoire of content,” Dinsdale said. “Apple isn’t part of the cloud because they don’t want to cannibalize their revenue.”
“The [cloud-based companies that] will succeed are those who have a great repertoire of content,” Dinsdale said. “Apple isn’t part of the cloud because they don’t want to cannibalize their revenue.”
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| Scott Dinsdale, former EVP of Sony Music |
Dinsdale and Gertz believe the licensing model will succeed because it allows companies to increase revenue and build additional services onto the digital platforms they already own. Although cloud-based music companies are personalizing music in a completely new way, questions about how to profit and best focus energy in this new model remain.
Nevertheless, competition between traditional distribution companies and cloud-based distribution sites appears to be good news for law students.
As the number of antitrust lawsuits increase, the music industry changes, and distribution outlets evolve, “this is the best time to be a lawyer in the business,” Gertz said.
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