Music

Moses Avalon is one of the nation’s leading music-business consultants and artists’-rights advocates and is the author of a top-selling music business reference, Confessions of a Record Producer. More of his articles can be found at www.mosesavalon.com.

Many artists claim that, given the opportunity, they would take back their recordings from their money-grubbing labels. Well, hundreds of acts will get that chance soon. Recently, the subject of “reversion of masters” surfaced in the New York Times. But when push comes to shove, many artists might opt to keep their hit recordings right where they are.

This excerpt is based on a chapter from the latest book by industry expert Moses Avalon, 100 Answers to 50 Questions on the Music Business.

While many in the music space have known about the coming copyright Armageddon (known as “reversion” / “termination of master rights”) for several years, most artists still have no idea exactly what it means for them and what they can do about it. Though the idea of artists taking back their classic recordings might seem great, given that many feel mistreated by their labels, my bet is that the “devil you know is better than the devil you don’t” philosophy will prevail when the time comes. Here’s why, and a brief guide to help with this decision.

First, what is reversion?

The Copyright Act states that after 35 years, the license or transfer of a work to a publisher (or label) can “terminate” and revert back to the original author. Under that law, artists who recorded material after January 1, 1978 are eligible to reclaim their masters in the year 2013. If the copyrights were created/transferred in 1979, then they are eligible for reversion in 2014; if created in 1980, they are eligible in 2015; etc.

Sounds simple, but for those that recorded/released prior to 1978, things get a bit more complicated. Copyright law has changed several times from 1972 to the present, resulting in several important exceptions to the “termination of masters” provision. For example, because of the change in law that occurred in 1978, artists whose recordings were registered between 1972 and 1978 will need to wait 56 years before they can reclaim their masters; and artists whose masters were recorded before 1972 can never reclaim their masters, because — believe it or not — no sound-recording copyright existed before 1972.

To make matters even more confusing, the window to submit a “termination of master” claim varies in length for each of the zones listed above. Ugh!

With so many variances in the law, we really need a computer to keep track of what masters will become available (isn’t there an app for that?) — especially when one considers that the albums immediately affected are some of pop music’s most successful recordings.