Law Commons^™

Then I Saw The Contract, Now I'M A Believer: Why "Concept Groups" Are "Works For Hire" And Cannot Invoke Statutory Termination Rights After 2013, Daniel Porter

Northern Illinois University Law Review

The year 2013 will mark the first opportunity for musicians to exercise the copyright assignment termination rights granted by § 203 of the Copyright Act of 1976. In theory, exercising these termination rights will allow artists to reclaim the rights to their songs and albums which they had to assign to the various record companies as a means of recording, publishing, and selling their music. Artists that invest their creativity, musical talent, and time into making a successful record deserve to ultimately reap the benefits that flow from that success. On the other hand, artists that merely record songs written …