Is equitable remuneration equitable? Performers' rights in the UK

British musicians receive “equitable remuneration” when their recordings are played in public or are broadcast. Performers’ rights are weaker than those of songwriters, however. This is largely because songwriters are the first owners of their copyrights, whereas performers rarely own the copyright in their sound recordings. This article concerns the remuneration of musicians’ labor. It looks at the legislative evolution of performers’ rights in the UK and addresses the influence that songwriters, record companies, and the Musicians’ Union have had on this area of copyright law. It argues that performers will only achieve legislative parity with songwriters if the ownership and conceptualization of sound recording copyright are reconfigured. This copyright should be awarded to performers for their creative labor, rather than to record companies for their financial and administrative endeavors.

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Popular Music and Society on 19/07/2017, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/03007766.2017.1348660

Special Edition: Popular Music and Labor