Fair Play Fair Pay: The Need for A Terrestrial Public Performance Right and General Copyright Reform

Copyright is a unique species of the law, tethered in a very tangible way to what is largely an intangible: intellectual property. It should be no surprise then that any collection of laws governing property that can be literally created in a moment out of nothing but the mind of the creator, will ultimately have an eternal struggle keeping pace with that very thing it purports to govern. Historically, copyright law has been relegated to being the horse that is second to cross the finish line at the Kentucky Derby. The horse is indeed world class; however, it is simply not fast enough to keep up with the leader of the pack — creative minds. Copyright law inherently runs behind the creations of the mind that come under its purview. Historically, changes in technology have regularly led to a need for amendments to copyright law. That is nothing new. But in recent years, the blur that is the development of new technology has outpaced the law at a such a speed that even the ordinary observer can see that it is time for significant changes to the law. This article argues that the time has arrived for three significant changes to federal copyright law through adoption of the Fair Play Fair Pay Act, the AMP Act, and the Songwriter’s Equity Act. In support of this conclusion, section I of this article provides context by addressing the historical and global evolution of musical exhibition and copyright law in the United States. Section II explains the Fair Play Fair Pay Act and makes the case for its adoption. Section III and section IV do the same for the AMP Act and Songwriter’s Equity Act, respectively