Bitter Notes of Copyright Infringement

Music transcends culture and language barriers, but an artists’ love for music could land them in hot water. Music copyright is a major issue in the industry, according to Legaljungleguide.com, “Think of a copyright as a bundle of exclusive rights. The exclusivity means that only you as the copyright owner may exercise those rights in your music, or authorize others to exercise them.” Dana Holland has been singing for years and with a family full of stars that include Tisha Campbell-Martin, Holland says, “I am fortunate to have them in my life for guidance in the industry.”

Holland says she likes to write and produce her own songs and is currently working with several people to hone her craft. “It’s all about being original and not flowing in the footsteps of other pop stars,” says Holland. She goes on to say, “Originality is the key to success and allows an artist to grow and have a say in their career.” Check out some pictures of Dana performing recently at and open mic night in Newark, New Jersey.

With the ever-changing world of the World Wide Web, the issues of copyright infringement peaked in the early 2000’s. The New York Times looked at this issue in 2003 with the rise of Napster, which the article claims was the first popular file-sharing network. The article goes on to say, “millions of people have traded copyrighted music on the Internet without paying for it.”

In 2006 Universal Music Group filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Myspace, according to a New York Times article. The article claimed Myspace, a popular social media website, was allowing users to upload and download songs and music videos. The article quotes several people who didn’t believe they were doing anything wrong by downloading their favorite song or artist and burning the music to a CD.

Vanilla Ice was literally “under pressure” with his first hit in the early 90’s Ice Ice Baby. Check out an MTV interview with the then rising rap star about speculation he had stolen the beat from Queen’s hit song Under Pressure.

According to Legaljungleguide.com it’s easy to copyright music. The site claims, “You have a valid copyright as soon as your original song or sound recording is fixed in a tangible medium of expression.” The site goes on to say your music is copy written once your song or sound is written down or recorded. To be on the safe side, it recommends you should register your original work with U.S. Copyright Office to protect yourself from copyright infringement. The site claims, “You don’t need to register your copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office in order to have a valid copyright.”

As for Dana, she says the future looks bright for her and the band and says, “We plan on keeping it original and copyright friendly.”

Check out some famous copyright lawsuits in the music industry.