Synopsis;
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Research Methodology
- Review of Literature
- The Copyrights: Record Labels and Artists
- Digital Streaming and the death of Fair use
- The Role of Independent Artists in a Copyright-Dominated industry
- AI-Generated Content in Music & OTT
- Suggestions
- Conclusion
ABSTRACT
This paper understands that the existence of a divide between the innovative ideas and the content made by technology ; the best example of which is the pair of Independent artists and AI based artists. The music industry is a multi-billion dollar market that has stemmed from the pursuit of a hobby to being legally recognised by The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB).
This paper delves into the intricate strains between creativity and copyright law within the emerging music industry and technological platforms like OTT. As platforms transfer into the main outlets for content distribution, creators often find themselves caught up in a web of laws protecting their innovation yet stifling growth. This study critically examines how copyright law is intended to guard creators interest however is in fact dominated by the production companies and platforms, to manipulate the breadth of creativity, eliminate unauthorised creativity and stifle independent expression.
Key issues such as doctrinal usage in a fair way, licensing struggles and the rise of AI- generated content bringing up the issue of ownership and originality in the digital media has been the paper’s main concern. This research aims at identifying whether the copyright regulations are nurturing innovation or stifling it. This research also advocates the need for proper regulations for protecting the rights of independent artists (musicians), digital streamers and to ensure that copyrights are not being exploited by music publishing labels and a balanced system of distribution in digital platforms like OTTs.
Keywords: Copyright law, Indian music industry, Digital streaming, AI-generated content, Independent Artists, Content regulation
- INTRODUCTION:
In the modern day entertainment culture, Movies and Music plays an important role in the lives of people in revitalizing their energy and also being a stressbuster for them. The Indian Music and OTT industry, flourishing like never before, now stands at a significant legal crossroad. The Copyright Law, a protective shield for music producers, artists and creators. Let’s discuss the complex dance between copyright and creativity in India’s music and OTT industry, analysing whether the law is truly serving the artist or silencing them. This paper deals with how Indian Music and OTT platforms are both protecting and stifling innovation these days.
- RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This study is based on qualitative and analytical research methodology to examine the struggles faced by artists in the music industry and in digital platforms like OTT’s and how they deal with copyright strikes. A doctrinal and analytic research methodology is used in this paper. The study’s foundation is an analysis of law, creative freedom, and the changing digital streaming and AI-generated content landscape in India. This study critically examines the conflict between copyright enforcement and creative innovation using secondary data from industry reports, sources, official websites, online platforms and articles.
A comparative approach is also followed by shortly examining international practices concerning copyrights, fair use and artificial intelligence in the Music and OTT sectors. Specific focus is laid on comprehending the effect of copyright law on independent artists, digital platforms, and the rising challenges posed by technological disruptions like AI.
This approach intends to present an evenhanded analysis by evaluating the role of protection of copyright law and its susceptibility to limiting art innovation, hence culminating into well-informed recommendations for reforming the legal and structural environment. The hybrid approach of this research guarantees that the paper not only comments on black-letter law but also critically discusses how law works in the fast changing environment of music, digital material and artificial intelligence
- REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Digital rights activists, musicians and legal scholars have all talked extensively about the relationship between copyright law and creativity. The effect of stringent copyright laws on the right to free artistic expression has been the subject of numerous studies, especially in the digital era.
William Fishers observes in his book Promises to keep : Technology law and future of entertainment (2004) , that although copyright was created to defend creators, it is now being used by larger corporations to dominate and restrict content and independent innovation.
Lawrence Lessig, in free culture (2004), contends that copyright regimes have fostered a permission culture instead of an innovative culture . His proposals regarding remix culture and fair use resonate especially for independent artists and content producers on digital platforms.
Anubhav Tiwari, in his article “Indian Music Copyrights and Rise of AI Generated content” (2022) examines the new legal grey area surrounding authorship and ownership of AI music. He poses questions regarding whether existing legal paradigms can cope with non-human creation.
Furthermore, industry reports by Royalty Exchange and sites such as SoundCharts offer statistics on how independent artists are transforming the music industry by releasing their material without a recording label deal, but still facing copyright enforcement and monetisation issues.
These academic studies and industry reports together illustrate the pressing need for a more balanced copyright regime- one that promotes innovation, safeguards independent creators, and keeps pace with the rapidly changing technological environment.
- THE COPYRIGHT: RECORD LABELS AND ARTISTS
Copyright is a framework that grants legal ownership of a musical composition or sound recording. This ownership includes the right to redistribute and to reproduce the work and it also gives control of the composer or artist over the musical composition to how their works can be used as well as the licensing right that enable the copyright holder to earn royalties. There are two sets of music copyright one for the musical composition and another for the sound recording. Here the question of law arises is whether the music is owned by the Composer or the Recording Label. The copyrights are fixed as soon as the sound recording is fixed. The composer and the songwriter share the ownership of the composition and the recording label typically owns the copyright to the sound recording. In some cases the song writer and the composer are the same person, however, even in this case the music industry treats the both parties as two separate entities. The music composer who created the original melody or the musical arrangement of a song is recognized as the first owner of the copyright for the melody or the musical arrangement and the second owner of the copyright in a song is the producer of the sound recording. Section 14 (a) of the Copyrights Act of 1957 provides certain exclusive rights for the copyright holders such as the right to reproduce, right to issue copies, right to perform in public etc., no one else can use the copyrighted music in these ways without permission or a proper license otherwise it is considered as infringement. The copyright holder of the musical composition can own it for his entire lifetime and it also lasts for 60 years after the death of the artist (composer or lyricist). This 60 year period starts from the beginning of the calendar year following the year of death of the composer. It balances the rights of creators with the contemporary evolution of the modern entertainment industry. Copyrights to music basically plays as a shield for the composers to ensure it doesn’t stifle creativity especially in the season of digital platforms and AI dominated culture. Though copyrights are to protect the rights of artists which is an advantage, certain disadvantages are evident in regulating copyrights. In the majority of conventional label-artist deals, record companies tend to reserve most of the copyrights in return for production, marketing etc., where new artists like indie artists struggle to negotiate power to secure favourable conditions, leading to long-term loss of control and income over their own work. They often face global licensing complexities as their music being sold in various countries, artists tend to lose how their work is licensed in an international environment. Labels can sublicense the material to other parties overseas, creating more complexity and cutting artists profits down to the direct source.
- DIGITAL STREAMING AND THE DEATH OF FAIR USE
Digital streaming is the real-time delivery of music, film, video or other media over the internet without requiring the user to download the file. The technology of transmitting audio and video files in a continuous manner over a wired or wireless internet connection. On-demand content is available through the digital platforms for its users. Streaming has become the most popular way for people to listen to songs in the music industry making it a key player to make revenue for the artist. While streaming platforms offer a legitimate source of the copyrighted content, it has been misused and often streamed illegally as it can be accessed easily from the original source. Streaming of original content without permission would lead to infringement of copyright which is being a challenge for fair use of digital streaming. The fair use of the content can be limited even if the digital streaming platforms are operated under strict licensing models and automated copyrights systems. Remixing and sampling , two critical methods of contemporary digital creativity, are usually sanctioned by streaming algorithms. Fair use ought to favour these new modes of expressions, particularly when used for artistic and cultural critique. Now let’s discuss how far the content is misused. Platforms like YouTube use content ID (automated detection system) to flag copyrighted material. This can affect small creators who use short clips for reviews and remixes. OTT platforms like Prime video and Netflix often give over protection and firmly control their content through contracts and DRM (Digital Rights Management). Even the reorientational uses of their subject matter are blocked often, regardless of whether it would qualify as fair use under copyright law. This also restricts the small creators that they fear copyright strikes and legal consequences from experimenting creative things. Fair use customarily allows limited use of copyrighted material for purposes like education etc., however, platforms such as Netflix and Spotify enforce strict content protection policies and automated copyright detection systems that often override these exceptions. The Automated Copyright Enforcement Systems become the biggest threats to the fair use of the content as it detects the few seconds of copyrighted music or footage and straight away takes down the videos regardless of whether the content is used for commentary or review which is legal to use. While takedowns are rapid and instant, the appeal or dispute resolution process is slow and sluggish, also un-transparent and usually favours big right holders. This issue demotivates the small creators in their activities. As digital streaming and OTT platforms continue to dominate the entertainment industry, the deterioration of fair use has become a growing concern. While copyright is necessary for protecting the content of the creators, it must not be wielded so assertively that it stifles innovation and free expression. Larger production units and recording labels use excess influence by invoking general copyright violations, even if a case comes under fair use. This instills a chilling effect under which authors do not utilize even authorised material because of the fear of consequences and copyright strikes. Original work of the creators should be protected and the content should also be available for education purposes. The take down of contents of the education based content creators by the copyright holders should be avoided to protect their interests too. The Automated copyright enforcement systems should be regulated to protect the content of small creators and this will uplift the creativity of indie artists in producing their music and content creators to make innovative contents as well.
- THE ROLE OF INDEPENDENT ARTISTS IN A COPYRIGHT-DOMINATED INDUSTRY
The artist who creates, produces and distributes their own music without being signed to a major record label is called an Independent Artist. The arrangement of chords, setting up of melody and giving music to the lyrics is basically done by the indie artist on his own. They play several roles in music production such as writing a song, producing and marketing it and they are even their own managers. These kinds of artists basically rely on personal resources, a small crew of bands and crowdfunding to produce their work. Indie artists are often recognised by platforms like YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, Instagram etc., where they reach global audiences. Indie artists are enabled with a wide range of platforms to produce music such as affordable DAW’s (Digital Audio Workstations), sample libraries, and virtual instruments where high quality of music is being produced. Independent artists play a crucial role in the copyright-dominated music industry. In the era of music controlled by major recording labels, indie artists represent creative freedom and innovation in music production. The passionate independent artists are required more than the mainstream artists who are bound by commercial contracts. Indie artists challenge the traditional power structures of music by writing and producing their own music other than relying on the major recording label for recognition as well; they often experiment with new genres of music. Indie artists often engage in building communities of listeners through live streams, personalised merch and by releasing albums instead of solely focusing on profits. They frequently engage with visual artists, film makers and dancers to produce multimedia projects. These collaborative efforts across genres drive creativity and stimulate innovation in ways that large labels usually don’t venture. In a copyrighted dominated industry where the streaming algorithms are ruling, indie artists face challenges like income inequality and also unfair takedowns which say that copyright should protect creators and not to silence them. The independent artists are now more and more utilising blockchains and NFT’s to protect ownership and monitor usage of their work, having more control over their intellectual property without the middlemen. More and more independent artists are changing the music world and creating new opportunities for investors. Indie musicians can now easily reach their fans through streaming platforms and social media, which gives them more power over their music and the money they make from it. This change enables investors to enter the music world differently.
- AI-GENERATED CONTENT IN MUSIC & OTT
Music is an artistic form of expression of various emotions that uses sounds and rhythms that conveys it. In recent days, technological development has also impacted the music industry and AI started to play a role in the music field. As stated by Edgar Winter Music is very spiritual as it brings people together, however, digital assistance can’t bring emotion to music as humans. The rise of technology and AI in the music and OTT industry has challenged the lines of creativity, originality and innovation. As like other works done by AI, it can also compose music, generate lyrics and even it can give a final output of the song but the amount of emotion it holds very less in amount. In countries like the U.S. and India, the Copyright Act does not recognize AI as a legal author, this means that when a piece of music created without the authorship of a human, the work may fall into a legal grey area. However, in practice, artists use AI as a tool but also contribute their creativity in their work. Here, AI generated content in the field of music and OTT imposes a challenge to existing copyright norms. AI has the power to generate music and streamline creativity, however it also complicates the base of authorship and ownership. Legislation which provides guidelines on these issues need to be established and new provisions dealing with the production of content by AI should also be implemented as to regulate them.
- SUGGESTIONS
The research done on this topic suggests the empowerment of indie artists, fair use of copyright provisions and the regulation of AI created content. This probably makes a boost in the music industry and helps to keep the involvement of human artists who bring innovation in the industry. The rise of AI based music and OTT contents have made the lives of several musicians in question. A regulation dealing with AI in the entertainment industry will make the industry a better place for people with real talent and unlimited creativity. Independent artists often face the problem of copyright and even a small portion of their song which is related to the copyrighted material leads to the blockage of their work. The content ID system should also be updated which flags the matching content of the copyright holder and notifies him. This leads to the removal of their video or content made by the digital streamers as well they face losses though. This paper suggests that there should not be a dominant distribution by larger companies and the monopolistic behaviour should be avoided by implementing a law that would make balance between protection and accessibility. Contrary to clear legal protections for educational use under copyright law , many academic creators are getting takedowns just because automated systems do not understand education contexts. Educating creators regarding their rights and obligations under copyright law can assist them in better navigating the system and preventing exploitation. Platforms need to be encouraged to create open and fair royalty systems and refrain from over-policing content that suppresses remix culture, sampling and new creative expression.
- CONCLUSION
Copyright laws must evolve to recognise the collaborative nature of human-AI creation while ensuring that genuine human artists are not exploited. There is a high possibility of risk arises in entering an era where art is generous when in case of no thoughtful regulation. In the era where music and OTT platforms are growing rampantly, the battle between protection and innovation is more intense than ever. Copyright laws are basically implemented to protect the creativity which are now at risk of becoming tools that suppress it. The artistic freedom can be preserved through effective legislation that deals with the issues of copyrights. Recognition should be given to the art of Independent artists as well as AI and the legislation should impose regulation for the art by AI ensuring that human creators are not devalued. It should also foster the ethical streaming practices where technology supports creativity instead of stifling it.