Masters and Slaves: Black Artists and the Ownership of Sound Recording Copyright

This chapter addresses the copyright in sound recordings, also known as the ‘master rights’. Its first section explores the different devices that have been recognized as containing the ‘master’ recording and which have therefore been protected by copyright law: disc and cylinder masters, tape masters, digital masters. The following section looks at the legislation that addresses these master recordings: sound recording copyright has repeatedly been oriented so record companies are granted ownership. The chapter then documents a response to this situation: despite the criteria of sound recording laws it has become increasingly common for artists to claim these rights. This section looks at the rise of artist ownership and the economic benefits that can be gained from having control. The final section addresses the symbolic value of ownership. It focuses on performers of colour, looking at how they have utilized this copyright to highlight inequities. Black artists have reversed the language of master rights to portray themselves as having been the recording industry’s slaves. In conclusion, the chapter argues that, although recording artists have made progress in gaining control of these rights, the legislative and contractual dominance of record companies has not been overturned.