The role of market-driven and legislative solutions to online music licensing in Europe

An analysis of today’s online environment shows that unauthorised access to digital music (i.e., “online piracy”) remains very significant and online platforms give access to copyright works either for free, on social media, or in exchange for a monthly fee, on streaming services. This situation inevitably challenges the pursuit of the main function of copyright and the effectiveness of licensing activities of music composers, performers and record producers and their ability to earn remuneration from online exploitation. To assess the role of markets and regulation, this chapter briefly examines current music distribution models and technological environments, emphasizing the dominant (and distinct) functions and business models of on-demand music services and social media (also referred to as “user-generated” or “content-sharing” platforms). This piece clarifies how, in the online platforms’ domain, music right holders and their collecting societies concretely license their rights, reaching collective or individual agreements with digital exploiters on the grounds of existing laws and contractual practices. The chapter focuses on the effect of content “platformization” on music right-holders’ earnings. The analysis focuses on regulatory initiatives that sought to simplify, innovate and make the licensing of music copyright more efficient and transparent for all right-holders and licensees in Europe and in the US. The ultimate aim of the chapter is to identify unsettled issues and to explain how they might be addressed and solved.