Research On The Statutory License For Sound Recordings

The purpose of the statutory license for sound recordings was to prevent the monopoly of record companies,but in the process of its development,the statutory license for sound recordings played a more important role in the music market: Promote the wide dissemination of musical works,balance the interests of stakeholders,and improve the efficiency of the use of musical works.Therefore,the statutory license of sound recordings plays a very important role in the copyright law.For China,the statutory license for sound recordings as a legal regulation to promote music communication.If the statutory license for sound recordings can be improved,it will help to improve the prosperity of the music market,increase the income of copyright owners and improve the opportunities for the public to access music.In practice,although the statutory license for sound recordings has experienced twists and turns in the past 100 years after its birth,the relevant provisions remain in international conventions and copyright laws of some countries.This also explains the reason why existence of the statutory license for sound recordings from another aspect.As the origin of the statutory license for sound recordings,the United States also experienced a similar dilemma in the early days,but after several twists and turns,it decided to retain the system.By the end of the 20 th century,the issue of the spread of digital music works has become increasingly prominent,and the United States has been working to solve new problems which arising in the network environment.In 2018,the US Congress passed “ Musical Works Modernization Act”,which aims to fully adapt the music copyright licensing system to the needs of the digital age.The bill has been received praise by academics at domestic and abroad.The practice of rebuilding collective management organizations and establishing a database of musical works in the bill is worth learning.As a representative of the civil law countries,Germany has always been at the forefront of copyright legislation.As early as 1888,it was confirmed that the act of mechanical reproduction of musical works without the permission of the right holder was not infringement.The compulsory collective management system effectively solves the problem of non-members’ remuneration problem,and has important significance for solving the problem of China.Japan’s Copyright Law started late,but it has been modified frequently.So far,a relatively complete legal licensing system has been established.The statutory license of sound recordings fully protects the interests of copyright owners and respects the will ofcopyright owners.The method of retaining rights and collecting rewards is worth learning.China introduced the statutory license for sound recordings at the beginning of the copyright law.However,in the past 20 years of history,although it has undergone several revisions,it has rarely been applied in practice so far.The reasons are reflected in several aspects: Firstly,the relevant provisions on the statutory license of sound recordings are not perfect,and the court has many disputes when applicable;Secondly,the relevant regulations for the statutory license of sound recordings have not been perfected,especially the relevant payment mechanism is not perfect,resulting in the failure to implement the statutory license fee.In addition,with the development of digital music,the spread of music works has created a new way.Therefore,the existence and legality of the statutory license of sound recordings should be considered whether it is suitable for the music communication under the network environment.In view of this,in the revision of this Copyright Law,it should be improved from two aspects: Firstly,we should improve the relevant provisions on the statutory license for sound recordings.Secondly,we should improve the payment system.Allowing non-members to collect compensation from collective management organizations.In short,although the statutory license for sound recordings has many problems in China,it is a system that is conducive to the dissemination of musical works and is conducive to the public’s access to musical works.Therefore,the statutory license for sound recordings should not be abandoned in China,but should be perfected.