Brooks (2005)
Contents
Source Details
Brooks (2005) | |
Title: | Survey of Reissues of U.S. Recordings |
Author(s): | Brooks, T. |
Year: | 2005 |
Citation: | Brooks, T. (2005). Survey of reissues of US recordings. Council on Library and Information Resources. |
Link(s): | Definitive , Open Access |
Key Related Studies: | |
Discipline: | |
Linked by: | Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Law (2006), Gowers (2006), MacGarvie, McKeon and Watson (2018) |
About the Data | |
Data Description: | The study is based on a random sample of 1,500 recordings commercially released in the United States between 1890 and 1964. |
Data Type: | Primary data |
Secondary Data Sources: | |
Data Collection Methods: | |
Data Analysis Methods: | |
Industry(ies): | |
Country(ies): | |
Cross Country Study?: | No |
Comparative Study?: | No |
Literature review?: | No |
Government or policy study?: | Yes |
Time Period(s) of Collection: |
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Funder(s): |
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Abstract
"The purpose of this study was to determine the legal accessibility of sound recordings published in the United States. The survey was designed to quantify the degree to which rights holders of historical sound recordings have made available, either directly or through licensees, past recordings that they control. It is premised on certain key assumptions:
- the availability of past creative works is essential to learning and the growth of knowledge;
- access to historical recordings has benefits both for the public—researchers, students, collectors, and enthusiasts—and for creators and copyright holders;
- distribution of created works plays a crucial role in the preservation of those works, for one of the most reliable guarantees of preservation is the widespread dissemination of copies to interested individuals and archives."
Main Results of the Study
Evidence uncovered in this analysis suggests that a significant portion of historic recordings is not easily accessible to scholars, students, and the general public for noncommercial purposes.There are many reasons for this, but the primary one appears to be a convergence of two factors…The first is that the physical barriers created by recording technologies change often and have rendered most such recordings accessible only through obsolescent technologies usually found only in special institutions…Second, copyright law allows only rights holders to make these recordings accessible in current technologies, yet the rights holders appear to have few real-world commercial incentives to reissue many of their most significant recordings. The law has severely reduced the possibility of such recordings entering into the public domain, at least until 2067.This study indicates that there is an active and hardy network of foreign and small domestic companies, associations, and individuals willing to make historic recordings available; indeed, some do this in spite of laws that force them underground or overseas.These circumstances create a complex policy environment. The time for sorting out these matters grows short as the recording formats become more difficult to maintain.
Policy Implications as Stated By Author
Term extension for sound recordings
Coverage of Study
Datasets
Sample size: | 1500 |
Level of aggregation: | Sound recordings |
Period of material under study: | 1890 and 1964 |