Senate To Look At Copyright Law In The Digital Age

The HollywoodReporter.com writes correctly that "…one of the biggest holdups on the road to digital delivery is the ungainly process that distributes royalties to songwriters and music publishers. The section of the copyright law that governs the payments was written in 1909, at a time when the player piano was still around, and is ill-suited for a universe where digital music moves at the speed of light. Lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s copyright panel began to grapple with the problem on Tuesday, but it is still unclear how it will all shake out. In essence, lawmakers need to rewrite Section 115 of the nation’s copyright code, which sets the royalty rate and license terms for payments to songwriters and music publishers. The process is slow, so Internet music companies cannot get songs on their services quickly."