The US National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) has
recently sent takedown notices to fifty websites displaying copyrighted song lyrics. Among the fifty recipients is Rap Genius, a high-flying New York
start up that last year received a $15 million investment from Silicon Valley
venture firm Andreessen Horowtiz.
Rap Genius has quickly grown in popularity due to its interactive
display of lyrics. The site does not simply reproduce the copyrighted text,
but also enables users to annotate the text and interpret its meaning. When one
searches for a song, the website returns that song’s lyrics. Clicking on lines
in the lyrics opens a pop-up box with an interpretation of the wording. The
site relies on user-generated content through a Wikipedia-like format of
contribution, where contributors earn “IQ” points for contributing lyrics and
providing interesting interpretations. According to Ilan Zechory, Rap Genius
Co-Founder, this interaction between the song and the fans transforms “a static, flat lyric page
into an interactive, vibrant art experience created by a community of volunteer
scholars”.
The Chief Executive of the NMPA, David Israel, has made it
clear that their intention is not to harm fan-based websites. Instead they wish
simply to prevent others from commercializing their copyrighted content. This move comes after David Lowery, a University of Georgia researcher, produced a report on the "lyric business" in which he argues that lyrics are becoming more valuable in the Internet age. While Rap Genius does not currently charge a fee or host advertising, the
NMPA believes this use of lyrics has the potential to generate a large advertising
revenue. Accordingly, under the Digital
Millenium Copyright Act, NMPA has asked Rap Genius and the other recipients to obtain
licenses for the copyrighted content or remove it from their sites.
While the verbatim copying of lyrics is, as David Israel, pointed out "blatant" infringement, the crowd-sourced annotations make the case more interesting. In
particular, could the interpretation of the lyrics create an
infringing derivative work? And to what extent is the reproduction and/or interpretation protected
under the fair use doctrine?
A full list of the sites targeted and more information can be found here.
A full list of the sites targeted and more information can be found here.
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