Are the Best Tunes Played on the Oldest Fiddles? Distribution and Digitization of Recorded Classical Music

Abstract

This research looks at the distributional effects of copyright when creative works are protected under multiple rights. It exploits a quasi-natural experiment and recent law changes introduced under EU Directive 77/2011 on the term of protection of copyright and related rights as well as variation in author death years. We examine the causal implications of copyright and related rights protection around music recordings vis-à-vis public domain status for the availability of classical music as physical and digital releases. Results suggest that public domain status of related rights favours the availability and re-releases of classical music in physical and digital formats. The emergence of music streaming services in EU member states and catalogue-wide licensing moderate effects over time. We however find little evidence that public domain status of author rights affects the distribution of classical music in digital or physical channels. We contemplate the implications of our results for intellectual property policy.

Keywords: Copyright, Related Rights, Music

JEL Classification: K11, O34, O38