Under current copyright law, an author of an original work who transferred and or assigned their copyrights (17 U.S.C. § 106) via recording agreements, are entitled to recapture those master recording copyrights in accord with the provisions of 17 U.S.C. § 304; of the Copyright Act.
This specific right only goes into effect after 56 years from the assignment date, however one important element in exercising this right is the notice of termination required to be sent at least two years prior to the termination date.
For instance, any sound recording released in 1965, the deadline for the notice of termination is 2019; as that would be year 54 and two years until the effective termination date.
Most are aware of the old idiom "if you snooze you lose". In fact, it would be next to impossible to best accurately describe the ramifications for the lack of due diligence when it comes to reserving this important right. In the unfortunate event a notice of termination is not sent within the prescribed statutory period, music creators and the heirs to their estate will forfeit those rights forever.
Furthermore on behalf of music creators who need to have a notice of termination sent before 2020; YOUNG N RECKLESS MUSIC™, in collaboration with DJ Resolution & RESPECT MUSIC™, have come together to publish this special playlist "Your Song Is My Song. "
Our main objective is to raise much needed awareness through our Respect Music campaign, so that we may induce Congress with the necessary legislation that drastically reduces the term in which an author can exercise their reversion right. We believe at the rate music is consumed in the digital age, 35 and or 56 years does not accurately reflect the time it takes to determine the fair market value of an author's intellectual property with respect to the return on investment.
With this playlist and those to follow in the Respect Music series, we look forward to achieving the level of awareness that impact both artists and fans, especially the heir's of the music creators who've helped to create the soundtracks to our lives.