World IP Day 2015: A Change In The Tide For Music?

On 26 April, World Intellectual Property Day… celebrate[d] music with the aim of promoting discussion of the role of IP in encouraging innovation and creativity.

As a part of this, there [were] …discussions across the globe exploring some of the challenges and subsequent changes shaping the music industry today.

A key change in the music industry

One of the key changes in recent years has been the way that we can access music. Streaming has becoming one of the most popular ways to access music with 60 million users signed up to industry leader Spotify.

However, many artists didn’t feel that letting the general public listen to their music for free was fair on the artist. With this in mind, last month, American rapper and producer, Jay Z, launched a rival platform called ‘Tidal’ – with the view that through this service (with no ‘free’ option), artists would be paid for their work. At $20-per-month, Tidal promises exclusive content and videos that other streaming services will not have access to. Artists, such as Rihanna, Usher, Madonna and Beyonce have all aligned themselves to Tidal, with Jay-Z saying the platform was going to ‘forever change the course of music history’, ‘allowing art to flourish’.

To read more about the impact of Tidal on the intellectual property debate within the music industry please visit: http://www.shoosmiths.co.uk/client-resources/legal-updates/world-intellectual-property-day-change-for-music-9654.aspx