music copyright Archives - Marketplace

Nicki Minaj-Tracy Chapman copyright battle sets stage for future of music recording

by Sabri Ben-Achour

Sep 14, 2020

Is it fair use to copy someone's work in the beginning stages of musical experimentation?

Artists often create something with someone else’s work, and then run it by the original artist. That's what Nicki Minaj, pictured, did with Tracy Chapman's song "Baby Can I Hold You."

Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

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Why some of the most famous passages in rock history might not be protected by copyright

by Kai Ryssdal and Maria Hollenhorst

Jul 2, 2019

Sheet music submitted to the U.S. Copyright Office might matter more than what a song sounds like.

Jimmy Page performs onstage during the 24th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in 2009. Page's guitar solo in "Stairway to Heaven" is the subject of an ongoing copyright infringement lawsuit.

Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images

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