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16 Va. Sports & Ent. L.J. 244 (2016-2017)
A Tale of Electronic Bass Music & the Elusive Composition Copyright: A Discussion of the Gap in Copyright Protection for Bass Music Producers

handle is hein.journals/virspelj16 and id is 248 raw text is: VOL. 16:2 VIRGINIA SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT LAW JOURNAL SPRING 2017 Note A Tale of Electronic Bass Music & The Elusive Composition Copyright: A Discussion of the Gap in Copyright Protection for Bass Music Producers Jennifer T. Marr* INTRODUCTION If the law is the arbiter of what is and is not music, then electronic bass music, dominated by percussive rhythms and diverse sonic elements, is not music at all; and in the case of infringement, the compositions underlying bass music would surely not qualify as musical works deserving copyright protection under court interpretations of the Copyright Act of 1976. For songwriting in more traditional musical genres, such as country, a standard suit alleging composition infringement could proceed easily with a focus on comparing the sheet music between the two works in question. However, a suit alleging composition infringement of a bass music work would likely face numerous procedural and theoretical hurdles leading to an unfavorable ruling for the bass music producer involved. Under current law, there is generally inadequate protection for avant- garde musical compositions,' and that holds equally true for this type of avant- garde electronic music. Thus, far this lack of copyrightability of bass music compositions has at best helped foster the sharing culture that allowed the genre to develop and proliferate, and at worst has been highly complementary to it. Nonetheless, not only is this disparate and seemingly automatic loss of a core set of copyrights for bass music producers alarming on mere principle, it is also illustrating two troubling problems. First, on a policy level, copyright law completely fails to understand the true character of music in our modem age where technology has become a core component of musical writing and production. Second, as electronic music elements are increasingly incorporated and normalized into mainstream music, it will be difficult, if not impossible, for a bass music producer to assert protection over, and thus gain economic utility from, elements of their work that are identically recreated by third parties. This *My gratitude goes out to all the friends and faculty who inspired, guided, and supported me throughout this process: Professors Brian Price, Chris T. Bavitz, and Susannah Barton Tobin for counseling me on every step from topic finalization tojournal submissions; producers Noer the Boy, Ampzer, Nick Valerio, and Keaton Smith for allowing me to pick their brains; and my wonderful partner DJ Riefler for encouraging me the whole way. Most of all, thank you to all the producers out there creating the boundary-pushing bass music that made this article possible. 1 See Michael Zaken, Fragmented Literal Similarity in the Ninth Circuit: Dealing With Fragmented Takings of Jazz and Experimental Music, 37 Colum. J.L. & Arts 283, 284-85 (2014). 244