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Led Zeppelin Agrees To Digital Distribution

Posted by kdawson on from the stairway-to-profit dept.

cphilo points out a NYTimes article on Led Zeppelin's decision to sell its music online. The group is one of the last superstar acts to hold out against the digital tide. There was a months-long, trans-Atlantic bidding war for the rights to license the band's catalog. In the US, the only digital holdouts that outsell Led Zeppelin are the Beatles and Garth Brooks.

2 of 300 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Led Zep should be FREE by now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Copyright in sound recordings expires either 50 years after the recording is made, if the recording is published during that period, 50 years from the publication or if during the initial 50 years the recording is played in public or communicated to the public, 50 years from said communication or playing to the public if the author of the broadcast is an EEA citizen. Otherwise duration under the laws of the country of which the author is a national applies, unless such a duration would be longer than offered in UK law, or be contrary to treaty obligations of the UK in force on 29 October 1993.
    from wikipedia Led Zeppelin is still played regularly, so it's not becoming public domain anytime soon. I don't know why USA copyright laws are relevant(both led zeppelin and their record label are based in the UK), but they don't only last 17 years as you said, they last 70 years AFTER the artist's death.
  2. Re:Led Zep should be FREE by now by CodeBuster · · Score: 4, Informative

    The Copyright Act of 1976 extended the duration of all copyrights in force as of 1976 to the life of the original author plus fifty (50) years and the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act (aka The Mickey Mouse Protection Act) extended that term by an additional twenty (20) years. If the surviving members of the band continue to enjoy an average wealthy first world life expectency then the Led Zeppelin catalog should begin entering the public domain some time around the year 2093, by which time it is very likely that none of us will be around to enjoy them in that capacity (unless you buy into the whole singularity nonsense).