Music Promotion Regulatory Frameworks & Compliance 3

Question 1

What is 'payola' and why is it illegal under US federal law?

Accepted Answer

Undisclosed payment to radio programmers to play a song, violating FCC regulations on sponsored content

Answer

Payola is the practice of paying radio stations or DJs to play songs without disclosing the payment, violating FCC requirements that all sponsored airplay be identified on-air.

Question 2

A record label releases an album featuring samples of multiple songs. Who must grant permission for the sampled compositions?

Accepted Answer

The music publishers who control the underlying compositions

Answer

Sampling a composition requires a license from the music publisher or songwriter who owns the composition copyright, separate from any master recording clearance.

Question 3

Under GDPR, what must a music streaming platform based in the EU do before collecting user listening data for targeted marketing?

Accepted Answer

Obtain explicit, informed consent from users before collecting and processing their personal data

Answer

GDPR requires a lawful basis for processing personal data, and explicit consent is typically required for marketing purposes, meaning users must actively opt in.

Question 4

What is the '35-year termination right' under US copyright law and who benefits from it?

Accepted Answer

Songwriters and artists can reclaim copyright ownership from labels/publishers 35 years after the grant was signed

Answer

Section 203 of the Copyright Act allows creators to terminate copyright grants to labels and publishers 35 years after execution, reclaiming ownership regardless of contract terms.

Question 5

An independent artist wants to distribute music to Spotify without a label. Which entity typically handles the statutory mechanical license obligations to publishers?

Accepted Answer

The digital music distributor (e.g., DistroKid, TuneCore) or the platform itself via a blanket MLC license

Answer

Major streaming platforms obtain blanket mechanical licenses through the MLC, covering independent artists' music distributed via aggregators without the artist needing to file separately.

Music Promotion Practice Test

Music Promotion Practice Test

Music Promotion Regulatory Frameworks & Compliance 3