FEATURE ARTICLE
Music Industry: A Look
Under The Hood
music industry have been
tumultuous, with change
driven primarily by techBrenton Hund
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc
nology companies. Napster changed everything
in 1998 with its peer-topeer (P2P) music sharing
First I was a musician; then I was a
platform.
Napster was dismantled
lawyer; and now I’m a music lawyer and head up Turner’s Music shortly thereafter in 2001 in a lawGroup. My wife, Stacy, says life can suit filed by Metallica. Apple made a
sometimes feel like “long days and splash in 2001 with the introduction
short years” and I concur, both as of the iPod and iTunes. In the early
a dad of two children under four, 2000s the recording industry sued
Liam and Wyatt, and as a lawyer thousands of music fans for P2P
music sharing, an idea that many
building a career.
believe did damage and not much
good. In 2005 Pandora launched a
service that would become the first
successful music recommendation
technology, only to spark controversy over digital royalties later.
Spotify launched in 2008 with a
goal to kill music piracy, though
the industry would continue to be
critical of small streaming royalties
and cannibalization of download
and physical revenue. Digital download sales surpassed physical record
sales in 2012, and in 2016 streaming
sales have (to the surprise of many)
surpassed digital download sales.
Today the music industry contin-
Over the past two decades the music industry has changed quickly
and dramatically. When a relatively
stable industry is disrupted, lawyers
and business people scramble. And
where there is disruption there is
opportunity. Those who figure out
how to adapt can capitalize. For
example, every time Turner-owned
music is played in the background
of a television program there is a
royalty paid to Turner when it is
properly reported. Using new audio
recognition technology to automatically identify and report music performed on those programs
not only increases revenues, but
also satisfies contractual reporting
obligations with less manual effort
and keeps the company ahead of
the quickly changing curve.
As a spotlight on music and music
law, below are a few reflections on
the industry, my background, and
my personal involvement in music
over the last 20 years.
Tumult in the Music Industry
The past couple of decades in the
14
November 2016
Brenton Hund performing at the Atlanta Bar Foundation's Law Jam 2012:
Third Annual Battle of the Atlanta Lawyers' Bands on Saturday, June 9, 2012.
Brenton served as Stage Director and performed a solo acoustic set.