Editing Internet Archive (section)

=== Music publishers' lawsuit ===
In August 2023, the [[music industry]] corporations [[Universal Music Group]] (UMG), [[Sony Music]] and [[Concord (entertainment company)|Concord]] sued the Internet Archive over its Great 78 Project, asserting the project was engaged in copyright infringement. The Great 78 Project stores digitized versions of pre-1972 songs and albums from 78&nbsp;rpm [[phonograph record]]s, for "the preservation, research and discovery of 78rpm records." The project had started in 2016, when pre-1972 recordings had not been protected by copyright; in 2018, the U.S. Congress passed the [[Music Modernization Act]] (MMA) which enabled [[Legal remedy|legal remedies]] for unauthorised use of pre-1972 recordings until 2067, thus effectively covering them with copyright.<ref name="MIP">{{cite news |title=Internet Archive could face major hurdles in latest case |work=[[Managing Intellectual Property]] |date=August 17, 2023 |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/2865693633|id={{ProQuest|2865693633}} }}</ref>

UMG and Sony had been the two largest companies in this sector for more than a decade, with respective market shares of 31.8% and 22.1% in 2023.<ref>{{citation |title=Digital and physical revenue market share of the largest record companies worldwide from 2012 to 2023 |work=[[Statista]] |date=May 29, 2024 |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/422926/record-companies-market-share-worldwide-physical-digital-revenues |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241012025203/https://www.statista.com/statistics/422926/record-companies-market-share-worldwide-physical-digital-revenues/ |archive-date=October 12, 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref> Concord was a rapidly expanding music business closely partnered with UMG since its transformation into Concord Music Group in 2004<ref name="BV">{{cite interview |last=Valentine |first=Bob |interviewer=Tim Ingham |title=Concord has $550m in fresh funding, a recent expansion in Australasia and now a new CEO. What's its next move? |publisher=[[Music Business Worldwide]] |date=July 27, 2023 |url=https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/concord-has-550m-in-fresh-funding-a-recent-expansion-in-australasia-and-now-a-new-ceo-whats-its-next-move |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241012030919/https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/concord-has-550m-in-fresh-funding-a-recent-expansion-in-australasia-and-now-a-new-ceo-whats-its-next-move/ |archive-date=October 12, 2024}}</ref> and backed since at least 2000 by [[J.P. Morgan & Co.|J.P. Morgan]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Concord Raises $600M for Continued Expansion, Assigned B1/B+ Corporate Ratings |work=[[Business Wire]] |date=August 18, 2020 |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200818005101/en/Concord-Raises-600M-for-Continued-Expansion-Assigned-B1B-Corporate-Ratings |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241012033246/https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200818005101/en/Concord-Raises-600M-for-Continued-Expansion-Assigned-B1B-Corporate-Ratings |archive-date=October 12, 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref> It was the first music company to perform an [[Asset-backed security|asset-backed]] [[securitization]], led by [[Apollo Global Management]], in December 2022. Its assets consisted of over 1 million copyrights to music older than 18 months.<ref>{{cite news |last=Stassen |first=Murray |title=Concord prices $1.8bn bond offering backed by over 1m music copyrights |work=[[Music Business Worldwide]] |date=December 8, 2022 |url=https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/concord-prices-1-8bn-bond-offering-backed-by-over-1m-music-copyrights |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230110185414/https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/concord-prices-1-8bn-bond-offering-backed-by-over-1m-music-copyrights/ |archive-date=January 10, 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Arroyo |first1=Carmen |last2=Williams |first2=Charles E. |title=Apollo to Lead Bond Sale Tied to Phil Collins, R.E.M. Royalties |work=[[Bloomberg News]] |date=November 29, 2022 |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-29/apollo-to-sell-bonds-backed-by-phil-collins-r-e-m-royalties |archive-url=https://archive.today/20221130091903/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-29/apollo-to-sell-bonds-backed-by-phil-collins-r-e-m-royalties |archive-date=November 30, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> According to its CEO Bob Valentine, Concord derived about 85% of its revenue "from catalog, rather than newly-developed, music". As Valentine stated in his first interview, "The phenomenon of artists' IP has never been more liquid; it is now a real and proven asset class. Investment bankers are focused on it, financiers are financing it, and then there's entities like us, that know how to buy rights, but also know how to manage them and have the relationships to do so."<ref name="BV" /> The share of catalog music in total album equivalent consumption in the United States rose from 62.8% to 72.6% between 2019 and 2023.<ref>{{citation |last=Richter |first=Felix |title=New Music Plays Second Fiddle to Catalog Titles |work=[[Statista]] |date=February 23, 2024 |url=https://www.statista.com/chart/27679/current-versus-catalog-music-in-total-album-consumption-in-the-us/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241014165114/https://www.statista.com/chart/27679/current-versus-catalog-music-in-total-album-consumption-in-the-us/ |archive-date=October 14, 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The publishers are seeking statutory damages for nearly 4,142 songs named in the suit, with a maximum possible fine of $621&nbsp;million.<ref name="Blistein">{{cite magazine |last=Blistein |first=Jon |title=Internet Archive: Inside the $621 Million Legal Battle for the 'Soul of the Internet' |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=September 29, 2024 |access-date=2024-10-01 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/internet-archive-major-label-music-lawsuit-1235105273/}}</ref> The Internet Archive has argued that the primitive sound quality of the original recordings falls within the doctrine of "fair use" to digitize for preservation, that the number of downloads is so small it has almost no impact on the publishers' revenue, and over 95% of the collection is not readily available anywhere else.<ref name="Blistein" /> The plaintiffs said in response, "if ever there were a theory of fair use invented for litigation, this is it."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://completemusicupdate.com/internet-archives-crackle-based-fair-use-defence-in-copyright-case-is-perverted-say-labels/|title=Internet Archive's crackle based 'fair use' defence in copyright case is perverted, say labels|publisher=Complete Music Update|access-date=15 April 2024|date=23 February 2024|first=Chris|last=Cooke}}</ref> According to a legal source at [[Mayer Brown]], the music publishers' case could be challenged as [[Constitutionality|unconstitutional]], since the granting of copyright to pre-1972 works in the MMA only benefitted record companies without having a systemic effect.<ref name="MIP" />