How long should music copyright be?

This one’s easy. I’ve been saying this for a while now, and it never fails to get me into an animated discussion. I’ve listened to all the arguments, read all the reports, heard convincing arguments about copyright extension and for complete overhaul of the copyright system.

And I’ve come to the following conclusion: The ideal term of both recording rights and composer’s rights is five years.

That’s right: Five. Not 95. Not 75. Not 50 or 25. Five. That number again: 5.

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