Private Law Theory

ABSTRACT
This Article uses the experience of rapper Nipsey Hussle as a lens to examine how copyright law tends to favor corporate interests at the expense of individuals, particularly individuals in often-racialized musical genres such as rap and hip hop. The Essay connects that favoritism to Glynn Lunney’s research in Copyright’s Excess: Money and Music in the US Recording Industry. In his book, Lunney sets out to identify failures in copyright law’s promotion of musical output. This Article explores how copyright reinforces power dynamics that dictate who makes music and what music they make, and suggests that copyright’s failures, particularly in the area of social justice, may have as much to do with its impact on musical input.

Rosenblatt, Elizabeth, Social Justice and Copyright’s Excess (May 7, 2019).