ABSTRACT
The governance of music (meta)data, meaning the rules and institutions governing (meta)data access and transferability within the music sector, constitutes a significant yet under-explored facet of the music data lifecycle. This chapter delves into the legal framework applicable to music (meta)data, with a particular emphasis on European data law. The analysis reveals that three areas of attention. The first refers to rules on data access and portability which, while not directly applicable to music (meta)data, could represent important sources of inspiration for future statutory or voluntary interventions. The second area refers to the novel rules on unfair contractual terms in data contracts. These rules are not specific to the music sector, but will certainly apply to any contract, including in the music sector, when the object of the contract is a qualifying data access or use provision. The third area refers to data intermediation services (DIS), a category that, while being at the core of the EU data strategy, has not yet performed as expected (and may be soon revised). DIS rules may apply to orchestrators of music (meta)data services depending on their specific features. Given the non trivial requirements under which DIS are subjected to, it will be important to ascertain their applicability and arguably design the relevant services accordingly.
Margoni, Thomas, Music Metadata Governance: A Legal Perspective (December 18, 2025).
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