ABSTRACT
Commentators have repeatedly claimed that digital technologies render producers and recording engineers effectively obsolete. Supposedly, any DIY musician with a laptop and GarageBand can make home recordings that sound just as good as professionals in a high-end studio. The result is a dramatic reduction in the cost of music and the barriers to entry. As artists increasingly record and release new tracks entirely on their own, commentators hail the democratization of the music industry.
Copyright skeptics have invoked democratization claims to further their own agenda: They argue that because digital democratization has eviscerated music production costs, artists no longer need copyright protection to recoup their up-front investment. As such, sound recording copyrights may no longer be justified.
Our Article examines the reality underlying such democratization claims. Harnessing both quantitative and qualitative data, we shed empirical light on a debate hitherto fueled by theory and anecdotes. Our findings call into question the commercial viability of DIY music. We show that instances of genuine DIY music gaining widespread popularity remain rare – roughly 1% of music appearing in the top 200 weekly charts is self-produced by artists.
Our Article also provides a qualitative context to explain why DIY recordings have failed to gain traction on commercial charts. Drawing on extensive interviews with music industry insiders, we delve into the complexities of the music recording process and explore the hidden pitfalls that hold DIY artists back. Moreover, contrary to the claims of democratization evangelists, we show that the time and costs required to produce commercially competitive music have not have significantly changed in the digital age. Our findings strongly suggest that copyright skeptics have overstated their case: The rationale for the sound recording copyrights in the digital age remain fundamentally intact.
Pager, Sean A and Priest, Eric A, The Cost of Music: Has Digitization Made Copyright Obsolete? (February 16, 2026), NYU Journal of Intellectual Property & Entertainment Law, volume 15, no 1, pp 225-329 (2025).
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