Exploring the Future of Music Copyright: Insights from NoCopyrightSounds and Don Diablo

The music industry is in flux, with digital content and copyright-free platforms leading the charge in transforming traditional norms. NoCopyrightSounds (NCS), a record label renowned for empowering artists and creators, is pioneering this shift, offering a fresh perspective on music copyright. With over 33M followers on YouTube and numerous viral successes, NCS exemplifies the potential of copyright-free music. 

This interview, with the label’s manager Daniel Lee, explores the implications of NCS’s success and its recent collaboration with Don Diablo, shedding light on the future of music copyright and its impact on artists, content creators, and the industry at large.

How do platforms like NCS shape the future of music copyright, especially with its booming success?

NCS’s success highlights the demand for easy-to-access, high quality and safe music in the content-driven digital age. It demonstrates that creators and listeners increasingly value music accessibility and simplicity without the complexities of traditional copyright restrictions. This success encourages innovation in how artists approach music marketing, emphasizing freedom of use while ensuring artists receive fair compensation. 

It’s a testament to the shifting landscape of music copyright, with a focus on empowering both creators and listeners through simplified business models.

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How do you see remix culture evolving with copyright-free platforms on the rise?

We’re witnessing a surge in bootlegs, remixes, and mashups, especially on platforms like TikTok. Giving users the ability to remix and upload edits of songs not only enriches the landscape with significant music variations, it also further improves the reach and distribution of the original songs itself. 

As platforms evolve and improve their content recognition, we will eventually have a system that will allow us to encourage this further and monetize it thoroughly without affecting the end user.

Given the exceptional success of “Royalty,” how do you think copyright-free platforms like NCS are redefining music distribution and consumption?

Music is critical in enhancing user-generated content, making it more engaging and shareable. “Royalty” perfectly matched the needs of UGC content creators, and this synergy between great music and the right content catalyzed its viral success. It’s a testament to the evolving music landscape becoming more accessible and integral to content creation, ultimately redefining music discovery and consumption. 

I think platforms like NCS lean into the fact that most music is discovered as a byproduct of content consumption in this day and age of social media. This is where the eyes and ears are, so we must ensure our music is, too.

With the digital era and the rise of platforms like TikTok, how does NCS see the evolution of music copyright, especially concerning user-generated content?

We’ve actively embraced this evolution of quick access to user-generated music libraries on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, etc. This space, however, still struggles with licensing issues when using traditional music. The majority of music isn’t fully available for all types of creators currently – business and professional creators often still require a license for using music, and even on platforms like TikTok, they are limited to a ‘commercial library.’ Some platforms limit the usage of music to 1 minute or less to combat licensing issues.

Due to our business model, we were able to partner directly with platforms like TikTok and YouTube to ensure our music is accessible through their Commercial Libraries as well as their regular music libraries, providing all types of creators access. This is something not many music companies offer, again due to licensing restrictions.

This will always be an issue for platforms and labels, as music copyrights are often complex and can contain various parties with different rights and territories. With NCS, we’re a one-stop-shop with a simple and easy-to-use licensing model.

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Can copyright-free music platforms like NCS coexist with traditional music labels, or will they redefine the industry norms entirely?

Copyright-free music platforms like NCS and traditional music labels can indeed coexist, and they often complement each other. They cater to different segments of the music industry, offering unique value propositions. 

Traditional labels focus on exclusive contracts and extensive artist development, while platforms like NCS emphasize open access, simplified models, and the space between content and music. This coexistence reflects the diversification of the music industry, where artists can choose the model that best suits their needs. 

NCS and similar platforms contribute to the broader conversation around content and music, potentially prompting the reevaluation of industry norms but not necessarily redefining them entirely.