Genealogies of copyright tariffs

Much of the peculiarity of the history of copyright collecting societies comes from their struggle to define what constituted a public performance. This involved (and still involves) interesting discussions about environments (domestic, quasi-domestic, or not), the act of giving or authorizing a performance, and the capacity to generate copyright royalties. Arguably, the boundary between private and public was contingent on the media technologies through which music was transmitted and the premises in which music was communicated and consumed. This chapter explores the shift of copyright’s legal focus away from places in which music was purposively listened to (theatres, pubs, and concerts) towards other transient spaces where music was not actively sought out (factories, ships, elevators, and airports). In doing so, it discusses several historical episodes affecting the internationalization of music copyright where the act of collecting copyright royalties was redefined – or perhaps, renegotiated.