Post #443524 by Cammo on Sun, Mar 29, 2009 10:37 PM

"How does the original artist get his share from the secondhand seller?"

As crazy as this sounds from a strictly legal stand, this is actually a good point. All the people answering this fellow are doing so from the view of living, producing artists. What about the others - the old or dead ones?

1. Are artists entitled to money from resales of their work? Think about it. Not the first sales, the second or thirdhand sales. Why? Why not? Are then thrift stores actually allowed to resell music? Why? Why not? What if the original record is actually worth a lot more than it did when originally sold - Elvis records, etc. In fact, why shouldn't the artist get a piece?

2. If the original artist is dead, and has no direct family left or a will in place (most don't) - who gets the cash from resales of their music? Why?

3. And then - if the music is not being currently sold or distributed by any publishing house, is it OK to copy the work? Why? Why not?

• Advocate for the Defense