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tions are answered in clause (1) of section 115(a), and the third is the subject of clause (2).
The present law, though not altogether clear, apparently bases compulsory licensing on the making or licensing of the first recording, even if no authorized records are distributed to the public. The first sentence of section 115(a)(1) would change the basis for compulsory licensing to authorized public distribution of phonorecords (including disks and audio tapes but not the sound tracks or other sound records accompanying a motion picture or other audiovisual work). Under the clause, a compulsory license would be available to anyone as soon as “phonorecords of a nondramatic musical work have been distributed to the public in the United States under the authority of the copyright owner.”
The second sentence of clause (1), which, has been the subject of some debate, provides that “a person may obtain a compulsory license only if his or her primary purpose in making phonorecords is to distribute them to the public for private use.” This provision was criticized as being discriminatory against background music systems, since it would prevent a background music producer from making recordings without the express consent of the copyright owner; it was argued that this could put the producer at a great competitive disadvantage with performing rights societies, allow discrimination, and destroy or prevent entry of businesses. The committee concluded, however, that the purpose of the compulsory license does not extend to manufacturers of phonorecords that are intended primarily for commercial use, including not only broadcasters and jukebox operators but also background music services.
The final sentence of clause (1) provides that a person may not obtain a compulsory license for use of the work in the duplication of a sound recording made by another, unless the sound recording being duplicated was itself fixed lawfully and the making of phonorecords duplicated from it was authorized by the owner of copyright in the sound recording (or, if the recording was fixed before February 15, 1972, by the voluntary or compulsory licensee of the music used in the recording). The basic intent of this sentence is to make clear that a person is not entitled to a compulsory license of copyrighted musical works for the purpose of making an unauthorized duplication of a musical sound recording originally developed and produced by another. It is the view of the Committee that such was the original intent of the Congress in enacting the 1909 Copyright Act, and it has been so construed by the 3d, 5th, 9th and 10th Circuits in the following cases: Duchess Music Corp. v. Stern, 458 F. 2d 1305 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 409 U.S. 847 (1972); Edward B. Marks Music Corp. v. Colorado Magnetics, Inc., 497 F. 2d 285, aff’d on rehearing en banc, 497 F. 2d 292 (10th Cir. 1974), cert. denied, 419 U.S. 1120 (1975); Jondora Music Publishing Co. v. Melody Recordings, Inc., 506 F. 2d 392 (3d Cir. 1974, as amended 1975), cert. denied, 421, U.S. 1012 (1975); and Fame Publishing Co. v. Alabama Custom Tape, Inc., 507 F. 2d 667 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 423 U.S. 841 (1975).
Under this provision, it would be possible to obtain a compulsory license for the use of copyrighted music under section 115 if the owner of the sound recording being duplicated authorizes its duplication. This does not, however, in any way require the owner of the original sound recording to grant a license to duplicate the original
