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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Rachel Hall

‘Music is so different now’: Copyright laws need to change, says legal expert

A 2019 ruling against Katy Perry was overturned this month.
A 2019 ruling against Katy Perry was overturned this month. Photograph: John Shearer/Getty Images for Katy Perry

Songwriters such as Ed Sheeran face a future of drawn out legal battles because the way in which people consume music has changed so much in the past half a century, a leading legal expert has warned, as she urged courts to reconsider how they interpret copyright law.

The rise of streaming on platforms such as Spotify and YouTube, combined with larger teams of writers behind hit songs, have led to a surge in high-profile copyright infringement cases in the past few years. Most recently, Sheeran is locked in an ongoing legal battle over Shape of You, Spotify’s most streamed song ever.

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