Conference Agenda

Over the past decade, a series of high-profile music copyright infringement lawsuits has intensified debates about the definition of music as intellectual property, and especially around the nature of musical similarity. This increasingly embattled discourse is seen not only in the analytical work of forensic musicologists, whose contributions are central to these lawsuits, but also in the commentary of artists, industry insiders, and scholars from across various disciplines as they ponder the impact these court decisions might have on the future of musical creativity. Given this state of affairs, recent and forthcoming scholarship from Bennett (2023), Doll (2017), Fishman and Garcia (2022), Leo (2021), and Stewart (2014) (tinyurl.com/FM-AMS24) has called for reasoned, interdisciplinary dialogue about forensic musicology’s current issues, methods, and ethics.

This roundtable session begins to respond by uniting preeminent specialists across fields of law and musicology for a discussion about the disciplinary state of forensic musicology and the future of music copyright. It features industry consultants, trial experts, and scholars: Joe Bennett (Berklee College of Music), Christopher Doll (Rutgers University), Joseph Fishman (Vanderbilt Law School), Katherine Leo (session chair and moderator, Millikin University), and Alexander Stewart (University of Vermont). After a brief introduction to forensic musicology and current events in music copyright litigation, speakers will engage one another and the audience in moderated discussion. Opening questions will include: How does forensic musicological analysis differ from academic musicology? What does it mean to produce unbiased analyses? How has client confidentiality and an adversarial legal system contributed to a lack of agreement among experts about methodology and ethics? In what ways might artificial intelligence impact forensic musicological research and analysis and the trajectory of music copyright law? What is the future of forensic musicology in light of evolving legal standards and technologies?

Through this collaboration, the panelists aim to bridge disciplinary distance between law and musicology and to encourage open dialogue about current issues in music copyright. In so doing, they hope to advance the public cause of forensic musicology to better assist courts and the music industry in understanding music as intellectual property.