Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Preserving the Melodies of Yesteryears: The Great 78 Project safeguards vintage music from 78rpm discs.
The Internet Archive is once again facing legal action, this time from music labels including Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group. The lawsuit accuses the nonprofit organization of copyright infringement for digitizing and distributing pre-1972 sound recordings through its Great 78 Project, which aims to preserve music recorded on 78rpm discs.
According to the labels, Internet Archive’s actions constitute “blatant infringement” and involve music from renowned artists such as Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, and Louis Armstrong. The plaintiffs argue that the songs preserved on the project website are already available through streaming and other music services, so there is no danger of them being lost or forgotten. However, Internet Archive maintains that there is research value in the artifacts and usage evidence found in these rare 78rpm discs and recordings.
In their complaint, the music labels claim that Internet Archive’s activities go beyond the limited purposes of preservation and research. They assert that the organization seeks to provide free and unlimited access to music for everyone, regardless of copyright. The labels are seeking statutory damages of up to $150,000 for each protected sound recording, which could amount to $372 million for the listed recordings.
This is not the only legal battle that Internet Archive is currently involved in. The organization is also facing a lawsuit from a group of US publishers, led by Hachette Book Group, over its National Emergency Library. During the height of the pandemic, Internet Archive lent out digitally scanned copies of books through the program, which the publishers deemed to be “willful mass copyright infringement.” A federal judge ruled against Internet Archive in that case, but the organization plans to appeal the decision.