8 continue without an appropriate legislative response. Copyright law must keep pace with and accommodate itself to this latest technological development by protecting and preserving the right of copyright owners to fair compensation. This is not the first time that Congress has been called upon to save the rights of creators in the face of emerging technology. On prior occasions, Congress has developed imaginative responses to the challenge of protecting intellectual property rights while affording the public the benefits of the new technology (such as the advent of cable television and computer software). Congress faces that same type of challenge again today, this time to respond to the threat of home taping. I. THE MASSIVE EXTENT OF HOME TAPING Once a hobby pursued only by the serious audiophile, there has been a veritable explosion of home taping in recent years. Today, some 39 million Americans spend over $600 million a year to engage in the home taping of music. The economic basis of this phenomenon was explained in an article in Forbes magazine: 9 "With radio stations playing entire No doubt, many radio broadcasters all over the Nation encourage home taping by playing new album releases in their entirety and without commercial interruption. It is, however, the increasing sophistication and technical quality of taping equipment, and the relative ease with which it can be operated, that have made the rapid escalation of home taping possible. And with its declining price and growing popularity, this equipment is becoming increasingly accessible. In 1977, 71 million people of the U.S. population aged 10 or over - 39 percent lived in homes owning at least one piece of audio recording equipment. By 1980, that number had grown by almost 20 million, so that nearly half the U.S. population aged 10 or over - 4/ "Watching The Dollars," Forbes, Aug. 4, 1980, at equipment. (WCI Survey, 5.)5/ An even greater number playback equipment (such as the Sony "Walkman"). (Id.) Not surprisingly, many people are using their equipment to tape records. The recent WCI Survey found that home taping of music is by far the most frequent taping activity. Seventy-five percent of all blank tape is used to record music. (WCI Survey, 9, 12.) Moreover, music taping is not a sporadic or occasional activity. Another survey, prepared for the Copyright Royalty Tribunal,/ found that most of those engaging in home taping of music record between one and five hours per month (Hamilton Survey, 4). About one-fourth of home tapers least three hours of music per month, the equivalent of six record albums. (Hamilton Survey, Table 3.) - - 23 percent - record at - 5/ "A Consumer Survey: Home Taping," March 1982 Thereinafter referred to as the "WCI Survey"). The full text of the WCI Survey is set forth in Appendix Two. 6/ "A Survey of Households With Tape Playback Equipment, prepared for the Copyright Royalty Tribunal, September, 1979 (hereinafter referred to as the "Hamilton Survey"). The full text of the Hamilton Survey is set forth in Appendix Three. - 11 Another barometer of the extent of home taping dramatically sales of blank tape to record music - - reveals how extensive home taping is today. In 1980 alone, Americans spent $600 million on tapes used to record music. (WCI Survey, 7.) Figures with respect to the sale of blank tape cassettes tell the same story. In 1971, Americans purchased under 4.4 billion minutes of blank cassettes. By 1981, that figure had soared to over 17 billion minutes. A study of the amount of music recorded by home tapers also reveals the magnitude of the problem. According to the WCI Survey, Americans taped 251 million albums and more than 2 billion individual selections in 1980 (which constitute the equivalent of another 204 million albums) for a total of 455 million "albums" with a market value of $2.85 billion. (WCI Survey, 20.) In 1981, by comparison, the entire recording industry sold the equivalent of only 475 million albums. Moreover, the extent of home taping of music shows every sign of increasing. According to a 1979 CBS Survey,/ 55 percent of the purchasers of blank tape indicated they were taping more that year than the previous one. (CBS Survey, 10.) And the WCI Study found that, from 1977 to 1980, there were significant increases in the percentage of the population who have access to recording equipment, who buy blank tape, and who engage in audio taping. (WCI Survey, 4-6.) In contrast, there has been a decline in the percentage 7/ "Blank Tape Buyers: Their Attitudes and Impact on Pre-Recorded Music Sales," Fall, 1980 (hereinafter referred to as the "CBS Survey"). The full text of the CBS Survey is set forth in Appendix Four. |