Attorney Tim Kappel's Landmark Legal Victory for Songwriters

Music Matters with Darrell Craig Harris

Darrell Craig Harris

Music, Music Commentary, Music Interviews

4.6 • 107 Ratings

🗓️ 1 February 2026

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Entertainment attorney and Loyola University New Orleans professor Tim Kappel breaks down his landmark legal victory that allows songwriters to reclaim their music rights worldwide through U.S. copyright termination rights. In this episode, Kappel explains what termination rights are, why this case is a major win for songwriters, composers, and music creators, and how artists may be able to regain control of their catalogs after decades of exploitation. This ruling has significant implications for the music industry, publishing agreements, record labels, and copyright law on a global scale. A must-listen episode for songwriters, musicians, producers, music attorneys, and anyone interested in music copyright law and artist rights. About Tim Kapel Tim Kappel is a founding partner of the law firm Wells & Kappel, LLP. Mr. Kappel represents a diverse group of creators, professionals, businesses, and organizations in the music industry. Mr. Kappel's practice encompasses both transactional matters and complex civil dispute resolution, providing him with a unique perspective and ability to advise clients in multiple aspects of their careers. Mr. Kappel is an assistant professor at Loyola University New Orleans. He teaches courses on law, revenue streams, and public policy in the music industry. Mr. Kappel is also heavily involved in industry organizations and policy-making. He is the current President of the Board of Governors for the Memphis Chapter of the Recording Academy and serves on the boards of several other nonprofit organizations, including Louisiana Music Partners, Wolf Moon Entertainment, and the Partnership for Creative Louisiana. Loyola University www.loyno.edu Law Practice www.wellskappel.com About Music Matters with Darrell Craig Harris The Music Matters Podcast is hosted by Darrell Craig Harris, a globally published music journalist, professional musician, and Getty Images photographer. Music Matters is now available on Spotify, iTunes, Podbean, and more. Each week, Darrell interviews renowned artists, musicians, music journalists, and insiders from the music industry. Visit us at: www.MusicMattersPodcast.com Follow us on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/musicmattersdh For inquiries, contact: musicmatterspodcastshow@gmail.com Support our mission via PayPal: www.paypal.me/payDarrell voice over intro by Nigel J. Farmer

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Music Matters podcast with Daryl Craig Harris,
0:07.1	talking about all things music with celebrities, artists, music business insiders, and more.
0:20.6	Tim Capo, how are you doing today?
0:22.9	I'm doing well, Darrell, thanks.
0:24.9	So you're an attorney, but you're also a professor at Loyola University in New Orleans.
0:31.7	There you're teaching basically law related to music and media.
0:37.5	And you just participated as the lead attorney in a very important case.
0:43.0	Let's talk about that because it has ramifications for musicians,
0:47.0	publishing, publishing rights and all that kind of stuff.
0:50.0	So let's get into that.
0:52.0	Yeah, absolutely.
0:53.5	Well, first, thanks for having me, and I appreciate being on.
0:56.5	It's this case involved something of what may seem like an esoteric provision of the Copyright Act
1:05.8	that has to do with what's called termination rights.
1:10.0	And termination rights are a congressionally provided mechanism by which authors or their heirs can recapture copyrights
1:20.5	that have previously been transferred away.
1:22.7	And in one iteration or another, these rights have been around since the nation's first copyright act.
1:31.3	In 1790, Congress has been providing authors in their heirs the ability to reclaim copyright.
1:41.3	And the reason is pretty simple, and it's, Congress has recognized that typically
1:47.6	an author is transferring away his or her rights at a time when the value of that copyright
1:54.9	is not known or simply not knowable. And so that on top of the bargaining power disparities that I think we most,
2:04.7	you know,
	...

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