Pluralistic: Jennifer Jenkins' 'Music Copyright, Creativity, and Culture' (17 Aug 2026)

Cory Doctorow enthusiastically endorses Jennifer Jenkins’ “Music Copyright, Creativity, and Culture,” an open-access textbook he deems the definitive guide to the complex and often incoherent world of music copyright law.
Jenkins’ work emphasizes the “extremely contingent nature” of current music copyright norms, demonstrating that present-day assumptions about payment and permission are historically fluid, not natural, and are constantly reshaped by new technologies, including AI.
The book makes the subject accessible and engaging by integrating musical excerpts and sections from her graphic novel, “THEFT! A History of Music,” to illustrate the “fundamental incoherence” of copyright through examples like the courtroom battles of Ed Sheeran and Katy Perry over musical “grooves” and “vibes.”
Doctorow declares the book “required reading for anyone who makes music, loves music, or cares about musicians and the arts more generally,” highlighting its ability to demystify a crucial and often misunderstood legal framework.