Britney Spears has spoken out against a proposed change in law that would require artists to allow sampling of their music without licenses. Spears was amongst several top artists who submitted statements to the Department of Commerce on Monday opposing the measure.
"Artists can, and should continue to be able to, deny a use that they do not agree with. For one, an artist should be able to turn down uses in connection with messages that the artist finds objectionable," Spears said in a joint statement with several other artists.
The statement went on to explain the conflicts of interest that could arise with such a law:
"A compulsory license would allow someone to remix or sample music by Ted Nugent, noted gun ownership advocate, for a song promoting stricter gun control without Nugent's permission," the group adds.
"It is not hard to see that a compulsory license for derivative works could easily be abused in a way that negatively impacts creators."
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