The New York Times is reporting due to copyright law that was revised in the 1970's to include "termination rights, many legendary artists - Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Billy Joel, Bob Dylan and The Eagles among them - can now reclaim full ownership of their master tapes from 35 years ago.

The provision is that they apply for ownership 24 months beforehand.

Post Born To Run, released in 1975, Springsteen famously did not record for another five years as he was engaged in a battle for the rights to his masters with his label.

In the end, this gives the artist the right to lease their work out to other labels and production companies (think McCartney or The Stones).

But it might not be such a great deal for record labels as now the pot will be more fairly divided.

The Eagles' Don Henley,says "In terms of all those big acts you name, the recording industry has made a gazillion dollars on those masters, more than the artists have. So there's an issue of parity here, of fairness. This is a bone of contention, and it's going to get more contentious in the next couple of years."

Among some of the albums whose rights could be eventually recovered are Bob Seger's Stranger in Town, Springsteen's Darkness on the Edge of Town, Van Halen's Van Halen, Rush's Hemispheres and Fleetwood Mac's Tusk.

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