EU copyright plan to benefit musicians

EU copyright plan to benefit musicians

By Nikki Tait in Brussels

Published: February 14 2008 17:53 | Last updated: February 14 2008 17:53

European singers and musicians could reap significant financial rewards under plans put forward to extend copyright protection for performers of musical works from 50 to 95 years.

Charlie McCreevy, the internal markets commissioner, said on Thursday he intended formally to propose an extension to the protection enjoyed by performers of musical works by the end of July – a move that, if adopted, would bring Europe into line with the US.

“I have not seen a convincing reason why a composer of music should benefit from a term of copyright which extends to the composer’s life and 70 years beyond, while the performer should only enjoy 50 years, often not even covering his lifetime,” he said.

If Mr McCreevy’s proposal is endorsed by the Commission, an amendment to the existing 50-year term – currently standard in the EU – would then need the backing of a majority of member states and the European parliament before becoming mandatory across the bloc.

Thursday’s outline proposal – which also envisages a special fund reserving copyright income for session musicians – was applauded by both recording companies and performers.

The British Phonographic Institute, which represents music companies in the UK, said it would “restore fairness to the copyright system and be a very positive step for the development of the creative economy in Britain and Europe”.

However, the question of extended protection has been controversial in the recent past. It was considered in the UK by the Gowers review into intellectual property rights two years ago – and recommendation for a change were rejected in spite of pleas from performers such as Sir Cliff Richard.

The review concluded that there would be a direct cost to consumers, who would pay higher prices for longer. It was also concerned that older recordings, which no longer generated income, would simply become “locked up”.

The McCreevy plan, however, envisages a specific provision that would permit performers to move to another label if the original company was unwilling to re-release a performance during the extended term.

Mr McCreevy batted away the notion of negative price implications. He said studies showed “the price of sound recordings that are out of copyright is not necessarily lower than that of sound recordings in copyright”.

Brussels officials also argued that bringing the EU into line with the US would have benefits in competitive terms and dissuade European artists from concentrating heavily on ”Anglo-Saxon” material which could be marked to a US audience in order to benefit from extended protection.