p2pnet - rss feed: EC copyright plan good for Golden Oldies
p2pnet news view Politics | Music:- So-called ‘reforms’ will allow Europeans to, “enjoy proceeds from their work for many more years”.
In short, Europe’s Golden Oldies will be even more golden if plans mooted by internal market commissioner Charlie McCreevy are adopted.
According to the Financial Times, copyright would be almost doubled from 50 to 95 years under proposals which, says the story, could be approved by the European Commission at tomorrow’s meeting.
“If so, Europe would move into line with the US, and musicians - from ageing rock stars to session players - could enjoy a boost to their pensions,” it says.
Legislation, “will need the backing of a majority of member states and the European parliament, and could face further hurdles then,” but, “there are suggestions in Brussels that the go-ahead for copyright extension could be a trade-off for a separate, widely leaked decision by the Commission’s antitrust arm on the way ‘collecting societies’ -whose job is to gather up and distribute music royalties - do business. Some officials say that the fact that both measures are likely to come up at the same meeting is -coincidence-. Others maintain that the two are connected.”
Either way, “under the draft antitrust decision, societies are likely to see their domestic monopolies over broadcast material broken down,” says the FT. “Instead, they would be encouraged to compete - by offering better administration - for the right to handle an artist’s performing rights.
Says The Guardian »»»
The European commission will tomorrow defy a high-profile lobbying campaign by composers and songwriters and order a new pan-European system of selling online music rights.
Songwriters marshalled by Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees and including Bryan Ferry, Paul McCartney and Mark Knopfler have enlisted French president Nicholas Sarkozy and German chancellor Angela Merkel to back their campaign.
But despite their lobbying efforts and claims that hundreds of thousands of small writer and publisher firms would be wiped out under the proposed system, Neelie Kroes, EU competition commissioner, will rule against the monopoly of national groups that collect performing rights.
Her decision, in an anti-trust case dating back six years, means that composers will no longer be obliged to register with the collecting society on their home territory and can shop around for the most efficient management of their performing rights. The commission says choosing one society to act for them across the EU will maximise their income and cut the management fees the societies “cream off”.
Kroes will also give the go-ahead for broadcasters, whether online or by cable and satellite, to negotiate an EU-wide licence with one society - rather than having to negotiate separately with the 24 agencies operating in the EU, to promote online music sales in Europe, which lag behind those of the US and account for less than 10 percent of the market.
Earlier in the month, music stars were worried the changes could mean cuts in the amount record companies pay to music authors.
Among them were, “France’s Shahnour Varenagh Aznavurjian, aka Charles Aznavour (left), and the Bee Gees’ Robin Gibb, aka Robin Gibb, who, ‘yesterday threatened to “declare war” and pull their works off the airwaves if the European Union proceeds to change the way music royalties are collected,” said p2pnet.
A change, “could discourage newer songwriters from producing tomorrow’s hits,” declared Gibb.
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.Stumble It!
Financial Times - EU to push on music copyright, July 11, 2008
The Guardian - EU to introduce new music rights system despite lobby, July 15, 2008
p2pnet - Aznavour, Gibb, threaten royalties ‘war’, July 15, 2008
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July 15th, 2008 at 6:39 am
competition amongst royalty collectors = good.
95 year copyright = bad
July 15th, 2008 at 7:18 am
The more copyright is extended, the more people will ignore it. Copyright holders grede will be their ultimate undoing.
Think about it. I give my kids as much freedom as I can to make their own choices (within reason). If I start slapping on more and more restrictions, will they be more or less likely to disregard my rules? Society will not abide unlimeted copyrights. Laws that a majority of the population disregard tend not to get enforced, and eventually repealed.
July 15th, 2008 at 8:55 am
I’m sure the claims will be that this is for the artisits and not for the media corporations.
Funny, I have to save the money I earn now for my retirement. Why are ‘artisits’ not able to do this?
July 15th, 2008 at 9:56 am
“musicians - from ageing rock stars to session players - could enjoy a boost to their pensions,”
Bullocks. Session musicians virtually NEVER see royalty payments, EVER. They get their pay for the session, done. No more money, no matter how wildly popular the song may get. As far as artists go, they will not see much of this money. The lion’s share will go to the media conglomos. What a bunch of crap.
July 15th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Considering that most copyrights are owned by record companies, who exactly is benefiting from this? What percentage of the population live to they are 95? not a hell of a lot. So this is effectively a multi-generational pension.
Patents don’t have terms anywhere near this, so why should any other so called ‘intellectual property’ have it? The likes of paul mcartney and michael jackson (who both own portions of the beatles’ catalog) must be rubbing their hands with glee. Could copyright laws be anymore ludicrous?