The European Commission and European Parliament are debating
proposals to extend the period of protection for sound recordings
from 50 years to 95 years. The Featured Artists' Coalition (FAC)
says that once 50 years have passed copyright should automatically
transfer from record labels to artists.
"We believe that all rights in recordings should revert to the
artist after 50 years," said a FAC statement, according to the BBC.
"While the record companies would lose nothing, as they only
expected to own the copyright for the current 50 year term, both
artists and consumers stand to gain from this proposal."
The board of the FAC includes Radiohead guitarist Ed O'Brien,
singer Kate Nash and Blur Drummer Dave Rowntree.
The FAC has formulated a set of policies on copyright and
intellectual property that is different to that of more traditional
music industry lobbying groups which have usually represented the
rights of record labels rather than artists.
It has launched a 'charter for fair play', outlining how it
thinks music makers should be treated. "Artists should retain
ultimate ownership of their music," it says. "Rights holders should
have a fiduciary duty of care to the originator of those rights and
must always explain how any agreement may affect how their work is
exploited."
"The digital revolution has swept away the old music business of
the 1960s, and changed forever the relationship between artists and
fans," said Rowntree. "For companies who made their living sitting
between the two, these are increasingly hard times, but for music
makers and music fans this should be a fantastic opportunity."
A committee of the European Parliament last week reaffirmed its
commitment to the extension of copyright protection in sound
recordings to 95 years. A report outlining how the law should
change was backed by a vote of the Parliament's Legal Affairs
Committee.
"To ensure that performers fully enjoy the additional royalties
deriving from copyright extension, the committee amended the
original text so as to prevent the use of previous contractual
agreements to deduct money from the additional royalties," it
said.
But another wing of EU government last week blocked the
extension. The Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) of
the Council of Ministers did not give the plan its backing.
COREPER is a committee made up of the ambassadors to the EU of
the 27 member states. It examines and judges proposals before they
reach the Council of Ministers, whose approval is needed for any
new laws. The UK voted against the term extension at COREPER last
week.
The FAC said that any extension of existing rights would act
against the interests of artists and would only benefit record
companies.
"Record companies would simply gain another 45 years of
ownership, entrenching the terms of record contracts signed in an
analogue age," the FAC statement said.
A group of recording industry bodies including the Musicians'
Union and record label lobby group the British Phonographic
Industries (BPI) said that they were unhappy with the vote.
“The British music sector is very disappointed by the absence of
agreement on an extension for performers and sound recording rights
at the COREPER meeting today, and particularly that our own
government, despite its recent positive statements, did not vote in
favour of the proposal at this meeting," a joint statement
said.
“The UK music sector has lived up to its commitments by reaching
an agreement, as demanded by Ministers, that will deliver real
benefits to musicians in an extended term. In continuing to hold
out for further changes, the government has not heeded the repeated
pleas of the very musicians it claims to support, who strongly
encouraged it to vote for the proposal today," it said.
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