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 |  Subject: Disgusting: Europe moves toward compromise on copyright for musicians  Mon Dec 15, 2008 4:34 am | |
| PARIS: Every time a European radio station plays "Do Wah Diddy Diddy," a 1964 hit by the British pop group Manfred Mann, former members collect a few pennies in royalties.
Until last week, Tom McGuinness, who played the bass and the guitar in the band, said he worried that the "several thousand pounds" he received annually from "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" and other songs would end soon. Under European law, the copyright on musical recordings lasts 50 years, and the British government was balking at a European Commission proposal to extend it to 95 years.
But Thursday, the country's culture secretary, Andy Burnham, surprised the British music industry by saying Britain would consider an extension - to 70 years.
"There is a moral case for performers' benefiting from their work throughout their entire lifetime," Burnham said in a speech.
Under Burnham's counterproposal, McGuinness, who is 67, would receive royalties from "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" until he is 93 years old. "It's a fudge, but it is a fudge I'm happy to eat," he said.
The reversal follows years of lobbying by the British music industry, the largest in Europe, for a longer copyright term. In a campaign led by aging rock stars like Cliff Richard and Paul McCartney, musicians argued that it was unfair that the copyright on their recordings should expire so much sooner than the protection for authors' and composers' work, which lasts 70 years beyond the death of the artist.
The British government had objected to the European Commission's proposal, outlined this year by Charles McCreevy, the internal markets commissioner, on the grounds that it would help record companies more than performers. Analysts said the British government also did not want to be seen as caving in to the demands of wealthy musicians like McCartney, whose early recordings with the Beatles would soon lose their copyright protection under the existing laws.
A report commissioned by the British government three years ago found that a longer copyright term would raise costs for businesses that use music, like hairdressers, radio stations and retirement homes. It said a longer copyright term would stifle innovation and future creativity by keeping music out of the public domain for longer - a criticism echoed by some other analysts.
"This proposal is a pure product of lobbying by the record industry," said Bernt Hugenholtz, director of the Institute for Information Law at the University of Amsterdam. "The only reason these issues are on the agenda is because they are concerned that certain recordings from the 1960s will fall into the public domain."
"The immediate effect is that CDs that are already overpriced will remain overpriced for a longer period," he added.
The efforts to lengthen the copyright term comes amid a broader, global push by the music business and other media industries, which have been hit hard by piracy, for increased protection of intellectual property.
A proposal by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France that would require Internet service providers to cut off the accounts of persistent digital pirates is working its way through the French legislative system. Under pressure from the music industry, British Internet providers have agreed to send letters to illegal file-sharers, urging them to stop.
Meanwhile, the United States, the European Union and other industrialized countries are working on a trade agreement aimed at increasing international cooperation in the fight against piracy. Details of the negotiations, which have been conducted behind closed doors, are sketchy.
Ten years ago, the United States extended the copyright on musical recordings to 95 years. But critics of the proposed extension in Europe say trans-Atlantic comparisons are invalid because musicians have broader protection in Europe, even if it does not last as long. For example, royalties for radio airplay, like those received by McGuinness, do not exist in the United States, though the music industry is lobbying Congress to change this.
For the copyright extension to take effect across the European Union, negotiators would still have to reconcile differences between the 70-year proposal in Britain and the commission's 95-year plan. France and Germany have endorsed the McCreevy plan, which is set to be considered next year by the European Parliament and the 27 EU member states.
Burnham did not explain the reasons for the British government's change of heart. But Dominic McGonigal, director of government affairs at PPL, an organization based in London that collects royalties on behalf of music companies and performers, noted that the shift came only days after PPL sent Prime Minister Gordon Brown a video in which British musicians made impassioned pleas for the longer term.
"I think this was the turning point," McGonigal said. "For the first time, the government could no longer ignore the musicians."
Rather than featuring headliners, the video included mostly lesser-known musicians who have performed with big-name acts like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.
A study conducted for the European Commission found that 80 percent of performers would get €58, or $77, or less a year under the proposal. But even these payments matter to many performers, said McGuinness, who took part in the video.
"It's not just about Paul McCartney and EMI and Universal," he said, referring to two of the biggest music companies. "For session musicians, it may just mean being able to keep the heat on for the winter."
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/12/14/business/copyright15.php |
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