According to Charlie McCreevy, the EU’s internal market Commissioner, performing artists should no longer be the 'poor cousins' of the music business, and he is proposing an increase in the term of copyright for sound recordings from 50 to 95 years.

Last year, Andrew Gowers, who presented a government-led report on a number of UK copyright issues did not see the need for such an extension. Mr McCreevy however said “I have not seen any 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 covering his lifetime”.

His proposed term extension scheme also includes a “use it or lose it” provision according to which, in essence, record labels that do not actively market recordings will have to allow performers to move to another label who will.

The Commissioner is seeking Commission approval for his plan and is launching a public consultation on this issue.

The proposal, if approved by the Commission (which could be as soon as this summer) and implemented locally, will be highly significant not only for featured artists but also for session and other non-featured musicians. Under the proposed scheme, record companies will have to set up a fund of 20% of income during the “extended term” which will be reserved for session musicians. For featured artists, any recouped advances would be “wiped out” so they would earn royalties from sale 1.

Fran Nevrlka, Chairman and CEO of PPL, said that “By closing this copyright gap, the Commission recognises the unique contribution of tens of thousands of musicians and provides a boost for Europe’s future creativity and international standing”. John Smith, leader of the Musicians’ Union, said that “This is great news for thousands of musicians”. Guy Hands, EMI chairman, and the IFPI have welcomed the news.

This is not a done deal and several issues will have to be considered along the way, such as the extent to which this will have a retrospective effect and how the mechanics will work.

© Davenport Lyons 2008. All rights reserved.
This document reflects the law and practice as at February 2008. It is general in nature, and does not purport in any way to be comprehensive or a substitute for specialist legal advice in individual circumstances.