The Problem with Extending Copyright on Music
Written by Ben Jones on January 24, 2009Several studies have shown that an extension of copyright on sound recordings is a bad idea. It will lead to less competition and higher prices while only the record labels benefit from it. Next Tuesday, the Open Rights Group will be hosting a round-table event to discuss performance copyright extension in the EU.
Last summer, we covered how Commissioner McCreevy intends to increase the length of copyright on performances, from their current 50 year length to 95 years. This was to ‘help’ those artists who just didn’t get paid enough over those 50 years, and are in danger of being penniless. The Open Rights Group (ORG) believes that that is unacceptable. It has co-produced a video explaining why this is a bad idea on the Commissions behalf, and has set up a meeting in Brussels with Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to discuss this.
The Directive, due to be voted on some time in the near future, will mainly be to the benefit of large record label, and not small artists and session players, as proponents claim. In a speech last month, though, Commissioner McCreevy countered that argument, saying “To that criticism can I say that the average annual pay-out might not appear significant to academic critics, but €2,000 (£1,760) extra per year is significant to an average session player.”
The reality though, is very different. Even EU backed studies have found significant downsides to any extension, with the only study supporting an extension coming from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) – the British music lobby group. Even Andrew Gowers, author of the independent Gowers Report into ‘intellectual property’ has recommended against an extension.
Thus the Open Rights Group has decided to try and educate MEPs. It will be holding a meeting with them, to try and bring attention to the problems and negative aspects of the directive. It has also created the following video to explain to those that can’t be there.
The meeting is free to attend, and will include people with experience in the industry. If you’re interested in attending, details are available here
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18 Responses
If you can’t make a living off of your music in 50 years maybe you’re a shitty musician. The only ones that really benefit from this crap are the rights holders that will continue piling up cash for the work that a dead person originally did.
Slightly sci-fi in that it’s set in the future, but relevant to copyright extension nonetheless.
http://www.spiderrobinson.com/melancholyelephants.html
For those who don’t like to read, the basic message is that there’s only a finite number of pieces of art that we can possible create (a limited number of different distinguishable notes or colours which can be arranged in a limited number of ways, of which only a certain selection are pleasing to human senses). If copyright is made perpetual, we will eventually run out of “original” ideas because we’ve really just been discovering them, rather than creating them, all along.
Also people may possibly flip out and kill themselves when they discover that something they put all their creativity into to try and be original, is actually a knock-off of something old. That part may or may not be true.
Biggest drawback is that, if I know the music I grew up with will NEVER be in the public domain, I am much more likely to give up on copyright and other “intellectual property” at all – like Darth Vader said, the more systems you squeeze, the more that fall through your fingers.
yess! oppose!
Sounds to me like this may just push up prices for us all encouraging more people to do down the route of piracy.
http://www.fetchmp3.com
Down with the BPI!
Down with McCreevy!
Down with McCreevy!
Down with McCreevy!
Down with McCreevy!
Wrote about this just a little while back:
http://ezee.se/articles-blog/2009/01/19/open-righ...
Thanks for the update!
Cheers!
http://www.eZee.se
wtf man
when will the money whores of the RIAA and MPAA stop?
Destroy the MPAA! Destroy the RIAA! Down with the RIAA! Down with the MPAA!
Down with the MAFIAA! Down with the BPI! Down with the IFPI!
Mitch Bainwol, which is the head of the RIAA, ought to do down. Down with Mitch Bainwol!
Dan Glickman, who is the head of the MPAA, also ought to go down. Down with Dan Glickman!
Finally, down with Comissioner McCreevy!
They have wronged us, and for this, we must not forget, we must not forgive. They need to go down! Revenge!
Were the hell do they find the cash to forward projects like this?
Damn you Record Labels!
I think if the musicians and actors just stopped spending all of their money on stupid and unnecessary things, they wouldn't be penniless in 50 years.
All though, in 50 years, most of them will be dead, or at least 60.
As long as the BPI and other industry scum continue to be unopposed, they shall get their way. They may have a few hurdles in their way, like human rights declarations, the right to privacy, or the commercial interests of the ISPs, but they can get past them (and they will if they remain unopposed), and once they do, then they can do anything they want to push their agenda and take away everything from us. Everything good about file-sharing will be gone if they remain unopposed. We must act before this happens!
Everyone here has read Free Culture by Lawrence Lessig, riiiiiiiight?
Free eBook on his site. Very eye opening.
As for the article (the important thing here), it's nice to see the lawmakers actually paying attention to groups who AREN'T trying to make a massive amount of profit.
You do indeed reaise some very valid points!
http://www.privacy-tools.net.tc
Not only does the copyright term need to stop being extended, but also it needs to be reduced.
Roze
http://www.10ch.org/
Commissioner McCreevy?
Sounds too much like Officer McReary of GTA4 fame, and he was a scheming bastard too.
i wonder how long can they solve this poblem!
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