Musicians sing out for protection

Date: 28/07/05

Increasing numbers of European artists are adding their voices to a campaign to give them extended protection for their performances.

James Galway, the Irish flautist, is the latest artist to write to Charlie McCreevy, the EU's internal market commissioner, to demand that his performances should be protected under copyright for more than 50 years.

Elvis Presley's Heartbreak Hotel and James Brown's Please Please Please are two examples of golden oldies that after this year people will be able to sell or use recordings of, without paying the performers a cent.

Over the next five years, the public will gain access to millions of early tracks in this way, and the artists are beginning to fight back.

Cliff Richard, Charles Aznavour, Status Quo and U2 are all pushing for Europe to join other nations, including the US, Australia, Singapore and Brazil, that offer at least 70 years copyright for performers. The US term of protection is 95 years.

"Artists often rely on royalties for their pension but in Europe they see their work become publicly available when they are not that old," said Frances Moore, European director at the EU recording industry association IFPI.

Moore also argues that the EU term of protection hits online distribution companies because they will not be able to market an entire back catalogue. "Europe is always talking about competitiveness but this hits the economy," she says.

The Commission is reviewing all EU copyright laws and is expected to make a decision on extending the term of protection next year.

A Commission official says that no decision has yet been taken, but points out that although the US term is 95 years, the musicians' rights to their performances are not exclusive, as they are in Europe, but usually linked to their contracts with record companies. "Granting 95 years' protection in Europe is not the same as granting it in the US," he says.

Article reports on the European Commission's plans to make a decision on extending the term of protection for intellectual property in the field of music in 2006. Increasing numbers of European artists were adding their voices to a campaign to give them extended protection for their performances, which is presently at 50 years.