EU law is not so fab for Ringo Starr

The music industry has been pushing for an extension of EU copyright laws beyond the 50-year limit on sound recordings.

Record labels and artists, including old mod Bruce Foxton, formerly of The Jam, and crooner Cliff Richard, are campaigning to have the term extended to at least 70 years.

In the EU, songwriters benefit from lifetime copyright protection plus 70 years. But performers and their producers only benefit from 50 years of copyright from the date of recording. As the writer, Paul McCartney will receive royalties on ‘When I’m 64’ for the rest of his life; his family will continue doing so for 70 years after his death. But fellow Beatle Ringo Starr, as a performer, has only ten years of income left on that particular song.

In the US, performers are entitled to royalties for 95 years after the release of songs.

The European Commission concluded in a report last month that any extension of copyright would contravene existing contracts between performers and labels, and run counter to consumers’ interests. Since then, artists have looked to the UK government to further their interests.

Their hopes were dashed last month, however, when the UK government ruled that artists had no contractual rights to further royalties beyond the 50-year term. The opposition Conservative party pledged to back an extension on condition that artists demonstrate a wider sense of social responsibility - presumably rock n’roll without the sex and drugs, a style of which Cliff Richard would doubtless approve.

The music industry has been pushing for an extension of EU copyright laws beyond the 50-year limit on sound recordings.