EU Royalty Plan May Save Aging British Rockers

The European Union has recently announced plans to provide copyright protection to all recordings for 95 years. The EU member governments and the EU Parliament have yet to approved it, but such a plan would benefit a great many British rockers whose copyright lasts under British law for only 50 years. After that, the recordings are free to everyone as part of the public domain, which is a lousy retirement package.

European Commission's Single Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy announced the plan noting, “A 95-year term would bridge the income gap that performers face when they turn 70, just as their early performances recorded in their 20s would lose protection.” Sir Cliff Richards first hit “Move It” loses its protection on January 1, 2009. The Beatles’ “Love Me Do” suffers the same fate in 2012.

Feargal Sharkey, the chief executive of British Music Rights and formerly lead singer of The Undertones, said, “I am especially pleased that the announcement focuses on the ‘invisible’ members of our industry - the musicians, engineers and session players whose names are hidden away in the liner notes and credits. It is they, and not just ‘featured’ artists and record labels, who could derive real benefits from this move - and at a time in life when their earning power would be severely diminished.” Roger Daltrey of The Who has noted time and again that most of these musicians have no pensions and rely on royalties to see them through old age.

A year ago, the UK government decided not to extend the copyright beyond 50 years. The ministers involved said they were “not convinced” of the economic necessity. Given that most of the musicians had record contracts that required them to pass royalties over to their labels, the government argued that the performers wouldn’t really benefit. At the same time, it would drive up costs to consumers.

Oddly, the 50 year rule in the UK applies only to recordings themselves. The songwriter’s slice of the royalty pie, the publishing rights, is protected under British law for 70 years after the composer’s death. So, while Sir Paul McCartney won’t get anything for playing on “Love Me Do,” his estate will still get paid for the publishing rights to that song decades after he’s meets up with George and John again in the Big Recoding Studio in the Sky. Maybe, membership in the EU is good for Britain after all.

© Copyright 2008 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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