A campaign by various UK music companies is under way to protect copyrights which are set to expire on 50 year old music recordings from legends such as Elvis Presley and others. The UK music industry has begun a fight to close this legal loophole on royalty payments which sees music copyrights expire after 50 years, from 1st January 2005 certain songs can be used in Europe without payments to copyright holders, recordings such as Presley's That's All Right and Shake, Rattle and Roll by Bill Haley and his Comets. This literally means you could download these songs and use them as you wish without paying royalties and the music industry could do nothing about it.
The BPI is complaining that it was unfair for performers and investors not get a return on their music if it was a free for all in Europe, often within the performer's lifetime. The record labels also claimed that without making money from their back catalogue of music they could not invest in new talent.
| A campaign is under way to protect music copyrights due Starting on 1 January 2005, copies of songs can be issued in Europe 50 years after their release without the need for payments to copyright owners. It could affect records by Chuck Berry, James Brown - and by 2013, The Beatles. The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is spearheading the campaign. Landmark rock 'n' roll recordings such as Presley's That's All Right and Shake, Rattle and Roll by Bill Haley and his Comets come out of copyright in Europe in January. Over the next few years major hits by acts such as Little Richard, Johnny Cash, Bo Diddley and Fats Domino will also come into the public domain. The Beatles' catalogue would begin to become freely available from 1 January 2013, with their first single Love Me Do. The band's entire repertoire - the most prized catalogue in rock music - would follow over the next eight years. Recordings by other key British acts such as Cliff Richard, The Shadows, Tommy Steele and Lonnie Donegan are also at the centre of the campaign. Once out of copyright, the BPI fears such potentially lucrative recordings could be exploited without recompense to the performers or the copyright holders. Unlike Europe, copyright protection exists in the US for 95 years after the recording was made. Australia and Brazil have 70-year terms, and India 60 years. Composers and writers also enjoy 70 years' protection. Peter Jamieson, the BPI's executive chairman, said less favourable copyright terms could put the UK's record industry at a commercial disadvantage to the US. He said it was unfair to performers and investors to fail to get a return for a "free-for-all" in Europe - often within the artist's lifetime. Record labels argue that their ability to invest in new talent often depends on money generated by their back catalogue. The BPI is leading about 20 recording bodies including the Association of Independent Music (Aim) in lobbying the government over its concerns. |
Full story over at BBC. As usual, record companies are complaining about not getting enough royalties, if they had their way copyright would last forever and you would never get music that was free.
Source: BBC
