EU-Wide Licenses Approved For Music Sites; Services Applaud Reforms; Artists, Not So Much
By Dianne See Morrison - Wed 16 Jul 2008 08:42 AM PST
Digital music providers welcomed today’s EC decision to end Europe’s country-by-country royalties collection system, a move that will make it easier for them to license songs for online use. 7Digital marketing manager Peter Davias told paidContent:UK the decision is “a blessing for us”, paving the way for more legal downloads since online retailers will be able to more quickly license music for sale.
At present, composers register to have their royalties collected by a society in their home nation, each of which around Europe operates an agreement not to collect fees in each other’s patch. Competition commissioner Neelie Kroes ruled this anticompetitive and ordered them to scrap the agreement within 90 days, as well as their membership clause that locks composers in to the collector in their home nation. It will offer composers and lyricists “a better deal” and will ”facilitate the development of satellite, cable and internet broadcasting, giving listeners more choice and giving authors more potential revenue”, Kroes said.
The burgeoning number of online music services have long complained that the spaghetti of European licensing, which requires them to license songs for stream or sale from bodies in each state in the continent, slows the roll-out process. 7Digital CEO Ben Drury, speaking at last month’s London Calling event, said it was a “real barrier to entry” for smaller companies. Kroes also argued it allows collection societies to fix the fees an artist receives, rather than letting the open market decide. More after the jump...
But not everyone is happy. Artists may now get a choice of royalty collector, but the European Composer and Songwriter Alliance - with high-profile advocates in representing the likes of Bryan Ferry, Paul McCartney and Abba’s Benny Anderson - has argued that the increased competition will mean smaller payments to artists. The UK’s MCPS-PRS collector, which looks particularly threatened, said it was “disappointed” and would consider an appeal.
Meanwhile, despite promising in January to bring down its UK iTunes Store in line with those in the Eurozone, Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) said yesterday it would not do that after all, arguing the falling pound and rising euro has done that job for it.
Photo: DaigoOlivia (some rights reserved)
Posted in: Entertainment, Music, Legal
