A wide music industry grouping representing the independent record industry, composers and songwriters, musicians and performers, music managers, music publishers and their collecting societies (see footnote 1) hosted a crucial round table meeting today, chaired by the Smith Institute, to debate the creation of a progressive and innovative copyright framework that is fit for purpose in the digital age.
Presently music creators are not being paid when their music is distributed over unauthorised file-sharing networks. At the same time, consumers are being sued for infringing copyright when they use such services. Between the two, sit digital operators (such as Internet Service Providers (ISPs), mobile companies and device manufacturers) that profit extensively and reap wider value from the unauthorised distribution of music whilst being protected from liability by a series of legal immunities and safe harbours (see footnote 2).
At the round table discussion this music industry grouping outlined the conceptual thinking behind a new right – called a Value Recognition Right – which would allow the music industry to create a commercial relationship with any company deriving value from either the sharing or storage of music with a view to:
1. Bringing ISPs into the official value chain which links creators to consumers;
2. Encouraging the emergence of legal music sharing services (e.g. via Peer 2 Peer and Bluetooth sharing technologies) thereby legitimising the ways in which consumers are increasingly accessing and sharing music;
3. Making unlicensed intermediaries – rather than consumers - the target of copyright enforcement actions.
A value recognition right could only function in practice through a series of changes to the law that would allow the music industry to enter into the kind of licensing negotiations with digital intermediaries that are sometimes difficult under current copyright framework.
The round table debate, sparked by AIM’s draft discussion paper entitled “Copyright Reform in the Digital Age”, opened with a presentation by MusicAlly, a leading music consultancy, highlighting the extent of unauthorised file-sharing as well as the likely impact of new technologies such as Bluetooth which will once again challenge the music industry’s traditional business model.
This is against the background of Spectrum research which identified that ‘60% of all internet traffic by data volume is Peer 2 Peer file-sharing; and music has been the main driver of Peer 2 Peer activity to date on digital networks’. Moreover, according to MusicAlly’s own research, there has been ‘a 500% increase in digital music storage requirements amongst music fans in 2006’.
The concept of the Value Recognition Right will be given full expression in a revised text of the AIM discussion paper which will be finalised over the summer and sent to the Andrew Gowers team, presently working on the independent review of intellectual property, which is reporting to Government in the autumn.
Association of Independent Music (AIM) Chairman and CEO, Alison Wenham said, “AIM recognised that the time is now for this extremely important debate, and on behalf of the independent music sector we decided to invest in researching and setting out our discussion paper. The thoughtful, expert input that has already flowed in from around the industry has led to a breakthrough in fresh thinking on this incredibly important subject. We believe the Value Recognition Right is the most innovative potential answer to problems which current applications of Copyright Law cannot properly deal with.
Emma Pike, Chief Executive of British Music Rights said, “Copyright law currently does not provide us with the complete set of tools we need in order to enter into a commercial relationship with the new breed of music distributors. The Value Recognition Right is a groundbreaking new approach which we look forward to developing further together with our industry partners”
Welcoming the AIM paper and the debate taking place around it, John Smith, Musicians’ Union General Secretary said, “Performers and composers are the bedrock of the Music Industry, these are the people who stand to gain most by the introduction of a Value Recognition Right. The lack of an analogue Private Copy Levy in the UK has seriously disadvantaged the music creators in this country vis-à-vis their European counterparts, this is an ideal and unique way to redress the balance”.
Adam Singer, Chief Executive of the MCPS-PRS Alliance highlighted that, “digital networks are built by strip-mining creativity and copyright was never designed for digital strip-mining, so we need a serious act of creative conservation."
“Professional composers and songwriters are only able to produce new music if they are paid for their work,” said British Academy of Composers & Songwriters Chairman David Ferguson. “For too long the ISPs and telcos have shirked their responsibilities, using music as a tool to sell their own services, whilst making little effort to ensure fair payment to its creators. A Value Recognition Right would be an eminently sensible step in at last addressing how creators can earn a living in a digital world.”
Jazz Summers, Chairman of the Music Manager Forum said, “The music industry is becoming increasingly important to the prosperity of the UK economy and yet creators, performers, record companies and publishers are finding themselves increasingly exposed to widespread illegal uses of their works. New regulations are urgently needed to bring ISPs (Internet Service Provider) & MSPs (Mobile Service Providers) into the value chain and give them real responsibility as an important and valuable partner in the process of online distribution.”
Footnotes
1. Altogether, this music grouping represents, nearly 1,000 independent record companies employing around 3,000 people, over 50,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers, and 32,000 members of the Musicians Union, and 450 music managers: a total of approximately 85,000.
2. These safe harbours are provided for by European Directives on Copyright and E-Commerce as well as by UK case law in the form of a 1980s court decision relating to Amstrad recording equipment.
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. Press contacts:
2. The debate at the MCPS-PRS Alliance was chaired by the Smith Institute think tank and supported by representatives from: the independent recording sector (AIM), British Music Rights (BMR), the Musicians Union (MU), Music Managers Forum (MMF), the royalty collection society the MCPS-PRS Alliance, the Music Publishers Association (MPA) and the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters (BACS). A number of other panel representatives from lawyers to technology experts (and observers) also attended – the full list is available upon request.
3. A press conference immediately follows the roundtable discussion at 12:45 for 13:00pm whereby a number of the participants are available to comment, including: Adam Singer (Chief Executive, MCPS – PRS Alliance), Alison Wenham (Chairman and Chief Executive, AIM), Dave Rowntree (Drummer with Blur and The Ailerons), Andy Heath (Managing Director 4AD Music, British Music Rights Board), , David Ferguson (Chairman, British Academy of Composers & Songwriters), Doug D’Arcy (AIM Board, Managing Director Songlines), Horace Trubridge (Assistant General Secretary, Musicians Union), and Jazz Summers (Chairman Music Managers Forum, Co-Founder Big Life Management)
4. The Powerpoint research report presented this morning to provide the contextual background – “The Digital Landscape – Consumers, Technology and Music”, is available to read upon request; as is the Spectrum Strategy published report “Respecting the Value of Digital Music,” published in May 2006.