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Private member's bill to boost performers' rights |
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Wednesday, 27 February 2008 |
SNP MP Peter Wishart is today set to launch a Private Members' Bill to extend the duration of copyright applying to performers and any recordings they make.
Wishart, a former member of bands Runrig and Big Country, said that he
wanted equal rights for performers and their sound recordings. While
authors and songwriters are currently protected for life plus seventy
years for their compositions, performers and their sound recordings
only have a fifty year copyright from the year that the recording was
released.
Speaking ahead of the launch Wishart said: "I am delighted to bring
forward this Private Members Bill and help tackle this unique
discrimination against musicians on copyright term.
"While all other creators, artists and writers secure lifetime plus on
royalties, musicians still only for get 50 years, this means that many
musicians are deprived of vital income in their old age. Let's
remember, where fortunes can be made in music, the majority of
musicians in the UK live on less than £15,000 a year.
"The creative industries will also soon take over from the financial
sector as the most valuable part of our economy. It is therefore
important that we make our creative industries competitive and
incentivise this important sector, as well as looking after our
artists.
Wishart said that his Bill, the Sound Recordings (Copyright Term
Extension) and Performers' Rights Bill, was designed to rectify the
situation by proposing 95 years for royalty payments for musicians.
He said this was in line with the recommendation made by the European
Commission on Term, and that it was supported by almost everyone in the
music industry.
"This Bill also has support across all political parties and 37,000
musicians have signed a petition to end this discrimination."
One person has commented on this article. 1. Private member's bill to boost performers' rights
Anonymous, Unregistered How about a few alternative headlines?
"Private Members' Bill to reduce consumer rights?"
"Private Members' Bill to further restrict the public domain"?
"Private Members' Bill to serve interest of lagre corporations"?
Or how about getting equalirt by reducing the time that songwriters get?
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