Europe’s recording industry, including artists Cliff Richard and Roger Daltrey, has been lobbying to extend copyright protection for sound recordings. Now, European Internal Markets Commissioner, Charlie McGreevy, has thrown his weight behind the campaign.

The copyright scenario for sound recordings in Europe currently goes like this: The copyright for a piece of music, and the royalties earned from it, is split into two defined areas. Publishing rights are normally owned by the writer or a record label, while the performance rights usually go to a singer, band, musicians or technicians. While composers benefit from a term of copyright that extends to the composer's life and 70 years beyond, performers enjoy only a 50-year term, which often does not cover their lifetimes.

The European Union (EU) is trying to remedy this and recently, European Internal Markets Commissioner, Charlie McCreevy announced his intention to propose that the term of copyright protection for European performers be increased from 50 to 95 years. Summarizing the main thrust of the proposal, Commissioner McCreevy stated: "I strongly believe that copyright protection for Europe's performers represents a moral right to control the use of their work and earn a living from their performances…It is the performer who gives life to the composition and while most of us have no idea who wrote our favorite song – we can usually name the performer."

The Commission will propose a directive before this summer to extend the term inall 27 EU member states. This will then be discussed in the European Parliament and Council of Ministers and could be adopted in 2009 or 2010. If nothing is done, thousands of European performers who recorded in the late fifties and sixties will lose all of their airplay royalties over the next ten years.

"I am not talking about featured artists like Cliff Richard or Charles Aznavour. I am talking about the thousands of anonymous session musicians who contributed to sound recordings in the late fifties and sixties. They will no longer get airplay royalties from their recordings. But these royalties are often their sole pension", added McCreevy. The EU says that under the proposed law, less well-known musicians and technicians will benefit as well as big-name artists.

The proposal has several implications. Firstly, the change will bring EU rules on copyright term for sound recordings in line with those in the US. Second, if implemented, performers who recorded music in the 1950s and 1960s, such as Cliff Richard, will immediately benefit from an extended period of receiving royalties, something for which many have campaigned. The term of protection for composers will not be changed. Thirdly, the proposal will require recording companies to set up a fund reserving at least 20% of the royalties received during the extended term for session musicians. For featured artists, original advances from record companies may not be set off against royalties in the extended term. (Under conventional recording contracts, artists receive an advance which is repaid from their royalties. This means that they only benefit from royalties after the advance has been paid. The new proposal would mean that advances would effectively be written off after 50 years.) There is also a “use it or lose it” provision, that is, in case a record company is unwilling to re-release a performance during the extended term, the performer can move to another label.

The music industry welcomed this development.  IFPI Chairman/CEO, John Kennedy, said, “We applaud Commissioner McGreevey for the vision he has shown in keeping creativity right at the center of the European economy.” Fran Nevrkla, Chairman/CEO of PPL, commented, “By closing this copyright gap, the Commission recognizes the unique contribution of tens of thousands of musicians and provides a boost for Europe’s future creativity…” EMI Chairman, Guy Hands, added, “If implemented, these measures are excellent news for thousands of artists, many of whom rely on income from sound recordings for their long-term financial security.”

But not everyone agrees. McCreevey’s stance is opposed by the British government-backed Gowers Review on intellectual property, which recommended that that 50-year term be retained. Based on economic analysis by Cambridge University, former Financial Times editor Andrew Gower concluded that mostly “major record labels and their shareholders” would benefit from the extension. Last July, the British government sided with the Gowers study.

Commissioner McCreedy is determined, though, stressing that the proposal should not have a negative impact either on consumer prices or on Europe’s external trade balance – with most of the additional revenue collected in an extended term staying in Europe and benefiting European performers. Most important, he added, "Performing artists [will] no longer be the 'poor cousins' of the music business."