Musicians welcome EU plan to extend royalties

EU plans to extend musicians’ entitlement to retrospective royalties from 50 to 95 years has been welcomed by the music industry.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy had vowed to push the deal through during France’s six-month presidency.

Organisations representing performers in Europe welcomed the commission’s proposals, announced by internal market commissioner Charlie McCreevy on Wednesday, to extend their intellectual property rights protection to 95 years.

The International Federation of Actors (FIA), the International Federation of Musicians (FIM) and the International Organisation of Performers’ Collecting Societies (GIART), said the decision could improve the situation of many performers who struggle to make ends meet and are often left with no income as they get older, when in fact they need it more than ever.

Luis Cobos, GIART president, said: “This is a great day for hundreds of thousands of performers who consistently contribute to Europe’s exciting, diverse culture.

“However we feel that the commission’s proposal must still be improved to ensure that all performers benefit from the extension of the term of protection of their rights.”

John Smith, president of FIM, commented, “The extension is a major step forward and one that will be welcomed by all recording musicians.”

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