# EU Copyright consultation - Deadline 5th March!!!



## ThinkSpace Education (Mar 3, 2014)

http://www.rightsholderseucopyright.co.uk

Ok very very bad things are happening for composers who rely on royalty income and everyone needs to jump on this as quickly as possible as the deadline for comments is tomorrow. Take a look but this kind of erosion of our rights could sink the industry completely if we don't do something as fast as possible

Guy


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## mr (Mar 4, 2014)

Thanks, I used the link and stated my opinions accordingly.


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## Guy Rowland (Mar 4, 2014)

Thanks Guy. And that's how these things get passed - 80 questions, the vast majority of which either mean nothing to me, or I haven't the first clue of the issues. Could you (or any other kind soul) explain if we need to answer every one, and also point to the stuff that's specific to threatening the current royalty system?

Thanks.


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## mr (Mar 4, 2014)

Guy, I feel your pain.

As I understand it, this link is sponsored by PRS. The eight most relevant questions to songwriters, composers and authors are highlighted in green and an explanation is provided as well to simply the process.

You don't need to answer all questions.


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## Hannes_F (Mar 4, 2014)

Could the experienced composers in this forum please look into this and participate? Unfortunately the evaluation time has been short, nevertheless it is important to make your voice heard early in such a process.


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## Guy Rowland (Mar 4, 2014)

mr @ Tue Mar 04 said:


> Guy, I feel your pain.
> 
> As I understand it, this link is sponsored by PRS. The eight most relevant questions to songwriters, composers and authors are highlighted in green and an explanation is provided as well to simply the process.
> 
> You don't need to answer all questions.



It just seems, even with those explanations, far far to complex to assess each of even those 8 questions. Here's just one:



> Q72.. What is the best mechanism (or combination of mechanisms) to ensure that you receive an adequate remuneration for the exploitation of your works and performances?
> 
> Explanation - The European Commission acknowledges that creators and performers are concerned about whether the value obtained through the exploitation of their works is being fairly shared across the value chain. There are also concerns about whether certain contractual clauses, which are increasingly becoming more common practice, are acting against the best interests of creators.
> 
> Answer – In response you can set out any concerns you may have, about the contracts which deal with your rights. You may also want to give examples of any problems you may have experienced in contractual terms, such as transfer of rights, buy-out clauses, length of contract. If you wish to propose solutions, including legislation, please set these out in response to Question 74.



In this case, the original question reads clearer to me than the explanation, in that I'd want to reply "oh, a collection agency like the PRS - keep that, please". But then I read the explanation (which seems to be talking about something else entirely) and suggested answer. Suddenly I'm thinking "oh, they mean like being forced to sign away your rights as an artist and hand over a writer's share to a production company... hold on, what's that got to do with the question?" And then I just crawl into a corner and try to forget about the whole damn thing.


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## rpaillot (Mar 4, 2014)

ThinkSpace Education @ Tue Mar 04 said:


> http://www.rightsholderseucopyright.co.uk
> 
> Ok very very bad things are happening for composers who rely on royalty income and everyone needs to jump on this as quickly as possible as the deadline for comments is tomorrow. Take a look but this kind of erosion of our rights could sink the industry completely if we don't do something as fast as possible
> 
> Guy



From what I hear, they want to reduce copyright to 30 years after first publication , and not 70 years after dead of the author.
What else ?


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