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Copyright views on record

Published Monday 10 April 2006 at 14:25

The major record labels are currently lobbying the government to get the law on copyright changed.

At the moment in the UK, any recording made over 50 years ago is out of copyright and therefore available for anyone to reissue. Fans of historical classical and musical cast recordings will have already experienced, with pleasure, the huge amount of ‘out of copyright’ material issued by independent labels such as Naxos, Jasmine, Vocalion, ASV Living Era, Sepia etc - all making available music which would otherwise never again see the light of day.

If, as the major labels are urging, the copyright period is extended to 95 years, all the reissues from the smaller labels would disappear and the consumer choice greatly reduced. Furthermore, song publishers and songwriters who currently earn royalties each time their song is used on a CD, even if the material is over 50 years old, will see their income affected, a point that seems to have been overlooked in the argument.

While I am aware that there are some rogue companies who do not comply with the current legislation, many of us do run our labels responsibly and legally. We pay composer mechanicals, don’t issue material until it comes out of copyright, and where possible, make contact with the composer or artist and working with them to produce a quality product. This is often achieved within tight financial constrains and not having the masters to restore from. Additionally, it is important to note that we are keeping the work of the artist or composer alive with our reissue CDs.

As been proven in the past, the major labels have not shown any interest in reissuing material they deem to be non-commercial, thus denying the consumer the opportunity to enjoy or discover a historical recording. For example, until we reissued the original London cast recording of Sandy Wilson’s Boy Friend, EMI, who own the original copyright, had never bothered to do so on CD. As we all know, The Boy Friend, an important show in the history of British musicals, was a major West End success before succeeding on Broadway. Why should our cultural heritage be hidden away because major labels do not find it financially viable to issue such recordings?

As always happens in such cases, it is the huge record companies and the likes of Cliff Richard who are among the most vociferous for change. Music Week quotes Cliff as saying: “I am a firm believer that the UK government needs to extend the term from the present 50 years. Extending the term of copyright for artists like myself is crucial because our works will slip out of copyright under the existing law and become open to exploitation - with all that entails - from anyone.” How can there be exploitation on material that would otherwise be locked away?

Andrew Gowers has been appointed by the government as the leader of the Treasury-led review of the situation and he is anxious to hear from anyone with views on the subject. Website: www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/gowers or e-mail gowers.review@hm-treasury.gov.uk

Alternatively, you can write to: Gowers Review of Intellectual Property, Room 4/E1, HM Treasury, 1 Horse Guards Road, London SW1A 2HQ.

The closing date for receipt of your views is April 21, 2006.

Richard Tay

Sepia Records

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