What should composers and publishers get paid for on-line downloads?

The BBC reports that the record companies have joined with 7 online services, including iTunes Music Store, to refer the royalties paid for music downloads to the UK's Copyright Tribunal.

Currently, the authors and publishers get paid a royalty of 6.5% of the retail price for CDs and up to 5.25% of advertising revenues for broadcasts. They (or their collecting societies) have demanded double the rate payable on CDs for music downloads.

Full report here, earlier report about their Canadian cousins here.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could get legal downloads here (I mean, Australia) (of course we can to some extent, just not the services that have run away with the market overseas).

Now, we do have a Copyright Tribunal here too, but it may not have jurisdiction of these kinds of licences as the powers conferred on in it over "licences" are limited by Copyright Act 1968 s 136 to licences for public performance, broadcast and electronic transmission of the copyright material - no licence for reproductions. Meanwhile the CLRC's report on the Jurisdiction of the Copyright Tribunal recommending an extension of its powers is still out there.

Posted: Wednesday - 06 July, 2005 at 11:32 AM |

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What should composers and publishers get paid for on-line downloads?

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