Re: [ARSCLIST] Fw: Plan to extend copyright in UK

["Farrington, Jim" <jfarrington@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

And in the June 10th Wired there's an article on the brewing battle
throughout the EU: http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,67783,00.html

Jim


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dick Spottswood [mailto:dick@xxxxxxxx]
> Sent: Tuesday, June 14, 2005 8:38 AM
> To: ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [ARSCLIST] Fw: Plan to extend copyright in UK
>
>
> the clouds gather...
>
> ----- Forwarded by Dick Spottswood/dick/AmericanU on
> 06/14/2005 08:39 AM
> -----
>
>
> "Lance Ledbetter" <lance@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> 06/13/2005 08:42 PM
>
>         To:     "Dick Spottswood" <dick@xxxxxxxx>
>         cc:
>         Subject:        Plan to extend copyright in UK
>
>
> The Sunday Times - Britain
> June 05, 2005
>
> Plan to extend copyright on pop classics
> Andrew Porter, Deputy Political Editor
>
> BRITAIN'S super-rich rock veterans are about to get even richer. The
> government wants to extend copyright laws to ensure pop songs are
> protected for almost twice as long as the current 50 years.
> It sees the
> move as a way of generating more money for the record industry, which
> would use it to discover new talent.
>
> It will mean Beatles classics such as Love Me Do and Please Please Me,
> released in 1963, need not automatically lose their copyright in 2013.
> The Rolling Stones could also benefit with songs such as Satisfaction
> having their copyright extended beyond 2015.
>
> James Purnell, the new minister for creative industries, believes the
> change will allow record companies to generate extra revenue
> to look for
> new talent and nurture it. Purnell, who will outline his plans in a
> speech next week, said: "The music industry is a risky business and
> finding talent and artists is expensive. There is a view that
> long-term
> earners are needed so that the record companies can plough money back
> into unearthing new talent.
> "Bands like Coldplay will make enough money for their company to help
> them discover around 50 or 100 bands."
>
> In America, copyright protection lasts 90 years - and British
> ministers
> are considering a similar period. Tessa Jowell, the culture secretary,
> is also planning to set up a Music Council to be run along
> the lines of
> the present Film Council. The music industry believes this would help
> with cross- industry initiatives such as stamping out piracy.
>  The moves
> are part of the Labour government's first steps back into
> policy-making
> in an area that has an uncomfortable history. When Tony Blair first
> entered Downing Street, he was keen to embrace the supposed spirit of
> "Cool Britannia", but this later became synonymous with a
> celebrity-obsessed elite.  It saw figures such as Oasis star Noel
> Gallagher and Meg Mathews, his wife at the time, comedian Eddie Izzard
> and actor Ralph Fiennes feted by the Blairs.
>
> Purnell believes that the idea behind Cool Britannia was right, but
> poorly executed. "The label Cool Britannia gave the
> impression that the
> policy was about supporting an elite in London. But the last
> five years
> have shown that creative industries are central to regeneration," he
> said "You only have to look at Manchester, Gateshead or
> Liverpool to see
> how these sectors generate jobs and civic pride. We do not
> want to be in
> a situation in 30 or 40 years' time when [these industries] are talked
> about in the past tense like shipbuilding."
>
> http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1641428,00.html
>