News

PRESS RELEASE – 4 November 2013

In future Danish songwriters and composers will receive payment when their songs are played on YouTube. Now, with this agreement, the vast majority of all online music consumption will generate income for the artists behind it.
After lengthy negotiations Koda, the Danish organisation protecting the interests of music creators, and video platform YouTube today announced that they have entered into an agreement that gives Danish songwriters and composers the opportunity to make money from music that they make available on YouTube in Denmark. The agreement is in effect from 1 November 2013 and will be based on revenue generated by advertisements shown when YouTube-partners’ videos are accessed.
Anders Lassen, CEO of Koda, is very pleased to see the agreement safely concluded:
”This agreement with YouTube is a milestone. We have now ensured that our members will receive payment when their music is used on this highly popular online service. It is crucially important to us that with this agreement the vast majority of all online music consumption will generate income for the artists,” he says.
Director of Google Denmark, Peter Friis, adds:
”We are very pleased indeed to have entered into an agreement with Koda and, hence, with the many artists represented by Koda. This agreement will create better conditions for producing Danish content and will allow artists, composers, and songwriters to make money from their music on YouTube,” says Peter Friis, further adding that ”the agreement is also a great boon to all YouTube users, for whom the act of listening to music and discovering new artists on YouTube is an important aspect of their online experience”.

For more information, please contact:
Nicolaj Hyltén-Cavallius
Head of Communications

D: +45 33 30 63 09
M: +45 22 27 79 21
nhc@koda.dk

We’ve posted already some information about the agreement on the Collective Management Directive that was reached this week (see here and here). We thought we would also share some of the comments that have been made on the agreement.

European Commission

Commissioner Barnier welcomes the agreement (see here), which he says will bring greater transparency and more accurate and efficient management of rights:

According to Mr. Barnier:

“Rightholders will be more involved in the decision-making process of their collective management organisation, whereas collective management organisations will be strengthened in their capacity to represent authors, performers or producers in all Member States in view of efficient rights management across the single market”

“This Directive is a key step towards the completion of the Digital Single Market, which had led the European Council to call for accelerated work in view of finalising the negotiations. Constructive discussions in the Parliament and in the Council have led to a very good negotiation result”

Lithuanian Presidency of the European Council

The Lithuanian Presidency is satisfied with the text (see here). The Lithuanian Culture Minister, Mr. Šarūnas Birutis, noted:

“The agreement reached today and the provisions of this Directive address the interests of the rightholders and the needs of the consumers in the EU. Well-balanced regulatory approach will bring more transparency and efficiency for the activities of the collective management organisations. And the improved system of obtaining multi-territorial licences for authors’ rights in musical works will be one of the important factors contributing to the European Single Market for online music services. This will also allow consumers in the EU to enjoy the widest possible access to diverse musical repertoires.”

EPP group in the European Parliament

Marielle Gallo MEP welcomes the agreement on CRM (see here)

S&D group in the European Parliament

In the S&D group press release (see here), Françoise Castex MEP, negotiator for the S&D Group, said:

“We have reached a fairly balanced text, which confirms the non-profit status of collective management companies and promotes more transparency and better governance on copyright management.”

Europolitique

An article in French (see here) says that the principles voted in the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs committee have stood in the final text. This is the case, for example, of the active participation of creators in the governance and control of activities. Amongst the new provisions:

• Author societies will have to remunerate artists within 9 months following the end of the financial year.
• Artists will be able to choose their collecting societies and to have a proxy vote in general assemblies.

In COREPER meeting this morning Member States gave their agreement on the Presidency Compromise Text approved within the Trialogue on Monday. Only three Member States abstained: Poland, Austria and Slovenia.

The next step is the vote in JURI on 26 November.

After months of negotiations, yesterday evening EU institutions have reached an agreement on a compromise text for the upcoming directive on collecting societies.

The outcome of yesterday’s final negotiation will still need to be rubber-stamped by member states and the Parliament before the directive is officially adopted.

The draft text of this directive was initially proposed by the European Commission in July last year. If all goes well, it should be officially approved before the end of this Parliament’s mandate.