13 December 2013

Private copying levies benefit consumers – PCR matters #4

On 17 December, the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee will vote on an opinion on private copying levies, also known as private copying remuneration (PCR). Ahead of this vote, authorsocieties.eu is writing a series of posts called ‘PCR matters’ that explains why you should care about private copying levies. This week we explain you how copyright levies benefit consumers.

Private copying levies benefit consumers in many aspects of their lives.

Making your life easier -Thanks to copyright levies, consumers can legally and freely copy content for their own use. This makes it easier for consumers to enjoy their favourite movies, books, and TV shows across the different devices they use. It is also cost-effective for consumers as it has been shown that the existence of private copying levies has no effect on the price of devices.

Respecting your privacy -The system has the additional advantage of not being intrusive as it preserves the privacy of consumers.

Helping new content to emerge – As they make a significant part of authors’ revenues, private copying levies contribute to the creation of new content too. Moreover a part of levies is used to support cultural activities such as the organisation of concerts, festivals, film production, etc. This means that in the future consumers will be able to enjoy new and more varied content.

Supporting home-grown jobs – Private copying levies also contribute to the vibrancy of the European cultural and creative sector. Recent studies have demonstrated the value of this sector for the European economy. These home-grown industries produce jobs that cannot be moved offshore.

More about our views on private copying remuneration:

PCR matters #1- Private copying remuneration: More relevant in today’s digital world than ever

PCR matters #2 – Private copying levies: Fair compensation for creation

PCR matters #3 – Private copying levies: Indispensable source for social and cultural activities

Why you should care about private copying remuneration

What author societies want for private copying remuneration

How it is an essential source of income for European creators

Policies

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence brings about many new opportunities for our lives, including in the field of culture and creativity, but its applications also raise a number of ethical and legal questions due to their wide-spread uncontrolled and unchecked usage.

Policies

Music Streaming

Music streaming has unquestionably become the predominant means of enjoying music, replacing traditional physical media and expanded far beyond the live sector by providing user-friendly, high quality, and affordable access to the largest possible repertoire anytime, anywhere, online, or offline.

Songs and compositions are at the heart of this thriving market, which counts 524 million users on subscription-based music services globally, reaches more than 2 billion users including the streaming on UGC platforms, and offers more than 70 million tracks from approximately 8 million artists.

Yet, the authors and composers cannot benefit adequately from this success, and the debate over unfairness of this market is gaining traction across Europe and around the world.

There is a need to look more closely at how songwriters and composers are connected to this thriving economy and what can be done to improve their currently neglected situation.

Read below to find out more about the Music Streaming market.

Policies

Buy-out contracts: a dangerous threat to European creators

European music creators (composers, lyricists etc.) are being forced to forsake thousands of euros in future earnings by draconian ‘work made for hire’ (WMH) and buy-out contracts.

Online audiovisual services and broadcasters that are mainly US-based are forcing music creators to accept such contracts, which enforce a one-time payment in exchange for their rights.

Given the worldwide popularity of shows and series on platforms like Netflix, Amazon, Disney etc., and their replay value, the audiovisual market represents an important revenue stream for creators. Soundtracks alone are part and parcel of series and often attract a similar amount of popularity, massively boosting sales, streams and the worldwide fanbase of their authors.

Read below to find out how video on demand (VOD) platforms and broadcasters are circumventing EU law and what can be done about it.

Policies

Authors’ societies & the collective management model

Authors’ societies are hugely beneficial to both authors (creators), users (platforms and services), and the broader public.

Beyond benefiting these different groups, authors’ societies also support the broader cultural ecosystem by funding and promoting cultural and creative initiatives.

Below are five key benefits to authors’ societies and the collective management model.

Policies

The Copyright Directive

In April 2019, the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market was formally adopted, a change that will positively transform authors’ rights throughout the EU. Each member state now has until 7 June 2021 to transpose the Directive into their respective national law.

This reform is an opportunity to address pressing issues for authors in the Digital Single Market and will promote the growth of Europe’s creative and cultural industries (CCIs) – a major driver of Europe’s economy.

One of the biggest achievements of this new piece of legislation was to address the
‘Transfer of Value’ problem, a priority issue for all European creators.

Below are some of the Directive’s key areas that will affect creators and those who profit from their work.