The event, entitled The Theft of Creative Content: Copyright in Crisis, was hosted by Professor Andrew Murray, a specialist in copyright law and digital media. Its purpose was to discuss the current role of copyright and its ongoing effectiveness in the evolving digital creative industries.
Stream the full audio from the event here.
Murray was joined by a five-strong panel including: Robert Ashcroft, chief executive, PRS for Music; Amelia Andersdotter, Pirate Party MEP; Ludovic Hunter-Tilney, music critic, Financial Times; Eg White, songwriter and producer (Adele, James Morrison, Duffy); Dr Luke McDonagh, fellow in the Department of Law at LSE.
The evening saw prepared speeches from Ashcroft, Andersdotter and McDonagh, followed by an interview with Eg White and questions from the audience.
Ashcroft used his address to explain that, although copyright could at times be complex, its importance to a successful and growing digital creative economy could not be overstated.
He told delegates that current copyright law underpinned the whole industry, adding that PRS for Music collected revenues of £642m for its 95,000-plus members last year.
‘Our role is to ensure that those who want to use music can do so both easily and cost effectively, while ensuring that those who created it are able to earn a fair return on their efforts… This is why I find it puzzling when I hear the rhetoric that says that collecting societies are a barrier in the way of new music services,’ he said.
Stream the full audio from the event here.
Murray was joined by a five-strong panel including: Robert Ashcroft, chief executive, PRS for Music; Amelia Andersdotter, Pirate Party MEP; Ludovic Hunter-Tilney, music critic, Financial Times; Eg White, songwriter and producer (Adele, James Morrison, Duffy); Dr Luke McDonagh, fellow in the Department of Law at LSE.
The evening saw prepared speeches from Ashcroft, Andersdotter and McDonagh, followed by an interview with Eg White and questions from the audience.
Ashcroft used his address to explain that, although copyright could at times be complex, its importance to a successful and growing digital creative economy could not be overstated.
He told delegates that current copyright law underpinned the whole industry, adding that PRS for Music collected revenues of £642m for its 95,000-plus members last year.
‘Our role is to ensure that those who want to use music can do so both easily and cost effectively, while ensuring that those who created it are able to earn a fair return on their efforts… This is why I find it puzzling when I hear the rhetoric that says that collecting societies are a barrier in the way of new music services,’ he said.
‘Our mission is to give the greatest access possible to music, not to prevent people from accessing it – how could we? We’re an organisation run by songwriters, representing an increasing number of creators every year, who want to earn a living from making music.’
Meanwhile Andersdotter, the Pirate Party representative who became the youngest MEP in 2011, argued that copyright law - and its application - was largely prohibitive. She said that existing laws were stifling creativity and collective cultural enrichment.
‘There clearly needs to be a dramatic change to copyright law. This would be a traumatic change but there are many member states who are suffering from the current system. I think that society is becoming poorer because people are not able to make culture a base for human interaction,’ she said.
Next to talk was Professor McDonagh who argued for robust copyright law that could support the rapidly evolving music industry. He said that, despite ongoing reports to the contrary, the music industry was not in crisis and, despite falling sales in some sectors, consumers were still paying for music even if they didn’t realise it.
‘We are in an upswing and the stats do bear that out,’ he said. ‘In the future, and indeed what we see now, is that we are all paying for music in different ways than we are used to.
‘Certainly the licence fees for live music are higher now, and this gets passed on to festival and concert goers. There is licensed music in many places such as gyms and nightclubs – all those costs inevitably get passed on to listeners.’
He later cautioned that copyright had been ignored in the last decade by many music fans that had downloaded content illegally. But he mirrored Andersdotter’s argument, adding that aggressive lawsuits against illegal file-sharers and the use of online surveillance technology usually associated with anti-terrorism had obscured all the positive changes the music industry had been making.
In a nod to the importance of digital royalties and multi-territory licensing, he said: ‘The music industry has transformed itself and continues to do so. The role for copyright is an important one and although it has been ignored by some, it does form the basis for musicians to get paid for their work.
‘The issue that needs to be solved is getting the incomes for musicians up. They are not yet being compensated for the loss of revenues from other areas,’ he said.
Over the coming days we will be posting the full audio recording from the evening, plus video highlights, so make sure you check in regularly for more.
Meanwhile Andersdotter, the Pirate Party representative who became the youngest MEP in 2011, argued that copyright law - and its application - was largely prohibitive. She said that existing laws were stifling creativity and collective cultural enrichment.
‘There clearly needs to be a dramatic change to copyright law. This would be a traumatic change but there are many member states who are suffering from the current system. I think that society is becoming poorer because people are not able to make culture a base for human interaction,’ she said.
Next to talk was Professor McDonagh who argued for robust copyright law that could support the rapidly evolving music industry. He said that, despite ongoing reports to the contrary, the music industry was not in crisis and, despite falling sales in some sectors, consumers were still paying for music even if they didn’t realise it.
‘We are in an upswing and the stats do bear that out,’ he said. ‘In the future, and indeed what we see now, is that we are all paying for music in different ways than we are used to.
‘Certainly the licence fees for live music are higher now, and this gets passed on to festival and concert goers. There is licensed music in many places such as gyms and nightclubs – all those costs inevitably get passed on to listeners.’
He later cautioned that copyright had been ignored in the last decade by many music fans that had downloaded content illegally. But he mirrored Andersdotter’s argument, adding that aggressive lawsuits against illegal file-sharers and the use of online surveillance technology usually associated with anti-terrorism had obscured all the positive changes the music industry had been making.
In a nod to the importance of digital royalties and multi-territory licensing, he said: ‘The music industry has transformed itself and continues to do so. The role for copyright is an important one and although it has been ignored by some, it does form the basis for musicians to get paid for their work.
‘The issue that needs to be solved is getting the incomes for musicians up. They are not yet being compensated for the loss of revenues from other areas,’ he said.
Over the coming days we will be posting the full audio recording from the evening, plus video highlights, so make sure you check in regularly for more.
