Careers of new songwriters are ‘being squeezed’ by a digital market allowing online platforms to use current laws to avoid paying for music, a PRS for Music legal expert has said.
Speaking to delegates at the Westminster Media Forum, Frances Lowe, policy adviser and former Head of Legal, Policy and Public Affairs at PRS for Music, called on the European Commission’s Digital Single Market to reform current copyright legislation to prevent user upload platforms from claiming ‘safe harbour’.
She said: ‘Many online platforms with user-uploaded content are using the law to avoid paying for the raw materials of the music that underpins their business models.
‘The market has developed but is not working fairly - the law is out of date for the new tech and its users. Safe harbour takes away the right of creators to consent to the use of their works. This means certain tech companies have gained at the expense of creators and the licensed service providers who are paying.’
Frances said that copyright law needs to change to reflect the new platforms where consumers upload, then share music, particularly with so many using YouTube and SoundCloud as the primary way in which they engage with cultural content.
During the talk, PRS for Music’s representative referred to a German court case where a court said that YouTube’s business model was very different from the hosting platform that was originally considered by the EU legislation. .
‘They recognised that online platforms are now much more active. That’s positive. They aid discoverability, curation, recommendation, search functionality - it’s a very positive issue - but they are not paying fair remuneration’, said Frances.
She also stated that YouTube has the song recognition technology to identify works uploaded to its service.
‘We should be looking at introducing commercial best practice to make sure that platforms are deploying the technology driving their business to identify works correctly and therefore pay creators.’
Meanwhile, PRS for Music has recently launched legal action against music streaming and download platform SoundCloud. Read the full PRS for Music statement.
Speaking to delegates at the Westminster Media Forum, Frances Lowe, policy adviser and former Head of Legal, Policy and Public Affairs at PRS for Music, called on the European Commission’s Digital Single Market to reform current copyright legislation to prevent user upload platforms from claiming ‘safe harbour’.
She said: ‘Many online platforms with user-uploaded content are using the law to avoid paying for the raw materials of the music that underpins their business models.
‘The market has developed but is not working fairly - the law is out of date for the new tech and its users. Safe harbour takes away the right of creators to consent to the use of their works. This means certain tech companies have gained at the expense of creators and the licensed service providers who are paying.’
Frances said that copyright law needs to change to reflect the new platforms where consumers upload, then share music, particularly with so many using YouTube and SoundCloud as the primary way in which they engage with cultural content.
During the talk, PRS for Music’s representative referred to a German court case where a court said that YouTube’s business model was very different from the hosting platform that was originally considered by the EU legislation. .
‘They recognised that online platforms are now much more active. That’s positive. They aid discoverability, curation, recommendation, search functionality - it’s a very positive issue - but they are not paying fair remuneration’, said Frances.
She also stated that YouTube has the song recognition technology to identify works uploaded to its service.
‘We should be looking at introducing commercial best practice to make sure that platforms are deploying the technology driving their business to identify works correctly and therefore pay creators.’
Meanwhile, PRS for Music has recently launched legal action against music streaming and download platform SoundCloud. Read the full PRS for Music statement.
