According to Reuters, the European Union has drafted a new bill to fight music piracy and enhance copyright protection which would force companies that manage music rights to pay artists their royalties more speedily.
The European Commission will present the new bill this coming Wednesday in a second attempt to bind companies to comply with the existing laws against music piracy and copyright.
According to the Reuters report on the draft bill, the EU mentions among others that the poor financial management of those companies’ profits has weakened copyright within the EU, turning Europe into the best place for websites offering pirated music.
The draft law would give collecting societies 12 months after the financial year in which a track was played to pay up – or about half the time companies currently have in many countries.
Musicians, however, say the draft law would only release a tiny fraction of the royalties they are owed and do nothing to unlock royalties made from gigging, clubs and private copying.
(Source: Reuters)
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