Music lovers in the UK can sleep a little easier in their beds knowing there's no longer any risk of being sued for ripping CDs. If, that is, they're using their own CDs and ripping for their own use.
This reassurance was given last week, by Peter Jamieson, chairman of the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) - the record-industry's trade association - in evidence to the House of Commons select committee for culture, media and sport.
Jamieson said, “Traditionally the recording industry has turned a blind eye to private copying and has used the strength of the law to pursue commercial pirates. We believe that we now need to make a clear and public distinction between copying for your own use and copying for dissemination to third parties and make it unequivocally clear to the consumer that if they copy their CDs for their own private use in order to move the music from format to format we will not pursue them.”
He also called on Apple to make its music downloads compatible with music players other than its own, saying, “We would advocate that Apple opts for interoperability”.
Read the BPI's take on its own evidence - the press release is below - then let us hear your views in the HEXUS.community.
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BPI press release - June 6, 2006
BPI outlines vision for recording industry to Select Committee
UK record companies' trade association the BPI this morning (June 6) gave oral evidence to the House of Commons Select Committee for Culture, Media & Sport inquiry into New Media and the Creative Industries.
Leading the BPI team was Chairman Peter Jamieson, accompanied by BPI General Counsel Roz Groome and Mark Richardson, Managing Director of BPI independent member Independiente, the label behind Travis and Embrace.
BPI outlines vision for recording industry to Select Committee
UK record companies' trade association the BPI this morning (June 6) gave oral evidence to the House of Commons Select Committee for Culture, Media & Sport inquiry into New Media and the Creative Industries.
Leading the BPI team was Chairman Peter Jamieson, accompanied by BPI General Counsel Roz Groome and Mark Richardson, Managing Director of BPI independent member Independiente, the label behind Travis and Embrace.
* BPI reassures consumers:
“We will not sue you for filling your iPod with music you
have bought yourself"
* Failure to extend copyright term "could turn an export into an import” - akin to scattering Britain's crown jewels of music across the globe.
* BPI to sue illegal website AllofMP3.com
* Digital downloads can cost more to distribute than CDs
* BPI hopes to reach voluntary settlement on download royalties
* Apple should make iTunes compatible with other players
* Music “more popular than ever”
* Failure to extend copyright term "could turn an export into an import” - akin to scattering Britain's crown jewels of music across the globe.
* BPI to sue illegal website AllofMP3.com
* Digital downloads can cost more to distribute than CDs
* BPI hopes to reach voluntary settlement on download royalties
* Apple should make iTunes compatible with other players
* Music “more popular than ever”
BPI reassures consumers: “We will not sue you for filling your iPod with music you have bought yourself"
BPI Chairman Peter Jamieson was quizzed on the fact that the
“all
rights reserved” nature of British copyright law means that
– without specific authorisation – any UK consumer
who rips
CDs they have bought in order to fill an iPod or other MP3 player is
currently guilty of copyright infringement.
“Traditionally the recording industry has turned a blind eye to private copying and has used the strength of the law to pursue commercial pirates,” he said.
“We believe that we now need to make a clear and public distinction between copying for your own use and copying for dissemination to third parties and make it unequivocally clear to the consumer that if they copy their CDs for their own private use in order to move the music from format to format we will not pursue them.”
“Traditionally the recording industry has turned a blind eye to private copying and has used the strength of the law to pursue commercial pirates,” he said.
“We believe that we now need to make a clear and public distinction between copying for your own use and copying for dissemination to third parties and make it unequivocally clear to the consumer that if they copy their CDs for their own private use in order to move the music from format to format we will not pursue them.”
Failure to extend copyright term could “turn an export business into an import business”
BPI Chairman Peter Jamieson explained to the Select Committee the vital
importance of extending the term of copyright for sound recordings from
the current 50 years to 95 years.
The current 50 year term is outdated and discriminates against recording artists, and even more importantly it threatens economic damage to one of the UK’s most successful export industries, he said.
“British music is one of Britain's greatest ambassadors, but failure to extend term could turn an export into an import,” he said. “If we lose the Crown Jewels of British music, little money will flow back to the UK.”
The current 50 year term is outdated and discriminates against recording artists, and even more importantly it threatens economic damage to one of the UK’s most successful export industries, he said.
“British music is one of Britain's greatest ambassadors, but failure to extend term could turn an export into an import,” he said. “If we lose the Crown Jewels of British music, little money will flow back to the UK.”
BPI to sue illegal website AllofMP3.com
In response to a question about the much-publicised Russian download
site AllofMP3.com BPI General Counsel Roz Groome said,”
AllofMP3.com is illegal under UK law and it is illegal to download from
it.”
AllofMP3.com’s claims to be legal are false, she said. Neither artists nor record companies receive any payment from the site.
Despite media speculation that the BPI would move to take action against users of the illegal website, Groome said “We are going to sue AllofMP3.com in the UK courts – we are going to seek a judgment not against the users of the site, but against the site itself.”
AllofMP3.com’s claims to be legal are false, she said. Neither artists nor record companies receive any payment from the site.
Despite media speculation that the BPI would move to take action against users of the illegal website, Groome said “We are going to sue AllofMP3.com in the UK courts – we are going to seek a judgment not against the users of the site, but against the site itself.”
Digital downloads can cost more to distribute than CDs
Mark Richardson, Managing Director of Independiente Records, outlined the challenges for independent record companies.
“You get into this game to promote and develop the work of an
artist. Our primary focus is to develop careers,” he said.
Richardson dismissed the idea that the internet somehow renders record companies redundant. Many of the oft-quoted examples of internet-built bands are simply an adaptation of long-established business methods. “Far from doing without record companies, they have used the internet to get themselves better deals with record companies,” he said.
When questioned on the relative prices of CDs and downloads, Richardson revealed that for an independent company like his, the costs charged by digital distributors are actually higher than those for physical product.
Speaking later, he said, “It is early days for digital music. At this point in time the cost of distribution for downloads is actually higher than for CDs. Regardless of that, however, distribution remains a relatively small part of the investment record companies make in music. All of the key costs for a piece of music remain virtually the same whatever format you distribute it on.”
Richardson dismissed the idea that the internet somehow renders record companies redundant. Many of the oft-quoted examples of internet-built bands are simply an adaptation of long-established business methods. “Far from doing without record companies, they have used the internet to get themselves better deals with record companies,” he said.
When questioned on the relative prices of CDs and downloads, Richardson revealed that for an independent company like his, the costs charged by digital distributors are actually higher than those for physical product.
Speaking later, he said, “It is early days for digital music. At this point in time the cost of distribution for downloads is actually higher than for CDs. Regardless of that, however, distribution remains a relatively small part of the investment record companies make in music. All of the key costs for a piece of music remain virtually the same whatever format you distribute it on.”
BPI hopes to reach voluntary settlement on download royalties
BPI Chairman Peter Jamieson revealed that the BPI, together with music
download stores and mobile companies are still trying to reach an
amicable settlement in their dispute with music publishers and
songwriters over the royalties which must be paid on downloads.
“I hope there will be a voluntary settlement before the Tribunal date,” he said. The Tribunal is currently set for October. A voluntary settlement would be designed to enable everyone concerned to become more aware of the costs involved in doing business digitally.
“I hope there will be a voluntary settlement before the Tribunal date,” he said. The Tribunal is currently set for October. A voluntary settlement would be designed to enable everyone concerned to become more aware of the costs involved in doing business digitally.
Apple should make iTunes compatible with other players
BPI Chairman Peter Jamieson was questioned about the dominance of
Apple’s iTunes download service in the digital download
market.
Jamieson acknowledges the huge contribution Apple has made to the development of the download business and the enormous appeal of its integrated hardware and software. However, when asked about iTunes dominant market share in downloads, Jamieson said, “It’s not particularly healthy for any one company to have such a dominant share.”
iPods currently only play unprotected MP3 files, such as those ripped from CDs, or songs downloaded from the iTunes Music Store. It applies its own Digital Rights Management (DRM) to the downloads it sells, that prevents them from being compatible with non-iPod music players. The DRM also prevents downloads purchased from most other legal download services, such as Napster and HMV Digital, from playing on iPods.
Jamieson called on Apple to open up its software in order that it is compatible with other players. “We would advocate that Apple opts for interoperability,” he said.
Jamieson acknowledges the huge contribution Apple has made to the development of the download business and the enormous appeal of its integrated hardware and software. However, when asked about iTunes dominant market share in downloads, Jamieson said, “It’s not particularly healthy for any one company to have such a dominant share.”
iPods currently only play unprotected MP3 files, such as those ripped from CDs, or songs downloaded from the iTunes Music Store. It applies its own Digital Rights Management (DRM) to the downloads it sells, that prevents them from being compatible with non-iPod music players. The DRM also prevents downloads purchased from most other legal download services, such as Napster and HMV Digital, from playing on iPods.
Jamieson called on Apple to open up its software in order that it is compatible with other players. “We would advocate that Apple opts for interoperability,” he said.
Music “more popular than ever”
Asked to summarise the position of UK record companies, Jamieson said,
“Music has never been more popular. But it’s not
time to
break out the champagne just yet. Digital was always a threat and an
opportunity, and I believe we are getting beyond the threat stage.
"The UK recording industry is committed to embracing every opportunity of digital technology in order to ensure the volume that must crucially accompany these new avenues of exploitation."
"The UK recording industry is committed to embracing every opportunity of digital technology in order to ensure the volume that must crucially accompany these new avenues of exploitation."
