The absence of pan-European copyright licenses makes it difficult for new European-based online services to take off, says the Commission. It has published a 60-page study on how copyright for musical works is licensed for use on the internet.
It concludes that the main obstacle to the growth of legitimate online content services in the EU is the difficulty in securing attractive content for online exploitation.
In particular, the present structures for cross-border collective management of music copyright – which were developed for the analogue environment – prevent music from fulfilling its unique potential as a driver for online content services.
The Commission proposes options to remedy this situation, believing that only music has the real potential to kick-start online content services in Europe.
Internal Market and Services Commissioner Charlie McCreevy said: “Central clearance is not about making content available on the cheap. It offers a model whereby Europe’s creative community will get the lion’s share in revenues achieved online.”
Online music services targeted by the analysis include services provided on the internet – such as simulcasting (a simultaneous broadcast of programs or events across more than one medium), webcasting (where a broadcast is uploaded by the sender and downloaded by the receiver), streaming (which enables 'just-in-time' delivery of multimedia information), downloading, or an online “on-demand” service – and also music services provided to mobile telephones.
The study focuses on these services because all of them can be enjoyed across Europe and, in consequence, their copyright needs to be cleared throughout Europe.
It concludes that entirely new structures for cross-border collective management of copyright are required, and that the most effective model for achieving this is to enable right-holders to authorise a collecting society of their choice to manage their works across the entire EU.
This, says the Commission, would create a competitive environment for cross-border management of copyright and considerably enhance right-holders’ earning potential.
In addition, the right-holder’s freedom to choose any collecting society in the EU would create a powerful incentive for these societies to provide optimal services to all their right-holders, irrespective of their location – thereby enhancing cross-border royalty payments.
The study therefore proposes a series of principles that Member States would have to adhere to in order to develop the above system.