Post by Michael-Andros Trueheart on May 26, 2009 18:19:49 GMT -5
When we talk about an online music or video service, almost inevitably we’re talking about the US version of it, because - due to copyright issues - the service (or at least some of its content, as is the case with YouTube (YouTube reviews)) doesn’t work in the bigger part of the world. The usual explanation I hear is “it’s due to copyright laws,” but the entertainment industry has, in fact, the power to change things; they’re just slow and reluctant to do so.
The biggest problem is the fact that music rights are sold separately in each European country, and collecting societies - various groups which collect copyright-related fees and give them to the artists - have different contracts that allow artists to collect payments only from an agency based in their country. This is what’s stopping Apple from offering iTunes in some European countries; if they were able to set up a single store for all of Europe, it’d be much easier.
Now, EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes has urged the music industry “to move quickly to adapt their licensing solutions to the online environment.” It’s not just a friendly nudge, though. The European Commission said the same thing last July, and found 24 European collecting societies in violation of EU antitrust rules. If things don’t improve, the EU commission has the power to start imposing fines, and - as we know from the examples of Intel and Microsoft - they do it with a heavy hand.
The amazing thing about this entire situation is the fact that the entertainment industry is so slow to do something about this flawed licensing system when it’s obvious that fixing it could only benefit them. Digital music sales numbers aren’t what you expected? Well, you’ve got one part of the solution right here.
mashable.com/2009/05/26/eu-music-industry/
The biggest problem is the fact that music rights are sold separately in each European country, and collecting societies - various groups which collect copyright-related fees and give them to the artists - have different contracts that allow artists to collect payments only from an agency based in their country. This is what’s stopping Apple from offering iTunes in some European countries; if they were able to set up a single store for all of Europe, it’d be much easier.
Now, EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes has urged the music industry “to move quickly to adapt their licensing solutions to the online environment.” It’s not just a friendly nudge, though. The European Commission said the same thing last July, and found 24 European collecting societies in violation of EU antitrust rules. If things don’t improve, the EU commission has the power to start imposing fines, and - as we know from the examples of Intel and Microsoft - they do it with a heavy hand.
The amazing thing about this entire situation is the fact that the entertainment industry is so slow to do something about this flawed licensing system when it’s obvious that fixing it could only benefit them. Digital music sales numbers aren’t what you expected? Well, you’ve got one part of the solution right here.
mashable.com/2009/05/26/eu-music-industry/
