Music copyright to be extended to 95 years

[DaBees-Knees]

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/expert/infopress_page/058-48812-040-02-07-909-20090209IPR48791-09-02-2009-2009-false/default_en.htm

Copyright term for music recordings must be extended from 50 years to 95 years, says legislation approved on Thursday by the (European) Legal Affairs Committee. Increasing the term of copyright protection would ensure that performers and producers continue to receive royalties for 95 years from the first publication or performance of their song, according to a Commission proposal backed by the committee.
 
Ensuring that copyright extension benefits performers:
The approved report, drafted by Brian Crowley (UEN, IE), amends existing legislation to increase the copyright protection for music recordings to 95 years. To ensure that performers fully enjoy the additional royalties deriving from copyright extension, the  committee amended the original text so as to prevent the use of previous contractual agreements to deduct money from the additional royalties.
 
A fund for session musicians:
A dedicated fund for session musicians was also approved by the committee. This fund would be financed by contributions from producers, who would be obliged to set aside for this purpose, at least once a year, at least 20% of the revenues gained from the proposed extension of copyright term. Committee members also amended a provision relating to this fund so as to give collecting societies, which represent performers' and producers' interests, the right to administer the annual supplementary remuneration.
 
Copyright extension for audiovisual works, too?
The committee also asked the Commission to launch an impact assessment of the situation in the European audiovisual sector by January 2010, with a view to deciding whether a similar copyright extension would benefit the audiovisual world. Finally, MEPs ask the Commission to submit three years after the entry into force of the new legislation, and every four years thereafter, an assessment of whether the copyright extension has in fact improved the social situation of performers.

Apart from possibly improving the lot of session musicians, that move doesn't do anything to help the end user and alter excessive profits by a few in the music industry. How many artists are going to be alive at the end of the 95 years to benefit? We all know where the cash will be going !!!

[Cobra]

Of course we do. It wasn't the artists who demanded the extension in the first place. They didn't seem to care and were happy with the 50-year span that has existed for who knows how long.

Ever since talk about this began, what I have been most curious about is this: what happens to music that, prior to this becoming a reality, passed the 50-year mark but still has a while to go before the 95 year mark? Typical law would say that that music would be exempt and cannot be huddled into this new timeline since it has already passed the previous mark of the previous law. However, I guarantee you that someone somewhere is trying to find a way to pull them back in and even collect royalties for the time in-between the 50-year mark and today which they are not due.