Free for a Fee

In a poorly thought out speech, Andy Burnham, Britain’s secretary of state for Culture, Media and Sport argued that there was a moral case for performers – who often do their best recorded work in their 20s and 30s – to benefit from it throughout their lifetime. In consequence, and against the recommendations of the Gower Report, performer’s rights would be extended from 50 years to 70 years. This move will presumably benefit Bachelor Boy Cliff Richards, the remaining Beatles and a handful of other geriatric performers, but will divide the revenue from the music industry ever thinner.
Apparently, according to Burnham, knowing that their songs would be protected for 70 years and not merely 50, will provide an incentive to recording artists.

The content in this post was found at http://blog.ipfactor.co.il/2008/12/15/uk-to-extend-performers-rights-to-70-years/ and was not authored by the moderators of freeforafee.com. Clicking the title link will take you to the source of the post.