University music lecturer Richard Lightman says a new EU Directive on copyright will put more power in the hands of content creators.
Mr Lightman, a lecturer in popular music at the University’s Centre for Music and Audio Technology, commented: ‘The passing of Copyright Directive Article 13/17 puts more power into the hands of the Content Creators.
‘The Copyright Directive and its most controversial component, Article 13, requires online platforms to filter or remove copyrighted material from their websites that has not had the agreement of inclusion by creators.
‘As an example, YouTube does not pay creators for their content nor do they solicit their permission for inclusion. Google/YouTube’s current model is based on a percentage of the advertising revenue from visitor counts, subject to meeting a critical mass in terms of visits before the income is shared.
‘The payment for those participating equates to 1/12th of what streaming platforms like Spotify are paying and this will be due to change as a result of Article 13/17. This goes a long way towards shrinking the value gap between what is made by the online giants and the creators whose content drives the online market.
‘Although it is not perfect, the Copyright Directive now puts the power of veto into the hands of the creators and requires platforms like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter to take more responsibility for copyrighted material being shared illegally and to pay publishers, record companies and the creators directly for use of the content. This will contribute to help safeguard the livelihoods of future generations of composers, songwriters, artists, authors and designers.’
Richard Lightman, is a member of the Council of Music Makers and a committee member of the Copyright Committee for UK Music (the umbrella organisation of the whole of the UK Music Industry). He has contributed over the last four years to the wording and negotiation of Article 11 and 13 of the European Copyright Directive, which has now been passed.
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