05:07:2018 A vote by MEPs to reject the Legal Affairs Committee’s proposals on the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market was described as a “blow” for the music industry by UK Music.

The draft Directive contains welcome provisions for tackling the transfer of value from the music industry to online platforms.

One of the key elements of the Directive is Article 13 which creates a new legal framework to ensure that large online services pay creators and respect the content they use.

The Directive has been subject to an intense campaign based on misinformation pedalled by giant tech like Google’s YouTube with a huge vested and multi-million-pound interest in this battle.

The proposals will now be subject to further amendment at a forthcoming full European Parliamentary Plenary session in the Autumn.

Commenting, UK Music CEO Michael Dugher said:

“This is a sad day for everyone involved in the creativity that is behind Britain’s world-leading music.

“It is desperately disappointing that a small majority of MEPs have backed Google’s shabby multi-million euro campaign of fake news and misinformation against creators.

“Frankly, in some cases MEPs were naive. In others cases, they have chosen to wilfully disregard the plight of creators. These proposals would make a real difference to our creators, to those that invest in them and to all of us who value our culture.

“Google’s YouTube is the world’s most popular music platform, yet it deliberately chooses to return a pittance to those whose creativity it has built its multi-billion pound business model on. Google remain the vultures that feed off music creators. The fact remains that this must end.

“We sincerely thank the 278 MEPs who backed reform and look forward to engaging positively with all MEPs on the opportunities to develop the Directive further. We may have lost this particular round, but the fight to ensure fairness for music creators goes on.”