27.07.2020: UK Music's Tom Kiehl has written to the Government following announcement that the Copyright Directive will not be implemented.
Deputy CEO Tom Kiehl wrote to Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Minister Chris Skidmore to request an urgent meeting to discuss the music industry's concerns.
This follows the Ministers response to a question from Jo Stevens, MP for Cardiff Central. Mr. Skidmore confirmed that any changes to the UK’s copyright framework would fall under the domestic policy process.
He said: “The deadline for implementing the EU Copyright Directive is 7 June 2021. The United Kingdom will leave the European Union on 31 January 2020 and the Implementation Period will end on 31 December 2020. The Government has committed not to extend the Implementation Period.
“Therefore, the United Kingdom will not be required to implement the Directive, and the Government has no plans to do so. Any future changes to the UK copyright framework will be considered as part of the usual domestic policy process.”
In his letter Tom Kiehl said:
“The Directive is designed to improve the way creators in the music industry and those that invest in them are financially rewarded.
“The UK’s world-leading music industry is worth £5.2 billion to the economy, generates export revenues of £2.7 billion and employs over 190,000 people but we can only maintain growth if we take advantage of the opportunities provided by the changes in the Copyright Directive.
“Google-owned YouTube currently pay creators significantly less than the real value to them. Failing to implement the core principles of the Directive would let Google off the hook and mean creators continue to get a raw deal.”
Creative Industries Minister Nigel Adams told MPs in a Westminster Hall debate on Tuesday “we support the overall aims of the Copyright Directive”. Tom Kiehl called for a plan to be put into place to achieve these aims.
Mr.Kiehl went on to say:
“We understand that the UK’s imminent departure from the EU presents challenges to taking forward the Directive in its current form. However, the Government should not lose sight of the fact that it played a key role in developing and agreeing to the many necessary provisions within the Directive.
“If it is the case that Brexit presents an opportunity for the UK to write its own laws, then there is no excuse for a delay to our existing call for the Government to set out a road map outlining how it intends to take forward its support for the Directive’s key proposals.”
Read the letter here.
The Directive passed into EU law on March 26 2019. UK Music led the music industry in supporting the Copyright Directive with the #LoveMusic campaign, which aimed to spread a positive message about the UK music industry and to counter some of the myths about what the Copyright Directive will mean for the internet. Find out more about the Copyright Directive and the #LoveMusic campaign here.
Read More
Back to news