STATEMENT

RADIO INDUSTRY CONCERNED AT COLLATERAL EFFECTS OF ON-LINE MUSIC RIGHTS MANAGEMENT PROPOSALS

When commenting on the Commission’s proposed Recommendation on on-line music rights management, Commissioner McCreevy said that EU-wide licences “will make it easier for new European-based on-line services to take off”. AER strongly supports the Commission in its decision to reform cross-border collective management of copyright but hopes that the focus on “on-line music distribution in Europe” will not prevent it from recognizing and thus supporting the important role that radio stations are playing also with regard to on-line music and as essential contributors to the “royalty cake”.

AER supports the need for Community-wide licenses covering the needs of the broadcaster and nothing beyond that. Radio broadcasters are concerned that the proposed Recommendation will encourage Collecting Societies and the music industry to impose a “pay per play” model on the Internet and to justify limiting access to the Internet to those not prepared to accept such a model. This is NOT suitable to radio broadcasters to whom the Internet is merely another transmission platform on which their services can be found just as they are on satellite, cable, terrestrial analogue and/or digital TV and radio. “Pay per play” would amount to an unsustainable double payment system and substantially limit or even deprive listeners from accessing their favourite radio services on the Internet as is already the case in Finland.

For broadcasters, the country of origin principle is key. In this particular discussion, it is the basis of every rights acquisition. AER is concerned that this Recommendation will encourage the introduction of a country of reception rule for Internet simulcasting. This could mean different territorial scopes and criteria for the same content whether off or online and thus different legislations for the clearance of music rights. For radio broadcasters across the EU, most of which are SMEs, this would constitute an additional impediment to the service of simulcasting.

Commercial radio broadcasters absolutely support the need for fair and equitable remuneration for rights owners and any move to increase the effectiveness, transparency and competitiveness of the collective rights management system. Users need to know that their payments have reached the correct owners and so do the owners. This Recommendation however should not encourage some rights holders to extract unjustifiable new revenues from radio broadcasters and thus prevent listeners to freely choose their means of reception for the broadcast of their choice among today’s and tomorrows technological possibilities.

ENDS
13/10/2005

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Created in 1992, the Association of European Radios (AER) represents the interests of 13 national private radio associations in 10 EU Member States, Romania and Switzerland with a combined membership is over 4,500 private/commercial radio stations broadcasting to millions of listeners every day. AER represents the interests of private and commercial broadcasters to the EU and serves as a platform of information and exchange of expertise for its membership.