Billy Bragg slams copyright plans

Billy Bragg has blasted a proposed European Union law to nearly double music copyright to 95 years, saying it would give a huge windfall to major recording labels.

The European Parliament is set to vote on extending royalties for performers beyond the current 50-year limit, which would bring the EU in line with the US. EU governments must approve the rules before they become final.

Billy said he didn't oppose longer copyrights but the EU plan "simply perpetuates recording contracts that were signed in the last 50 years," taking no account of the way the internet is changing the recording industry.

He said these contracts gave artists a cut of 8 per cent to 15 per cent of the wholesale price of a record, which reflected the high costs - up to 65 per cent - that labels paid to physically make and transport records.

"Now that they no longer have to do that, that money will go straight into their bottom line," he said. "This legislation offers the multinational record corporations a potential windfall of the size of the invention of the CD" when fans bought a second copy of albums they already owned on vinyl or cassette.

Billy also said copyright laws needed to focus on commercial use instead of crackdowns on people swapping music with friends or kids using a song in a school play.

"We are against the idea of criminalising music fans," he said.

He said the recording industry needed to find new ways to make money out of free music "because they're ain't no way we're going to stop it".