The EU Copyright Directive marched closer to becoming law with the approval by European Parliament on the 12th of this month. The most controversial points in the Directive were Article 11 (the “link tax”) and Article 13 (the “upload filter”).
I’ve linked a trio of articles from MBW below, articulating different sides of the argument. (Spoiler: it’s mostly the “rights for creators” vs “the death of the internet” camps, at it again.)
Whilst Articles 11 and 13 got most of the column inches, the Directive also includes Articles 14 to 16, which were a lot less publicised. Probably because they represented author and performer rights (the artist), rather than copyright owner rights (the labels). Surprising? Maybe not ….
Article 14 deals with the obligation for licensees to provide transparent accounting to performers and authors. It is quite standard in the music industry that a label provides accounting but who knows what other changes to transparency this article may bring.
Article 15 is reminiscent of the so called “best-seller clause”, whereby an artist has the ability to request further remuneration should a work become highly valuable. I see this affecting the work for hire space mostly. Produce a track for $1000 that goes on to get that $500k Coke sync? This may be your time.
Article 16 provides the means for an artist to pursue the above two Articles.
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