| Royalty Free Music > Music News > New Proposal Increases Demand for Copyright-Free Music in the EU
July 17th, 2008
The European Union Commission focused on music during its meeting in Brussels yesterday, adopting a proposal to extend copyright protection for singers and musicians from 50 years to 95 years. Introduced by Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy in February 2008, the proposed legislation would allow singers and musicians to collect performance royalties for an additional 45 years. The proposal does not affect the copyright term for composers and songwriters in the EU: their works will still be protected by copyrights for 70 years following their death. Although the move has been endorsed by the European Union Commission, it must be approved by the EU Parliament and government authorities from individual EU nations before the legislation can take effect. However, it appears unlikely that these parties will veto the proposal.
How Does the EU's Plan to Extend the Copyright Term for Singers & Musicians Affect Me?
If you use music in radio broadcasts or as background music and music on hold for your business, the EU's plan could impact your wallet. Performing rights organizations such as GEMA in Germany and SACEM in France require businesses to obtain licenses to play copyright-protected music in a public setting, such as a restaurant, club, performance venue, supermarket, department store, bank, or medical office. Longer copyright terms for musicians and singers could cause the performing rights organizations to dip their hands into your pockets for an extra 45 years if you own or run a business. Consequently, with the news of this proposal, many businesses have turned to copyright-free music as an alternative to obtaining licenses from performing rights organizations for copyright-protected music. As its name indicates, copyright-free music is not protected by copyrights and can be used in a number of different ways without acquiring licenses or paying ongoing fees or royalties.
Does Royaltyfreemusic.com Offer Copyright-Free Music?
Royaltyfreemusic.com's library of more than 10,000 tracks and 12,000 sound effects does not contain copyright-free music . However, music from our library can be used in ways that are similar to copyright-free music. Here's why: when you purchase music from Royaltyfreemusic.com, you are granted a standard license that enables you to use our collection of royalty-free music as background music , music on hold, and in an array of different professional and personal projects. In other words, you don't need to worry about getting a license from a performing rights organization or pay ongoing fees to incorporate our selection of royalty-free music into your business or projects. After you make a purchase from Royaltyfreemusic.com, you're free to play the music publicly and load the music into your business's music on hold systems. Royalty-free music provides the same advantages to businesses as copyright-free music because it eliminates the liability of paying ongoing performance royalties to singers and musicians through licenses with performing rights organizations in the EU, saving businesses both time and money.
If you are in search of copyright-free music to replace copyright-protected music for your business, check out Royaltyfreemusic.com's award-winning library of royalty-free music. With 30 categories of music to choose from, you are certain to find music that will keep you and your customers happy. More importantly, you won't have to shell out your hard earned money to performing rights organizations in the EU (or anywhere else in the world) for licenses to use music in your business.
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