Reuters: European Copyright Clock Ticking on Elvis Hits
LONDON (Billboard) – Fifty years after it was first released in the United States, Elvis Presley’s “That’s All Right” is a hit in Great Britain.
The single entered the British charts last week at No. 3. But for BMG, the company releasing the track, the celebration might be short-lived.
If there are no changes in European copyright law, the track will fall into public domain Jan. 1, 2005. Anyone will be able to release it without paying royalties to the owners of the master or the performer’s heirs. BMG will start losing a significant piece of its catalog income in Europe.
As “That’s All Right” is being hailed by some as the beginning of rock ‘n’ roll, the implications are that every year after 2005, more recordings that defined the genre will fall into public domain.
As a supporter of Free Culture and Creative Commons I am thrilled by this news, it is a wake up call in more ways than one. Peter Jamieson, executive chairman of British Phonograph Industry, calls for a change in the law to protect artist’s rights for a longer duration to gain parity with US law. But I see this as an opportunity for the public to question copyright legislation and ask if we need a further extension.
Elvis Presley can no longer benefit from sales of his recordings so the law doesn’t protect his interests it protects BMG the music company that continues to profit from his genius. The expiration will not mean that BMG can no longer sell Elvis records it just opens up the market for others to sell recordings or create derivative works of “That’s All Right”. This could well spawn a new industry of kids creating remixes of classic pop music in their bedrooms and becoming top selling music stars themselves.
