Collins ‘Hopeful’ for Copyright Changes Next Year; ASCAP Lobbies Congress
An increase in songwriting royalty rates should be prioritized as Congress continues its copyright review led by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., said Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., a member of that committee, and music royalty advocates in interviews. Collins said he’s “hopeful” that a copyright revamp will happen next year. The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers held a concert at the Library of Congress Tuesday and ASCAP plans a “lobbying day” on Capitol Hill Wednesday.
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ASCAP is a proponent of Collins’ Songwriter Equity Act (SEA) (HR-4079), which would update Copyright Act sections 114(i) and 115 that prevent “songwriters from receiving royalty rates that reflect fair market value” for their use, said a bill summary provided by Collins’ office. He introduced the bill in February (CD Feb 26 p13), and it has 11 co-sponsors (http://1.usa.gov/RlcSRq).
"I'm hopeful there will be movement on developing a framework we can pass” for a copyright revamp next year, said Collins. “If we don’t start by the end of this year,” hopefully there will be a “large push” for copyright changes next session, he said. The Copyright Office (CO) said the system needs updating, and “it can’t take 30 years like it did last time,” he said. We have “20th-century laws dealing with a 21st-century IP economy.”
Congress is “kind of committed to this protracted review of existing copyright,” but not many people think there will be “immediate traction,” said Casey Rae, Future of Music Coalition interim executive director. Based on his conversations with Goodlatte’s office, “they're committed to this process,” he said. “It’s not a dog and pony show,” but they “probably won’t come up with any recommendations until next Congress,” he said.
The CO seeks comment on a music licensing study that “will assess whether and how existing methods serve the music marketplace, including new and emerging digital distribution platforms,” said a notice in Monday’s Federal Register (http://1.usa.gov/1kHYEkH). Comments are due May 16, it said. The office plans a series of public roundtables on the issue in Nashville (June 4-5), Los Angeles (June 16-17) and New York City (June 23-24) (http://1.usa.gov/Rox0S9).
The CO study “touches everything under the sun” in the music licensing debate, said Rae. The CO probably won’t “produce any recommendations,” but it’s “going to be a very comprehensive” review of current law, said Rae. The CO is “asking all the right questions,” he said. Register of Copyrights Maria Pallante has “done a good job” introducing new ideas into the copyright debate, said Collins.
The SEA is a “modest change” to the royalty structure, said Collins. Rae cited the SEA as an important development for songwriters. The SEA “doesn’t say songwriters are going to get paid more or less,” but it gives parity to “100-year-old rules,” said Collins. The songwriter aspect of the copyright debate is “very nuanced” and “outdated” in terms of how the laws are currently written, he said: Two of the three ways songwriters get paid involve the government. In the one area where government isn’t involved, songwriters have a chance to market their work and get a fair market rate, he said. The SEA is “backed heavily” by the National Music Publishers’ Association, said Rae.
The National Music Publishers’ Association spent $200,000 on lobbying in Q1 2014, the same amount it spent in Q1 2013 according to lobbying disclosure forms. ASCAP spent $215,000 on lobbying in Q1 2014, slightly less than the $225,000 it spent in Q1 2013. RIAA spent just over $1 million in Q1 2014. That was less than Q1 2013 ($1.27 million) and 2012 ($1.67 million). RIAA lobbied on some music-related copyright issues on Capitol Hill, including the SEA and the CO’s roundtables on orphan works and mass digitization. RIAA members recently sued Pandora in the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan for its alleged unlawful use of pre-1972 sound recordings.
ASCAP and songwriters “want the rate-setting court for digital” uses investigated, said David Lowery, a songwriter and Terry College of Business lecturer at the University of Georgia, whose blog advocates for “Artists Rights in the Digital Age” (http://bit.ly/1mTHUse). “The rate does not reflect free market prices at all” and should be “gotten rid of entirely,” he said. Lowery wasn’t sure that other songwriters are “quite ready” for the idea and might prefer “some sort of ‘adjustment’ that would make this process fairer,” he said. “Ultimately, ASCAP wants parity.”