Says exemption in copyright law for sleeping quarters is wrong, noting that “in nearly every other jurisdiction in Europe, music played in bedrooms has to be licensed.”
An increasingly desperate music industry is looking under every rock to find scraps of potential new revenue sources these days as it faces decreasing physical CD sales year after year.
The Phonographic Performance Ireland (PPI), which controls the public performance, broadcasting, and other rights in hundreds of thousands of different recordings on thousands of different labels in the Republic of Ireland, has started High Court proceedings arguing that part of that country’s Copyright and Related Rights Act of 2000 contradicts European directives.
Specifically, it says that the govt erred in giving hotels and prisons an exemption from royalties where the music is played in sleeping quarters. The act exempted the “part of the premises where sleeping accommodation is provided for the residents or inmates” and in “part of the amenities provided exclusively or mainly for residents or inmates."
“We believe the Irish government has erred in putting in an exclusion in the Copyright Act,” said Dick Doyle, PPI chairman. “In nearly every other jurisdiction in Europe, music played in bedrooms has to be licensed.”
The PPI says that hotels should have to pay royalties for hotel rooms just as they do for the rest of the facility. It has suggested a €1 ($1.35USD) per room licensing fee to cover royalties for music from CDs, televisions and radios.
jared@zeropaid.com
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Next thing they’ll want is a license to listen to music in your car!