Dominic McGonigal - PPL

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ePolitix.com speaks to Dominic McGonigal, director of government relations at PPL, about their campaign to extend copyright terms for British musicians.

Question: You are campaigning for an extension to copyright terms. Are British musicians treated unfairly in comparison with other countries?

Dominic McGonigal: Yes. The copyright term for musicians has been looked at in America, and in the 1990s it was extended there to 95 years from the release of the recording. In the UK it's still at 50 years.

Question: And how do musicians fare when compared to other creative industries?

Dominic McGonigal: There's a discrepancy. The standard copyright term for creators is life of the artist plus 70 years. Authors, writers, lyricists, photographers, graphic artists all get life plus 70 years. For musicians, at the moment, it's limited to 50 years from the release of the recording. That's about half the length of other creators.

Question: Why is this the case?

Dominic McGonigal: I think it's historic. The copyrights for authors started in 1886 with the International Berne Convention. At that time there were no recordings. The copyright legislation for recordings has been catching up ever since.

Question: You recently met in the Houses of Parliament at an event hosted by Michael Connarty MP. What was the purpose of the meeting, and was it a success?

Dominic McGonigal: The purpose was to rally support in advance of the vote coming up in the European Parliament. There are a number of MPs in Westminster that have been supporting performers and the music industry. Michael Connarty has been one of the most active.

We wanted them to encourage their colleagues in Brussels and in Strasbourg to vote for the Copyright Term Directive. We also wanted to use that event to talk to the minister, David Lammy, who represents the UK in the Council of Ministers meetings which will also debate and vote on this legislation.

Question: You have been meeting with MEPs in Strasbourg to talk about the European Copyright Term Directive. What will this directive mean for Europe's musicians?

Dominic McGonigal: The directive extends the copyright term for musicians, performers and producers from 50 years to 95 years. It would put musicians on a par with America and perhaps more importantly on a par with all other creators.

Question: Have these talks been productive?

Dominic McGonigal: They have. The European Commission has drafted the Directive which proposes this copyright term levelling up with the others and on February 12 the Legal Affairs Committee, which is the leading committee looking at this legislation within the European Parliament, voted in favour of the legislation by a substantial majority.

Question: What difficulties have you faced in promoting your agenda at the European level?

Dominic McGonigal: Ironically, the hardest thing has been to gain the enthusiastic support of our own UK government. We have our ministers very often saying how important our creative industries are, how valuable they are economically, socially, and culturally. However, on an issue like this we found it surprisingly difficult to get ministers to support us enthusiastically in the debates within Europe.

Question: Do you have any final comments for ePolitix.com readers?

Dominic McGonigal: If you're campaigning for something you believe is right, don't give up. We started this nearly seven years ago and we had a major setback when the Gowers review recommended against extending copyright term.

Far from giving up, that was the point where we renewed our efforts because of the strength of feeling amongst the thousands of performers who are affected by this, as well as the wider music industry.