BRUSSELS--Collecting societies, the organizations which collect
and distribute royalty payments from music, films and books, need
to become more efficient, the European Commission said when setting
out plans for an overhaul of the industry Wednesday.
"Some collecting societies struggle to adapt to the requirements
of the management of rights for online use of musical works, in
particular in a cross-border context," European Union Internal
Market Commissioner Michel Barnier said in a statement. "As a
result of today's proposal, those collecting societies willing to
engage in the multi-territorial licensing of their repertoire would
therefore have to comply with European standards."
In a system with its roots in a world of live performance and
gramophone recordings, music rights are currently licensed mainly
on a national basis, with separate rights and payments for
performance, recordings and composition. However, the Internet has
fundamentally changed the way music is bought and sold, with some
collecting societies more adapted to a world of programs like
iTunes and Spotify than others.
Under the proposals, collecting societies operating in all
sectors would have to comply with new European standards providing
for improved governance and greater transparency in the conduct of
their activities. They would also need to set up proper databases
to be able to keep better track of their own repertoire.
There are more than 250 collecting societies in the EU,
according to the commission, with one collecting society
representing all or some of the rights of a category of
rightholders, such as composers, in a given member state. In
Europe, the value of the EU recorded music market is around EUR6
billion, it added.
Write to Frances Robinson at frances.robinson@dowjones.com