That David Cameron fella - you know, Dave, that Tory bloke - well, he knows what to do when charged with the task of giving a speech to a room full of record label chiefs. Give them twenty more years of copyright. Job done, room won. Though Dave did say he wanted a favour in return for backing a copyright term extension. The removal of all the nasty stuff from music. Like guns and violence and Chris Martin vocals.
Speaking to the AGM of record industry trade body the BPI, Cameron said: "I am pleased to announce today that it is Conservative Party policy to support the extension of the copyright term for sound recordings from 50 to 70 years. A Conservative government will argue for this in Europe, in order to protect investment in the future of the industry, reward our creative artists and generate more choice for consumers".
As much previously reported, the record industry's push for an extension in the recording copyright term, a bid to bring it more in line with either the US's 95 year term or the publishing copyright of life plus seventy years, was dealt a blow at the end of last year when a report commissioned by the then Chancellor Of The Exchequer and now Prime Minister Gordon Brown said there was no justification for an increase from the current fifty year term. However, a more recent report by the UK's House of Commons Culture, Media And Sport Committee said it thought that report had been wrong, and recommended an increase to at least seventy years.
Cameron said yesterday that such an increase would be "good for musicians and consumers too. It's good for musicians because it would reduce the disparity between the length given to composers and that granted to producers and performers. That's only fair".
In return for his commitment on extending the copyright term, and other commitments to aid the ongoing fight against piracy, Cameron called on the record labels to introduce better "policing" of music content in a bid to help rebuild Britain's "broken society". He told label chiefs: "I am calling on you to show leadership, exercise your power responsibly and to use your judgement. I want to see more from you... using the influence you have over young children to help fix our broken society".
Of course quite a lot artists told their fans that going and blowing up Iraq wasn't really any way to fix society, but then those political types, Tories included, opted to send out a different message, so I'm note sure he's in any position to talk about sending out bad messages to the youth of the day, but whatever.
He continued: "Is some music, are some lyrics, are some videos and are some artists, helping to create a culture in which an anti-learning culture, truancy, knives, violence, guns, misogyny are glorified? Yes. Can we see the effects of this on our young people, in our schools and on our streets? Yes. Do we think we can combat this culture by government policies, policing and criminal justice alone? No. Put simply, we have to acknowledge that all of us - as politicians, as teachers, as parents, as television producers, video game manufacturers and yes, as record industry executives - need to understand our specific responsibility in not promoting a culture of low academic aspiration or violence but instead to inspire young kids with a positive vision of how to lead their life. That's why I am not calling for censorship, legislation or the banning of content. I am calling on you to show leadership, exercise your power responsibly and to use your judgment".