Industry lobbies European Commission to extend recording copyright

Artists and labels are preparing to petition the European Commission in a bid to step up the time copyright exists on recorded music. Unlike the copyright on books and sheet music, which lasts for 70 years after an author or composer's death, the copyright on recordings last for just 50 years from the time the recording took place. That means in Europe whole catalogues of early rock 'n' roll recordings are about to come out of copyright - which means the artists who made the recordings and the labels that released them will no longer be entitled to royalties on any albums which feature the tracks. Before that happens key industry players are trying to alter European copyright law - either to bring recorded music copyright in line with books and sheet music, or at the very least to adopt the US system where recorded music stays in copyright for 95 years after recording (a system which would presumably satisfy the record labels until 2045).