Brussels, 5 July 2018: The FAIR INTERNET coalition, representing over 500.000 musicians, singers, actors, dancers and other performing artists, calls on members of the European Parliament – when considering amendments ahead of the plenary vote in September on the draft directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market – to safeguard the meaningful improvements to the benefit of performers obtained in Chapter III, articles 14-16.
These are the only provisions in the Directive that are truly addressing the fundamental imbalance in the relationship between performers and producers, with a view to barring some of the most unacceptable contractual practices carried out in our industry, among which the relentless recourse to “buy-out” contracts, that prevent performers from being fairly remunerated for the exploitation of their work. These measures are a step in the right direction, as they may contribute to promoting a fair and equitable remuneration of performers for all modes of exploitation including for on demand uses.
The FAIR INTERNET coalition also welcomes the fact that articles 14-16, as adopted by the Legal Affairs committee, remove certain limitations in the Commission’s original proposal that may have excluded a large number of performers from the benefit of these provisions. These improvements should be shielded against possible attempts by the industry to soften up the language, rendering the Directive utterly meaningless for performers.
The statement in full is available here: Fair Internet Statement
For more information please visit www.fair-internet.eu
or contact Nicole Schulze: +32 478 250 951
