The boss of the Brit Awards has welcomed copyright legislation which will help the “ecosystem” of UK music.
MEPs have voted in favour of the Copyright Directive which will make online platforms responsible for copyrighted material posted on their sites.
The legislation aims to address the financial “value gap” between what creators were receiving for their work and the profits made by major platforms such as Youtube.
Music executives have welcomed the move to tighten copyright controls as a means to boost the industry by offering a fair financial return.
Geoff Taylor, who heads the British Phonographic Industry and the Brit Awards, has said the changes need to be properly enforced in the UK.
A huge thank you to all the MEPs who supported the Copyright Directive today and the fantastic work of all those who have campaigned so hard on this #LoveMusic
— UK Music (@UK_Music) March 26, 2019
He said: “This is the first legislation anywhere in the world that recognises there needs to be a better balance in the relationship between user-upload platforms and the creative community, whose content turbocharges those services.
“The value gap distorts the music ecosystem and holds back the growth of the UK’s creative industries.
“The priority now must be to ensure the UK implementation of the directive achieves the goal of closing that gap and we look forward to working with Government and all parties to that end.”
The International Confederation of Music Publishers (ICMP) has also welcomed legislation to tighten internet copyright rules.
ICMP director general John Phelan said: “Four years of titanic tussling later, our work to solve the ‘value gap’ now begins a new stage after this vote, namely to ensure that those who make the music make a fair return.”