Eminent broadcast media icon Lord Michael Grade, who works with BPI member One Media iP plc, today sent a letter to the Financial Times responding to an opinion piece in the publication on 27 November 2018 by German Pirate Party MEP Julia Reda.
Lord Grade believes strongly in updating European copyright legislation through reforms proposed resulting from Article 13 of the Copyright Directive that will help to address the iniquities of the “Value Gap” so that artists and rightsholders can be more fairly rewarded for their work in support of the creative process.
Sir
I was disappointed to read comments by Julia Reda - Pirate Party MEP.
Ms Reda acknowledged Article 13 of the Copyright Directive is about YouTube taking responsibility for the content it hosts, but undermined her reasoning by claiming “freedom of expression online is under threat.”
YouTube is challenging not just the music community, but arguably the wider democratic process. After years of scrutiny the Commission, Council and Parliament have concluded YouTube must take some responsibility for the content it publishes. The platform remains in denial, abetted by those who join in its scare-mongering.
Rightsholders from across the creative industries want to license their content in a fair market place. Rather than Article 13 risking censorship, users uploading works to YouTube would be unaffected. The proposals guarantee fundamental rights and copyright exceptions, and introduce a statutory redress mechanism. Tech solutions, where required, are available and affordable. It is not, as Ms Reda would have it, a big business battle, but one global player dictating the terms on which millions of individuals are paid for their work, or rather not paid.
The arts are a great national asset; shaping who we are and informing our cultural identity. Creativity is something we do particularly well, and, with the uncertainties of Brexit ahead, is of greater importance as a growing sector of our economy. Copyright encourages creators to complete their work secure in the knowledge it can be rewarded, enabling creativity to flourish and helping to replenish the flood of content we enjoy across the cultural landscape.
The rules of copyright help keep this flow coming. It is the freedom to express ourselves that is threatened from businesses that don’t pay a rightful price. These reforms should be embraced not just by creators, but fans too. The problem is YouTube and their Google parent have a hold over our social media, making it hard to distinguish fact from fiction, hyperbole from reason.
The EU is at a crucial stage of considering measures that will end this injustice. The present, and the future is online, Rules need to apply. Netflix pays for its content, why shouldn’t YouTube? If you want to run a TV channel or a music service, then you need to pay for the content you use – content other people have financed. Reform will end this freeloading and level the playing field, which has to be good news for consumers too.
Lord Michael Grade
One Media iP plc