Copyright issues related to the MCPS
As mentioned above, the MCPS deals with three of the restricted acts: the right to copy the work, to issue copies of the work to the public and to rent or lend it to the public. If any of these acts is carried out and one doesn’t have the right to do so because they don’t have the appropriate licence or haven’t cleared a sample for example, it is an infringement of copyright. The MCPS has the right to suspend any payments of publishing income. The MCPS can also act as an arbitrator in disputes and bring cases to court against copyright violators such as in the “Shut Up and Dance” case. (Page 233. Harrison, A. 2003) The MCPS also runs an Anti-piracy unit, which works in hand with UK customs and Police enforcement agencies. The members of the MCPS don’t pass the rights of their music to the MCPS, but their membership agreement states that the MCPS will be the agent in managing and administering the mechanical copyright in the UK. The MCPS has agreements with foreign countries collection societies, like the Harry Fox Agency in the USA, to collect money on MCPS’s behalf.
Because there are so many mediums in which music can be recorded and offered for use, the MCPS can “act in many different ways according to the authority given to it by its members”. () The MCPS can act as the sole negotiator, licensing record companies and online music retailers. It can also grant licences where the member has given specific instructions for music used in videos/DVDs, television and radio advertisements, etc. () Not all songwriters make their money from mechanical royalties. Many songwriters and composers write only for film, adverts and computer games so the MCPS can grant synchronisation licences, which allow music to be synchronised with visual images, on instruction from the member. (Page 83 Harrison, A. 2003)
The MCPS issues different types of licences to different types of mediums and there are different royalty rates for each. Some, like premium audio products, are usually determined on an individual basis. Others like retail video and DVD video are more standardised.
Interaction of the MCPS with other music industry bodies
The PRS or Performing Right Society is the other collection agency that works for composers, songwriters and music publishers. They license the public performance and broadcast of copyright works. They also assemble information on what is being played out there, using reports from DJ’s, radio programmers, and television companies, from which they then collect and pay its members. ()
The PRS was formed in 1914 to administer the performing right. It soon also became one of the main collection bodies in the UK. In 1996 they commenced talks about an alliance because it was in everyone’s interest that they were going in the same direction. In 1998 they joined forces in the MCPS-PRS Alliance. They however remain two separate societies in the eyes of the law.
“The benefits to composers, publishers and songwriters are:
- More effective lobbying for the best support of authors’ right in the UK and European Legislation
- A reduction in administration costs
- Better understanding and exchange of ideas between the two companies
- A combined approach to international relations
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The possibility of further alliances in terms of different kinds of rights administration and across international boundaries.” ()
In 2002, the combined revenues of both the PRS and MCPS in terms of performing and mechanical rights revenues to be paid to members were over £489 million. (The 2003 figures aren’t out until May 2004)
The MCPS-PRS Alliance had been undertaking a huge project, which involved joining both databases. Each rights society had its own database with over 4,000 and now that they have combined their databases, they have more than 5 million works registered and over half a million copyright agreements. ()
As the entire music industry has been hit by the onslaught of the internet, the MCPS and PRS Boards have agreed that its in the best interest of its members to put forward a joint licensing approach to UK based online music providers. As it is so easy to just illegally download music off programs like Kazaa, it is in the interest of everyone that online music providers not be given a hard time when clearing mechanical and performing rights. Therefore the MCPS and PRS have now made it easy to clear them both in a simple, one-step process.
Relevant contemporary issues the MCPS is involved in
Mobile ring tones have taken the industry by storm, providing a new source of income to an ailing industry. Now the industry, in partnership with the mobile phone industry, has come up with a new option for mobile phone users. As with ring tones, where as one can choose what type of music is going to be played when a call comes through, they have now come up with the Mobile Ringback tones. “A Ringback tone is the sound a caller hears whilst they wait for the recipient of the call to answer. It replaces the traditional ringing sound with the chosen music. The consumer chooses the individual tones they want others to hear when they dial their number. The ringback service does not involve the download of a permanent copy to the mobile phone.” () The MCPS and the PRS have approved the joint licensing of this new type of medium. They are now also making the move to make it easier for potential providers of this service to go ahead and offer this service, which undoubtedly will be another source of revenue for its members.
The MCPS is a vital body in the music industry and composers, songwriters and music publishers are definitely better off with it other than having to deal with music users on an individual basis.
References
- Harrison, A. (2003) Music The Business: The essential guide to the law and the deals. London: Virgin Books
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