General Issues of Concern

Mass online theft diminishes the ability of songwriters and composers to make a living and undermines the incentive to create new works and invest in innovation. It breeds a culture of gratuity and disrespect for IPR that threatens jobs, growth and cultural diversity, and constitutes today the single most important obstacle to dissemination of works in Europe.

 

ICMP strongly supports the UN Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions and its recognition of cultural diversity as a source of exchange, innovation, creativity and common heritage that is beneficial for present and future generations. In particular we support the Convention’s affirmation of the importance of IPR in sustaining those involved in cultural creativity.

 

ICMP strongly supports the principle of fair compensation to rightsholders for harm caused by mass private copying of protected works, as recognised by the EU. This compensation is a significant source of income for composers, lyricists, publishers and other rightsholders, particularly where sustainable business models of online content are still developing. Private copying levies should therefore be set at a level that ensures fair and adequate compensation for rightsholders.

ICMP believes that music disks and online music should be eligible to benefit from a reduced rate of Value Added Tax under the EU VAT Directive, in line with the reduced rate currently available for other cultural products.