Music rights group seeks tougher laws on digital media

THE Irish Music Rights Organisation has claimed existing legislation is inadequate to ensure songwriters and composers are compensated for their work in the face of the growth of digital media.

IMRO, which represents over 7,500 members, has also called for greater co-operation with internet service providers (ISPs) to tackle the problem of the illegal downloading of music.

Announcing the group’s annual resultsyesterday, IMRO chief executive officer, Vincent Finn, welcomed the decision by the Government to launch a major consultation on the granting of injunctive relief to copyright holders against online intermediaries whose services are used by a third party to infringe copyright.

Mr Finn expressed regret that other ISPs hadn’t followed the lead of Eircom in adopting a “three-strike rule” to deal with its internet users engaged in illegal music file-sharing.

However, he also backed the Government’s commitment to amend legislation to ensure that Irish copyright law was compatible with EU legislation.

“In the digital area it is clear we do not have adequate legislation to protect our songwriters, authors and their publishers,” said Mr Finn.

IMRO claimed the ability to tackle internet piracy was dependent on robust copyright legislation and strong enforcement.

Mr Finn said some legislative provisions governing copyright were obsolete because of advances in digital technology.

IMRO reported a total licensing revenue of €38.1m last year — down 5.8% on the previous year.

Mr Finn said the fall in income from royalties was anticipated due to the decrease in the number of live music events combined with a reduction in advertising revenue from independent radio stations last year compared to the organisation’s record year in 2009.

He pointed out that IMRO had reduced its own costs by 9% last year.

However, he admitted that the 1% of royalties collected from online sources was “not a fair reflection” of what the sector should be contributing and he acknowledged it should be “significantly higher”.