There are all sorts of problems with copyright "collection" groups who are in charge of collecting royalties and distributing them out to content creators. However, at least in the US we have competition among a few different such collection agencies, with ASCAP and BMI being the big two, and SESAC being the new up and comer. However, over in Europe, they've set up monopolies with only a single collection agency in each country -- meaning that if the collection society has ridiculous artist-damaging ideas, you're stuck with them.

However, it looks like that may be about to change. A few people have sent in the news that Europe is looking to get rid of monopolies on copyright collection groups, meaning that there can be some competition among different groups to see who can serve an artist better. Of course, it's still not clear that these groups are needed at all -- as they mainly prop up an unnecessary and increasingly obsolete business model (compulsory licensing), but at least having some competition is better than none.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story