FEWER LIVE music events in 2010 contributed to a 6 per cent decline in licensing revenue earned by the Irish Music Rights Organisation last year.
The organisation, which represents 7,500 songwriters, composers and music publishers, earned total licensing revenue of €38.1 million in 2010, down 5.8 per cent on 2009, its annual report shows.
The fall in revenue was the result of lower levels of advertising from independent radio and fewer events taking place last year compared to 2009 – a record year for live music.
The organisation’s chief executive, Victor Finn, said just 1 per cent of total licensing revenues – a sum of less than €400,000 – collected last year came from online royalties, but added that this was “not a fair reflection” of the use of members’ work. “It should be significantly higher than that, if you look at the volume of files that are swapped and shared,” he said.
The organisation welcomed signals by the Government that it would allow copyright holders to take injunctions against internet service providers (ISPs) whose customers engaged in music piracy. This would bring the Irish regime in line with European law.
“We very much welcome this proposal, but we believe that that’s just the start. Legislation is one thing, but we would prefer if we had the full co-operation of the ISP industry,” said Mr Finn.
“We would like to see all content being licensed, in an ideal world. No one wants to see anyone’s internet connection disconnected. It’s very much a measure of last resort.”
Last October, UPC won a court case taken by record labels, which were hoping to force the internet provider to operate a “three strikes” rule against customers.
Eircom is the only Irish internet service provider operating a “three strikes” policy. About 10 per cent of Eircom’s 500,000 retail broadband customers have signed up to its range of additional services, including MusicHub, from which the music rights organisation earns licensing fees for the streaming and downloading of its members’ music.
The organisation plans to make a submission to the Government’s review of the Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000, which is expected to report before the end of the year. Minister of State for Research and Innovation Seán Sherlock announced last week that the period for submissions would be extended to July 14th.
Despite the fall in revenue, the amount distributed to the music organisation’s members rose 1.6 per cent to €24.7 million last year. If cable rights holders are included, the sums distributed rose 2 per cent to €39.7 million. The payments made increased because they partly relate to the use of music in 2009.
The organisation’s membership base increased substantially last year, with 542 songwriters joining.
