The Canadian Heritage committee study on remuneration models for artists and creative industries, which was launched to support the Industry committee’s copyright review, wrapped up earlier this month. I appeared before the committee in late November, where I focused on recent allegations regarding educational copying practices, reconciled the increased spending on licensing with claims of reduced revenues, and concluded by providing the committee with some recommendations for action. My formal submission to the committee has yet to be posted (the committee has been slow in posting submissions), but it expanded on that presentation by focusing first on the state of piracy in Canada, followed by an examination of three sectors: (i) educational copying; (ii) the music industry and the value gap; and (iii) film and television production in Canada. The full submission can be found here.
Of particular note may be the recommendations for action and the appendix, which features links to relevant posts on all issues raised in the brief. The recommendation section states:
Recent Canadian copyright developments have addressed many of the key concerns from the creative industries and artists. For example, the extensive Copyright Board of Canada reforms contained in Bill C-86 comprehensively address longstanding concerns with the administration of copyright. The bill received royal assent on December 13, 2018.
Moreover, the copyright provisions in the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement significantly alter the copyright balance by extending the term of copyright by additional 20 years beyond our current law and the international standard found in the Berne Convention. By doing so, there is a need to recalibrate Canadian copyright law to restore the balance.
There are additional reforms that would benefit the creative sector. The government should work with Canadian publishers to ensure their works are available for digital licensing either in bundles or through transactional licenses. Given that digital licenses are sometimes the only source of revenue – Access Copyright’s Payback does not compensate for older works and print sales of old books is typically non-existent – embracing the digital opportunities with a forward looking approach may be the only revenue source for some authors.
Governments should continue to pursue alternative publishing approaches that improve both access and compensation. For example, the government’s recent announcement of funding for creative commons licensed local news should be emulated with funding for open educational resources that pays creators up front and gives education flexibility in usage. This would be consistent with a study commissioned for the Association of Canadian Publishers, which found:
“The OER movement continues to grow and is becoming a cornerstone of the Canadian K–12 educational system. The proliferation of OER content is evident across the country and there are numerous initiatives that support the development, access, and distribution of content.”
Further transparency in creator remuneration is also needed. This would include greater transparency for payments from Internet platforms and streaming services as well as from payments and the administration of copyright collectives.
The committee should also recommend greater support for artists in addressing the contractual imbalances between creators and publishers or record labels. For example, Bryan Adams’ recommendation on reversion rights should be adopted to address one-sided creator-music label contracts. Further, a closer consideration of author royalties from publishers arising from new digital licences is needed.
Non-copyright policies should also be examined. For example, Canadian content rules for film and television production currently treat Canadian book authors as irrelevant for Cancon qualification. Reforms to the criteria of qualification for Canadian content are long overdue to ensure that the benefits designed to support Cancon creation accrue to all Canadian creators.
Relevant links include:
The State of Piracy in Canada
Government-Backed Study Finds Piracy Fight a Low Priority for Canadian Rights Holders
Fake Data on Fakes: Digging Into Bell’s Dubious Canadian Piracy Claims
Canadian-backed report says music, movie, and software piracy is a market failure, not a legal one
Educational Copying and Fair Dealing
Canadian Copyright, Fair Dealing and Education, Part One: Making Sense of the Spending,
Canadian Copyright, Fair Dealing and Education, Part Four: Fixing Fair Dealing for the Digital Age
Misleading on Fair Dealing, Part 4: The Shift from Coursepacks to Digital Course Management Systems
Misleading on Fair Dealing, Part 7: My Appearance Before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage
Misleading on Fair Dealing, Part 8: The Access Copyright Fight Against Transactional Licensing
Misleading on Fair Dealing, Part 9: The Remarkable Growth of Free and Open Materials
Fair Dealing and the Right to Read: The Case of Blacklock’s Reporter v. Canada (Attorney General)
Why Fair Dealing Safeguards Freedom of Expression: The Case of the Vancouver Aquarium
Why Fair Dealing Benefits Creators: The Case of a Room Full of Spoons
Access Copyright Calls for Massive Expansion of Damage Awards of Up To Ten Times Royalties
Value Gap and the Music Industry
Music Industry’s Canadian Copyright Reform Goal: “End Tech Companies’ Safe Harbours”
Who Needs an iPhone Tax: Canadian Music Industry Instead Calls for $40 Million Annual Handout
SOCAN Financial Data Highlights How Internet Music Streaming is Paying Off for Creators
Film and Television Production in Canada
The Case Against the Bell Coalition’s Website Blocking Plan, The Finale
Recommendations for Action
Australian Copyright Scandal Points to the Need for Greater Oversight of Copyright Collectives
From Copyright Term to Super Bowl Commercials: Breaking Down the Digital NAFTA Deal
USMCA sends Canada back to the drawing board on copyright law
Canadian Publisher on the Term of Copyright: Life Plus 50 Years is “Already Too Long”
The Trouble With the TPP’s Copyright Rules
Canadian Government Commits $50 Million to Creative Commons Licensed Open News Content
Canadian Copyright, OA, and OER: Why the Open Access Road Still Leads Back to Copyright
Canada’s National Digitization Plan Leaves Virtual Shelves Empty
Canada May Be Nearing the Open Access “Tipping Point”
Swartz’s Death Places Spotlight on More Open Access To Information
Setting the Stage for the Next Decade of Open Access
Why the Government’s Commitment to “Open by Default” Must Be Bigger Than Open Data
Corporate music and print media keep going on and on about online file sharing being a bane to artists and writers. There is a lot of evidence to the contrary, digitial distribution allows them to bypass the Corporate and retail sales hierarchy and avoid paying anything to the corps. Buyers pay less and artists and authors sell more copies and get more income.
When Buffy Saint Marie appeared on CBC recently she spoke of how she had been “held underwater” by companies refusing to release her music. She even spoke of someone who decided that he needed to apologize to her for acting in a way that prompted LBJ to send him a letter commending him on working to suppress music from BSM, at which point her lawyer told BSM that it was time to ask for a copy of her FBI file.
Now artists can deal directly with customers selling copies of their music, bypassing the Corporate toll charger and censor.
A few years back I read that the best selling author in the USA sell e-editions for about 1$ as his primary form of distribution. Once again, bypassing the corporate toll charger and dealing 1 on 1 with customers.
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New copyright laws is what we need! Artists simply don’t get enough for the work they do. Great job!
I am an artist myself and I am glad someone understands the industry and its issues. Piracy should be eliminated.
As Andy in the comments says, being an artist is more popular than ever. Therefore, more attention should be given to the industry and the individuals and the representatives of it. Well done!
Interesting how this tense situation will be solved and by whom…
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