Sir Cliff Richard set to win payouts for older stars
SINGERS are to receive royalties for 70 years instead of 50 as the EU prepares to approve a ruling dubbed Cliff’s Law.
Named after Sir Cliff Richard, it will mean that a generation of Sixties stars will keep getting paid for their songs.
Record companies have long campaigned for the rules to be changed as songs from the early Sixties will soon start falling out of the 50-year remit.
Songwriters and composers already have copyright over their music for 70 years after their deaths.
Singers such as Dame Shirley Bassey, Sir Tom Jones and The Who’s Roger Daltrey will also benefit now the EU is set to extend the law to 70 years for performers too.
It will provide relief to musicians battling the surge in free online music. An estimated 1.2 billion songs were illegally downloaded last year. European regulators have already backed the changes and the Council of Ministers is expected to turn it into law on Monday.
Dame Shirley Bassey, Sir Tom Jones and The Who’s Roger Daltrey will also benefit
Producer Pete Waterman, part of the Stock Aitken Waterman songwriting team behind hits for Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Elton John and Rick Astley, said: “It will keep people in work in the music industry and give them the recognition they deserve.”
Roger Daltrey said: “This is great news, not so much for the bigger artists but for the thousands of musicians, singers and performers who rely on these royalties as their pension.”