This antitrust exemption granted by the European Commission
promises to introduce more competition for European television and
radio companies, which simultaneously broadcast music shows on the
internet. It will also boost competition among the societies that
collect the royalties on behalf of the music industry, most notably
in terms of the fees they charge.
Radio and television broadcasters have in the last few years
begun to broadcast their programmes via the internet along with the
traditional terrestrial or cable transmission to European homes.
This practice, known as simulcasting, requires broadcasters to
obtain international licenses from music rights owners.
The new rules affect the copyright administration societies of
music record companies but do not concern authors' rights, which
are collected by different agencies.
The collecting societies agreed to grant ‘one-stop’ licences
covering all the territories in which the local record producers'
society is a party to the agreement. This includes the whole of the
EEA (which groups the 15 EU states plus Norway, Iceland and
Liechtenstein) except for Spain and France. The agreement also
includes societies from Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, South
America, Australia and New Zealand.
Broadcasters whose signals originate in an EEA member State will
be able to approach any EEA-based collecting society of their
choice for the simulcast license.
