Extension of copyright

Sir, Far from being “innately risk-averse”, record companies (Comment, June 20, see also letters June 15 and 20) have rapidly transformed to meet the challenge of delivering music any time, any place to consumers via online services and in many other innovative ways.

The demand for copyright extension is not a “short-term corporate grab”, but is in the long-term interests of the European economy and creativity. European record companies have the ability to compete globally, but the difference in copyright term between the EU (50 years) and the US (95 years) means that an investor in the US gets a return for nearly twice as long as an investor in Europe.

Record companies use revenues from the back catalogue to finance the development of new talent. A longer term of protection would promote this virtuous circle of investment. The same cannot be said of companies that re-issue only the most popular recordings once they have fallen out of copyright and do not invest in creating new music.