New Zealand’s Music Industry Hails Copyright Term Extension

New Zealand’s recorded music industry has welcomed changes to the term of copyright for sound recordings, a development which extends protection in musical works for authors, performers and producers by an additional 20 years.

Until now, copyright protection on recordings in NZ was covered for only 50 years, after which time those works would fall into the public domain.

A newly-struck NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement changes all that, by extending the term to 70 years and bringing the Land of the Long White Cloud in line with copyright legislation in place across the European Union, its trading partner.

The pact also includes some further improvements relating to copyright enforcement in digital.

The situation is a win-win for NZ’s creative community, explains Recorded Music NZ CEO Jo Oliver.

“Copyright enables artists to make a living from their work and is fundamental to the sustainability and future growth of the music industry in Aotearoa,” Oliver explains.

“Extending copyright term to 70 years from the date of release puts New Zealand artists and right holders on a level playing field with their overseas counterparts,” she continues.

“This long overdue change will help preserve and protect iconic recordings from Aotearoa, and support the New Zealand artists that created them.”

The Free Trade Agreement, announced this week, is still being drafted.

The federal government is expected to sign the agreement next year and, when it enters into force, by way of changes to the Copyright Act 1994, there is a maximum of four years to implement term extension. 

“This long overdue change will help preserve and protect iconic recordings from Aotearoa,” adds Oliver, “and support the New Zealand artists that created them.”

Trade policy “is absolutely central to so much of today’s music industry – we’re talking about an extra 20 years of royalties across the board now in New Zealand,” John Phelan, director general of ICMP, the umbrella trade association representing the interests of the music publishing, tells TMN.

“All in all,” he adds, “a good week.”

The copyright term for sound recordings became a hot topic in the mid-2000s when some of the iconic recordings from the birth of rock ‘n’ roll, including Elvis Presley’s early hits, came close to timing-out in Europe.

Following a lengthy campaign from the music industry, the EU in 2011 extended the term from 50 to 70 years.

In Australia, copyright in a recording continues for 70 years after the year of first commercial release.