iTunes moves in the right direction

Music download stores like Apple's iTunes could soon be able to operate one shop for the whole of Europe, under new rules brought in by EU regulators. At the mo, iTunes has to gain separate licenses from each EU state but this could all be done away with if the proposed ruling passes. The European Commission says that it’s bringing in the new laws to let societies license music in more than one country.

The move should also make it easier for broadcasters to gain EU wide licenses for internet broadcasts and cable and satellite telly which will open up some restricted services like BBC’s iPlayer meaning you can download that episode of Top Gear you missed over the weekend.

Two companies that had complained to the commission - the UK online music provider, Music Choice, and Luxembourg-based broadcaster RTL, praised the decision.

EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said on Wednesday: "This decision will benefit cultural diversity, by encouraging collecting societies to offer composers and lyricists a better deal in terms of collecting the money to which they are entitled. "It will also facilitate the development of satellite, cable and internet broadcasting, giving listeners more choice and giving authors more potential revenue."

But as we all know, you can’t please all of the people all of the time; the decision was condemned by the International Confederation of Authors and Composers Societies (Cisac), a body representing the collecting societies, which said the move would harm cultural diversity and the creators' income.

That criticism was echoed by the European Composer and Songwriter Alliance (ECSA), which represents Paul McCartney and David Gilmour of Pink Floyd among other rock stars. It said the "fierce competition" would hurt smaller collecting societies and less well-known musicians.

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