Music Business Whining

Yesterday I was astonished to read in the Financial Times what could only be described as an appeal led by Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull fame for changes in UK and European law that would mean more money heading the way of such deserving people as Sir Cliff Richard, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Sir Elton John etc.

The article "Why we need equality on copyright" is available via subscription only, but I understand much of the argument can be found in other news places too.

Essentially, Mr Anderson is arguing that the 50 year rule for copyrights in the UK and Europe is manifestly unfair, and will stifle unearthing new talent (where have we heard that one before?).

I noticed that Anders Bylund at Ars Technica had picked up on this too, and aided as usual by some juicy reader discussions, collectively point out the many flaws with Mr Anderson's arguments.

There are many, many more deserving causes than this one (I would have thought Bono should stay out of it for his own credibility), and I hope our government(s) does not get blinded by some specious economic argument that this is in any sense a good idea.