Music copyright competition allowed

The music copyright industry has decided to allow competition over royalty agreements following a Commerce Commission investigation last year.

The commission received a complaint about the exclusive royalty agreements between owners of music copyright and Phonographic Performance NZ Ltd (PPNZ), under which people could buy licences for copyrighted music only through PPNZ.

Potential purchasers were unable to negotiate on price directly with the owners of the copyrighted music.

Purchasers can now negotiate with the four major recording companies - Sony, Warner, EMI and Universal - after PPNZ and the companies voluntarily agreed to non-exclusive royalty agreements.

The commission decided after its investigation that the removal of exclusive licences would have a positive impact on competition for music broadcast licences, commission enforcement general manager Kate Morrison said.

PPNZ would remain the point of contact for small users of copyrighted music, such as restaurants.

- NZPA