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the government is changing how foreign performers, such as musicians, qualify for certain rights in UK copyright law
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this is a limited change that will have small practical impacts but will allow the UK to comply with its commitments in the international treaties on copyright
UK copyright law provides performers and producers of sound recordings (such as musicians and record labels) the right to be paid when their sound recordings are broadcast or played in public, such as when recorded music is played on the radio.
UK law makes these rights available to many foreign nationals. But the way in which UK law does this has historically not been fully consistent with UK international commitments.
An Intellectual Property Office (IPO) consultation in early 2024 explored different ways of providing these rights to foreign performers and producers to resolve this inconsistency.
The IPO also met with various stakeholder groups, including organisations that represent music and broadcasting sector trade associations and collective management organisations (which license rights on behalf of performers and rights holders).
The government is today announcing its chosen approach. This involves a limited change to how foreign performers qualify for this right so more performers will enjoy this right in UK law in the future. There will be no change to how foreign producers qualify for this right.
This change is expected to have small practical impacts on the UK creative industries but will allow the UK to comply with its international commitments.
The government response summarises the views received at consultation, more detail on the chosen approach, and why this approach is being taken.
To implement this change, the government will introduce legislation in the coming days.
Additional information
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the consultation ran for 9 weeks between 15 January 2024 to 22 March 2024. The consultation received 33 written responses
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the government response summarises the responses to each question. All views reported are those of respondents and should not be taken as the views of the IPO
