Articles 18 to 22 of EU Directive 2019/790 on copyright and
related rights in the Digital Single Market (the "DSM
Directive") grant new remuneration and related rights
to authors and performers. While the Copyright and Related Rights
Act 2000 has a concept of "equitable remuneration" for
authors and performers for specific forms of exploitation of
recordings, this new remuneration right goes further and covers all
forms of exploitation of relevant copyright works. These new rights
did not form part of the original proposal for the DSM Directive,
but were included as a result of the 'Fair Internet for
Performers' campaign.
The DSM Directive recognises that authors and performers are
usually in a weaker contractual position than those who typically
exploit their work, and introduces a number of mechanisms to ensure
they receive fair remuneration when they license or transfer their
exclusive rights to a third party (e.g. a publisher, record company
etc.)
