I Dream of Dodos - Why Collecting Societies Should Play a Major Role in "Alternative Compensation Systems" and Why They Should..

I Dream of Dodos - Why Collecting Societies Should Play a Major Role in "Alternative Compensation Systems" and Why They Should Be Saved From Extinction

Abstract:

“Alternative Remuneration/Compensation Systems” are the trendy center of the latest copyright-debates. If all ideological ballast is cast aside, two major questions remain: “How does the user get the content” and “How does the creator get the money”.
Users are increasingly adept at getting the content they want and it would be hightly unfair to claim that they would not want to pay for it. However it seems that technology is on their side and creators are left out in the rain, getting no or not enough money for their work. Over the last decades the entities which have made sure that creators get their money were the collecting societies (CS). These CS have established a global network specialized on the licensing of creative content and distribution of remuneration. Not only is it important to realize the strengths and weaknesses of current remuneration/compensation systems it is also mandatory to acknowledge the importance of CS for any future systems. For this, at least the European CS-system has to be modernised and harmonised. CS should be used for the documentation and allocation of the use of content as well as for the distribution of the earned money to the right-holders based on fixed rules. The key points for an “alternative” or simply overhauled system based on CS are transparency and credibility. This can be obtained by European harmonisation and governmental supervision of the CS-system.

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