Report says no to extended music copyright

A Government-commissioned review has decided there will be no extension of how long copyright on sound recordings lasts.

Campaigners including Sir Cliff Richard and Jethro Tull had hoped rights would be extended to 95 years from the current 50 but the report, by former Financial Times editor Andrew Gowers, concluded otherwise.

Music journalist Neil McCormack said he was disappointed with the decision, pointing out that recordings from the 1950s rock 'n roll boom would soon be open to free use. "This was set before the advent, the big boom of rock and roll," he told BBC Radio Five Live. "The boom in popular culture which has led to a whole vast number of people making their living from these royalties.

"You can make a record in 1955 and have been getting royalties, been living on that, and suddenly they're gone."

Sir Cliff, whose first hit was released in 1958, will be one of the first Britons to be affected, while the Beatles earliest material will be out of time in 2013.