(Toronto) – In a joint letter to all MPs and Senators, three of Canada’s outstanding music creators are calling on Parliament to provide the country’s artists with copyright legislation that addresses the changing realities of private copying in the digital age.

Open Letter

Amy Sky, Marie Denise Pelletier and Marc Jordan expressed their concerns about the rights of copyright holders – rights which are being rapidly eroded in the absence of 21^st century copyright law.  The Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC) applauds these individuals in their commitment to ensuring that music creators’ voices are heard.

Some of the key points addressed in the letter include:

• The need to modernize the Copyright Act to safeguard artists’ ability to earn a living;
• The importance of private copying as a source of earned income for rights holders, allowing them to continue to create music; and
• The urgent need to amend the private copying legislation to reflect the technologies Canadians currently use to copy music (such as the iPod and other mp3 players) in order to ensure that rights holders continue to be compensated for this use of their work.

The federal government has indicated that it plans to move forward with revisions to the Copyright Act during the current session of Parliament.

“It is important that MPs hear directly from the people their decisions affect,” said Annie Morin, Chair of the CPCC Board of Directors.  “MPs have a responsibility to ensure that our copyright laws reflect the values of Canadians by providing for fair and equitable protection of the rights of artists, as well as being fair to users. The draft legislation that died on the Order Paper last parliamentary session must be amended to strike a proper balance.”

The CPCC is the non-profit agency charged with collecting and distributing private copying royalties. Established in 1999, the CPCC is a collective of collectives that represent songwriters, composers, music publishers, recording artists, musicians and record companies.

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Contact:

Alison Thompson
CPCC
tel. (416) 486-6832, ex. 221
email: [email protected]