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Authors of artistic works, such as music, hold the copyright to
their works. In principle, the use of such works requires the
permission of their authors. This way, authors are assured of
control over and compensation for the use of their works. In the case of music, however, authors--songwriters and composers--are
virtually denied the freedom both to decide whether to permit
the use of their works and to set the conditions for permission.
This is because copyrights are managed exclusively by the Japanese
Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers (JASRAC). As the nation's only music copyright management body, JASRAC protects
copyrights entrusted by their owners and permits the use of copyrights
on behalf of their owners. This facilitates the handling of these
rights by those who use music. But music is used in many ways so it is difficult for copyright
owners to know exactly how all their works are being used. Therefore,
I do not deny the need for a group that manages copyrights on
behalf of their owners. Under the present circumstances, however, intermediary service
for music copyrights is regulated by the intermediary business
law. Those who want to provide such services must obtain the approval
of the director general at the Agency for Cultural Affairs. JASRAC has been the only organization to obtain approval for such
services since 1939, when the law was enacted. Moreover, copyright
owners are not allowed to have the scope of intermediary services
limited to certain rights, for example performance rights. Nor
are copyright owners allowed to reserve some of their rights.
Copyrights must be entrusted, or transferred, to JASRAC in their
entirety. Competitive principles are nonexistent under these circumstances. In such a noncompetitive situation it is impossible to hope that
services desired both by copyright owners and users will be provided
promptly at appropriate prices. Internet communications, for example, indicate that musical works
will be used increasingly in new forms. JASRAC's exclusive management
system, however, hampers efforts to respond quickly to new forms
of use or to revise fees as required. Thus it is practically impossible
to respond flexibly to users' demands for better services. Under these circumstances, even where works are offered through
new media such as the Internet, it is difficult to freely set
distribution units or prices commensurate to the value of the
works. It may be difficult, moreover, to commercialize various
new services that likely will be created as a result of technological
progress. Thus JASRAC's centralized management system is impeding the growth
of the music industry. This situation can be resolved only by revamping the existing
system--that is, by introducing competitive principles to allow
the entry of other management groups and thus give both users
and copyright owners a wider range of options. In addition, the current system allows only package transfer of
multifarious rights. This blocks free competition, and deprives
authors of the freedom to set user conditions and/or prices for
their works. This practice should also be changed. This is particularly true for the transmission of music on the
Internet. Authors should be able to manage copyright distribution
by setting their own user conditions. There is no need to entrust
all rights to the management group. The same goes for other rights. Authors should be given the freedom
to decide for themselves whether to put their rights under their
direct control or to entrust them to the management group. In
the latter case, authors should be allowed to decide which of
their rights will be entrusted. Today new musical works can be released on the Internet. Here,
too, authors should be free to decide when, where and how to announce
or offer their works. Cultural richness cannot be enjoyed unless
authors' spiritual freedom is guaranteed. Thus I have a sense of crisis about the copyright situation in
this country. That is why, in an appearance Feb. 25 at a subcommittee
meeting of the Copyright Council of the Agency for Cultural Affairs,
I called for changes to the centralized management system. I strongly hope that fair competition will be introduced into
the copyright management services and that a new environment conducive
to cultural development will be created. The author is a composer and a musician. This article is reproduced here with permission of Asahi Shimbun.
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