MUSICIANS ROYALTIES
Musicians are awaiting a European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling this week on the payment of royalties to artists for music, or music videos, played in hotel rooms. The case challenges whether or not a section of Irish copyright legislation, the 2000 Copyright and Related Rights Act, goes against an EU directive on rental and lending copyright. Section 97 of the Irish act specifically exempts hotels from paying royalties to musicians for music played in hotel rooms by guests.