MEP working for remuneration for Maltese artists from YouTube adverts

MEP Therese Comodini Cachia is currently in talks with Google so that Maltese performers can receive remuneration from publicity that YouTube attaches to their uploaded videos.

Unfortunately, at the moment this is not possible for Maltese artists. Comodini Cachia, who is the rapporteur of the European Parliament for the EU wide copyright reform, wants to rectify this. During the talks on this reform she met with more than 140 different stakeholders both local and international.

Different aspects of the copyright reform were discussed during a debate at University Campus organised in collaboration with KSU. During this debate, Dr Comodini Cachia was interviewed by young journalists from student media organisations the 3rdEye, Insite and The Yuppie.

The MEP emphasised that the reform is aimed at finding the perfect balance were those who create digital content receive fair remuneration from the profits that platforms make from uploading their work. She remarked that one of the proposals gives the right to a musician to renegotiate a contract if the record label makes profits that are by far bigger than those projected when the contract was signed.

Asked what the situation will be like after Brexit, Dr Comodini Cachia stated that the UK will have the right to decide to retain current EU legislation or introduce new laws, but must still adhere to the Bern convention. She said that for the benefit of the UK the new laws must be identical as possible to those in the European Union.

Dr Comodini Cachia’s work on the copyright reform landed her in 27th place in Politico’s Top 40 most influential MEPs in 2017.