§ Captain Stricklandasked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been drawn to the position under which the Performing Right Society can itself fix the amount of the fee levied by that society for performance of a copyright work, and under which an unspecified fee can be simultaneously charged against the performer, the proprietor of the premises on which it is performed, the organiser of the performance and the association of which he is an accredited member; and whether he will introduce legislation limiting the amount of the total fee which can be charged and its incidence in such cases?
§ Captain WaterhouseUnder the existing law the composer of a musical work, or his assignee, enjoys the right to decide upon what terms his work may be performed in public. The fees charged by the Performing Right Society, as the representatives of composers, are not unspecified but are set out in a series of fixed tariffs, and I have no information that multiple charges are made as suggested. As my hon. and gallant Friend is aware, an aspect of this question has recently been the subject of a legal decision which is now under appeal, but in the absence of evidence that unreasonable fees are being charged I see no reason for new legislation.
§ Captain Stricklandasked the Minister of Information whether he will inform the House as to the fee charged against the British Broadcasting Corporation by the Performing Right Society for the right to broadcast copyright works, including the relay of "Music While You Work" for which a separate assessment is now to be made against each industrial organisation using this means for increasing war production?
§ Mr. BrackenThe B.B.C.'s financial arrangements with the Performing Right Society are a part of their domestic business, on which I do not think I should give information. But I am hopeful that they will be able to make some general arrangement to meet the difficulty mentioned by my hon. and gallant Friend.