Small charities gain temporary reprieve from music charges

Ten days ago  the Chief Executives of NCVO, NAVCA and Volunteering England wrote to Government Ministers calling on them to protect the very smallest charities from new music charges (a copy of the letter is published below).

As a result, NCVO has learnt that the legislation due to be laid last week will now be delayed. A spokesperson for the IPO said  "the statutory instrument will not be laid before recess."

The charges were due to be introduced by the Intellectual Property Office, which is part of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The Government’s own figures suggest that this will cost voluntary and community organisations up to £20 million a year. We will continue to work with all parties concerned to find a suitable solution.

This letter is the latest action in NCVO's 'Don't Stop the Music' campaign - get involved by joining our Facebook group or emailing dontstopthemusic@ncvo-vol.org.uk.

The letter:

Baroness Wilcox
Department for Business, Innovation & Skills
1 Victoria Street
London
SW1H 0ET

22 July 2010 

Dear Baroness Wilcox

As you will no doubt be aware, this week the Prime Minister has set out his vision for building the Big Society and has reiterated his commitment to the very smallest voluntary and community organisations and the role they play in our society. We welcome his commitment to make it easier for voluntary and community groups to operate through the reduction of red tape and administration costs.

We understand there is a degree of urgency in addressing the music licensing issue and we are keen to find a suitable solution. We recognise there are legitimate grounds for musicians to be compensated – however small organisations would be adversely affected if asked to pay at the levels suggested.

We cannot support the current proposal being negotiated as it does not sufficiently address the issue of the very smallest organisations. The proposed fee structure will substantially increase the financial and administrative burden on charities and other voluntary and community organisations. At a time when many voluntary and community groups are struggling to pay core running costs, this will have a huge impact on them and, more importantly, on their beneficiaries.

Our position is that the very smallest should not have to pay, by definition these organisations are likely to be small volunteer-led grassroots organisations, and we have consistently negotiated on this basis. It is likely that these organisations will simply refrain from using music in their activities. This would have a negative impact on many of the activities undertaken by charities and their ability to fulfil their charitable objectives.

We are concerned that PPL are forcing the pace of this issue – given the diversity of the sector and the complexity of the licence arrangements – it’s important that there is sufficient time for any new system to be considered before implementation. If such a deal is reached in the early stages of next week we would be unable to support this publically and would feel duty bound to express our disapproval.

Yours sincerely
  
Sir Stuart Etherington, Chief Executive NCVO
Justin Davis Smith, Chief Executive Volunteering England
Kevin Curley, Chief Executive NAVCA

CC:  Nick Hurd, Minister for Civil Society
John Alty, Chief Executive and Comptroller-General, Intellectual Property Office