EU proposes longer copyright for performers

BRUSSELS, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Performing artists should be entitled to keep copyright on recordings for 95 years instead of the current 50 years, the European Union's internal market chief said on Thursday.

"I have not seen or heard a convincing reason why a composer of music should benefit from a term of copyright that extends to the composer's life and 70 years beyond, while the performer should enjoy 50 years, often not even covering his lifetime," EU Internal Market Comissioner Charlie McCreevy said. "I am proposing that performing artists should no longer be the poor cousins of the music business," he told a news conference.

McCreevy also said he planned to relaunch a public consultation on the copyright levy on gadgets and blank CDs used by people to make private copies of music, but said he had no intention of scrapping the levy.

The money raised is distributed between artists and some also goes to fund cultural events.

Gadget makers such as Philips (PHG.AS) and HP (HPQ.N) say the levy is a tax on products that varies enormously from one EU state to another, distorting the internal market.

Some countries such as Britain have no levy at all. (Reporting by Huw Jones, writing by Paul taylor)