Fair play for musicians

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On 7th December 2006, a full-page advertisement was published in the Financial Times newspaper calling on the UK Government to extend the existing 50 years copyright protection for sound recordings in the United Kingdom. It consisted of around 4,500 names in small print filling the full page and its style was consistent with other newspaper petitions. The text "fair play for musicians" appeared in large red type over the list of names. In the center of the page a box contained the text:

"We call upon the UK Government to support the extension of copyright in sound recordings."

At the bottom of the page the following text appeared:

"On behalf of over 3,500 record companies and 40,000 performers"

The 'fair play for musicians' advertisement was viewed as a direct response to the Gowers Review published by the British Government on 6th December 2006 which recommended the retention of the 50 year protection for sound recordings. Organised by Phonographic Performance Limited the advertisement is controversial since it lists a number of deceased musicians and musicians from countries other than the United Kingdom, such as the United States.