NEWS: The Creative Rights Alliance recovers

Despite the sad passing of its chairman, The CRA continues to tackle issues of paramount importance to writers, such as digital copyright and a European Commission attempt to clamp down on any recommendation of rates.

Cometh the hour, cometh the… organisation. As pressure on the rights of authors, journalists and other creators rises, the Creators Rights Alliance appears to have steered itself out of the doldrums which arose from the illness and recent death of its founder chairman David Ferguson.

David, a self-taught musician, had achieved eminence both as a successful composer of music for TV and as a radical advocate of creators’ rights. The loss of his energy and focus hit the CRA a near-fatal blow and it has taken some time to recover. An obituary written by his friend Mark Fishlock appeared in the Guardian on 28 July.

The ABSW has been involved with the CRA since 2001 and has attempted to play a significant part in the development of its policies. A few critics have questioned whether the Association should get involved in the fight to support the rights of such a broad slew of media creators, many not connected with writing or science.

But recent news – Google’s 'opt-out-or-be-dammed' announcement regarding its plan to digitise every book ever published, or the confused debate over the fate of supposedly ‘orphaned’ works, for example – make it clear that there really is nowhere to hide. There are corporate interests out there that will have the benefit of your work free of charge if they can get it.

The CRA met in July under its vice-chairman Mike Holderness, a freelance journalist, policy consultant, and National Union of Journalists activist. The meeting launched a redesigned website, published a manifesto, restructured the organisation and reinvigorated the sense of purpose of delegates of affiliated organisations. There has been a much-needed rebalancing, with a reduction in the perceived emphasis on music interests and the emergence of stronger voices from the other genres, including those of journalism, book writing, illustration, photography and design.

There is also a clearer definition of the role of the CRA which should remove the roadblocks set up by the demand for consensus on every policy issue. It now sees itself as a forum for UK organisations representing creators: both authors and performers, roles that are increasingly merged in the digital world. The CRA’s raison d’être is that organisations can, when they wish, throw their weight behind joint initiatives and statements.

An important new strategy is to seek a high profile representative to take the CRA chair as a figurehead and spokesperson. Ideally, this individual will already be active in some field of creator’s rights so that they can bring in significant networks of contacts. Nominations are being sought from the affiliate organisations.

The current arrangement over chairmanship will probably continue past the organisation's annual general meeting in November, with the vice-chair handling the meeting-to-meeting running of the organisation including setting agendas for meetings under the new chairman.

The CRA’s present administrator, Lucy Weston has decided to move on and will be replaced with a researcher-administrator (see advertisement) who can assist the chair, vice-chair and committee with policy development, lobbying and fundraising. Funding is secure until the end of the current financial year, with a reasonable prospect of support from the Journalists’ Copyright Fund thereafter.

Elsewhere, The CRA has been active in Europe and contributed to The Creators’ Forum, which met in Brussels in June. The European Commission has struck – perhaps unwittingly – at the bargaining power of freelance creators by attempting to use competition law to stop any recommendation of rates – an activity that the ABSW has recently begun, albeit through the legal loophole of characterising it as a historical record. This prohibition of rates advice has already been disputed by the CRA in UK Government policy.

The Brussels meeting agreed to approach the European Commission with a range of proposals for the support of authors’ rights in late 2009. Proposals will draw heavily from the new CRA Manifesto.

The CRA has already demonstrated in its involvement with government departments that a combined voice carries much greater clout than the simple sum of its parts. As the ABSW’s representative, I shall continue to argue that proper protection of the UK’s creative talent – the feedstock of every media sector – will in the long term strengthen UK media and benefit the economy.

Mike Harrison

The ABSW is a CRA affiliate organisation. Mike Harrison represents the ABSW on the CRA’s national committee.

NEWS: Creators' Rights Alliance enters new phase

As writers face possible new copyright legislation and worsening economic conditions, a cross-platform body such as the Creators' Rights Alliance (CRA) can add more weight to their interests than any single-media representative body or union ever could.

The CRA currently brings together fourteen organisations (see footnote) supporting or representing members working as media creators – particularly, in television, radio, the press and publishing. They include writers, journalists, designers, photographers, composers and so on. The CRA campaigns for a better deal for them under the shifting conditions of the digital era. The ABSW affiliated to the CRA in 2001 and has been praised for ‘punching above its weight’ alongside such giants as the National Union of Journalists and the Musicians’ Union.

Over a period of eight years, the CRA has achieved significant influence. Examples are publishing a video and a legal text outlining the problems faced by copyright creators in the UK; organising national events, campaigns, conferences and seminars; making submissions to HM Treasury’s Gowers Review of copyright legislation, the review of the BBC Charter; and much else (more details available online). The CRA’s own website is currently in skeleton form awaiting imminent redesign).

Events in 2008 threatened to put an end to this activity and possibly to the organisation itself. The founding chairman, David Ferguson became seriously ill. After a period of uncertainty, during which work on a new policy statement was disrupted, he resigned at the start of this year. It also emerged that economic troubles in the larger affiliate organisations meant they couldn’t afford to continue to pay a fee related to their size – the largest being the £4000 annual sum put in by the NUJ.

A crisis meeting at the start of April sought to address these problems. The affiliation fee was fixed at a flat rate of £250 p.a. and plans laid to approach the Journalists’ Copyright Fund for fresh core funding. Re-examination of the policy manifesto draft showed that, while still too raw for general publication, it is sufficiently complete for use in lobbying government. The manifesto will be tidied up during the next few weeks and made available online. Vice Chairman Mike Holderness agreed to act as caretaker chair while a search is made for a high-profile figure who can both chair and lobby on the CRA’s behalf (any suggestions are welcome). And the CRA administrator has begun a new recruitment campaign.

Next year marks the 300th anniversary of copyright in the UK and the government is currently reviewing intellectual property legislation. We’re facing a rare opportunity to balance the interests of copyright creators against those of commercial publishers and distributors.

This is urgent. As the economy pinches, disadvantaging creators through bad deals and working conditions will degrade the industries they underpin. A cross-platform alliance such as the CRA can add more weight to our interests than any single-media representative body or union ever could. The aim is nothing short of a win-win boost to the creative economy.

Mike Harrison

Mike Harrison represents the ABSW on the CRA’s national committee.

CRA affiliate organisations are: ABSW, ALCS, AoI, BAPLA, CIoJ, Directors UK, GMG, ISM, MU, NUJ, OWPG, PCAM, Society of Authors, WGGB.