You may not recognize the name Patrick Halling, but if you’re a Beatles fan you’ve surely heard his work: he played violin on the recording of “All You Need Is Love,” and he is among the musicians asking European Union lawmakers to extend the period during which they can receive royalties for their recorded work.
Mr. Halling, a classically trained violinist, said that he would lose thousands of dollars a year in income when songs by the Beatles, Tom Jones and the Moody Blues fall into the public domain. “I feel it is unfair that it should just be finished,” Mr. Halling said, according to Bloomberg. Under current European Union law, contributing musicians receive royalties from songs for 50 years; the British government is considering supporting an extension of that period to 75 years. The European Parliament will debate a possible extension in 2009
