The other copyright battle: pop’s unexpected longevity has a major commercial downside. “Once out of copyright, the BPI fears such potentially lucrative recordings could be exploited without recompense to the performers or the copyright holders.” – yes, this is what ‘out of copyright’ means. The article mentions the 95-year copyright terms in the USA, though doesn’t talk about how this has been extended several times from its original limit. That sets a precedent for UK legistlators – but the recording industry also has to defend what amounts to special pleading for rock music: records by pre-rock hitmakers have already been allowed to slip quietly out of UK copyright.