There’s been a lot of discussion over the previous months regarding the possible extension of musicians’ copyright in the UK from its current 50 year limit. Yesterday the UK government rejected its increase to 70 years, indicating that it wouldn’t actually benefit the musicians that much. Part of the rationale behind this conclusion cites the Gowers Report published in December 2006. But this post isn’t about the validity of the claim. Instead it’s about one chart contained within the report that summarises where our cash goes when we buy music:

Is it any wonder that major labels are in trouble when they so obviously devalue the people they are reliant on? If you’re a musician and you want to sell your music, my advice is to set up your own website, a Last.fm page, a MySpace page and network furiously. It works.