Bulgaria Public Radio bans pop music, earns more listeners with jazz and classics

Bulgaria’s public radio has been given a surprise boost in listeners after a copyright war limited the broadcaster to airing music recorded at least 70 years ago.

The station has been playing classical music and long-forgotten jazz and folk pieces for almost two months now after its management refused to pay increased annual royalty fees to the Musicautor performers’ rights organization.

The refusal has forced the radio to drop contemporary music and dig up older tunes from its dusty archive. Under European Union regulations, copyright lasts for 70 years after a composer’s death.
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Instead of Rihanna and Justin Bieber, the crooning sounds of Glenn Miller and the Andrews Sisters now fill the airwaves.

Source: Inquirer.net