Under the EU's new copyright directive, streaming services like Amazon and Netflix will be forced to pay higher copyright fees to filmmakers
The European Parliament passed a wide-ranging digital copyright directive Wednesday that will give film and TV writers and directors the possibility … See also Mediagazer
Context & Ripple Effects
This fee mandate is the financial layer of a regulatory arc the EU has been building against US streamers since 2016, when it first proposed requiring Netflix and Amazon Prime to carry a 20% EU-content quota. In September 2018, days before this report, the quota was firmed up into a requirement that streamers dedicate 30%+ of their catalogs to local content once the law takes effect in December.
First-order effects
- Netflix and Amazon face structurally higher licensing costs for European film and TV rights, while writers and directors gain a statutory lever to negotiate larger payments from the platforms distributing their work.
Second-order effects
- With licensed European content getting more expensive, Netflix and Amazon have a stronger incentive to shift spend toward owned originals produced in the EU — which satisfies the 30% catalog quota while avoiding third-party fee escalation.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds through final approval — the Parliament went on to pass the full directive including the Article 11 'link tax' and Article 13 'upload filter' — the EU is establishing a template in which distribution platforms, not just audiences, are made liable for funding the content ecosystem.
The trend: EU regulation is converting streaming platforms from pure distributors into co-financiers of European content, with catalog quotas setting what must be carried and copyright fees setting what it costs.