On Tuesday, May 30, European composers and lyricists organized a “Meet the authors” event in Brussels to try to help create understanding for their views among key EU politicians.
/ 31/05/2017 / codexPhotos: ©DeRibaucourt
European creators, supported by their various management companies, organized an event in Brussels on May 30th, where the purpose was to convey the importance of quickly solving the “transfer of value” problem. In short, this concerns typical user-generated services, which facilitate access to creative content without sharing the income they earn from it with those who have created and own the intellectual works.
Read the petition here (pdf document, opens in a separate window)
The “Meet the authors” event was attended by EU Commissioners Andrus Ansip and Tibor Navracsics, representatives from the five main political groups, as well as representatives from 13 member states. Overall, a wide range of artist groups were represented, including composers, lyricists, screenwriters, street artists and photographers.
The move comes at a time when copyright reform is high on the agenda of the European Parliament and the Council, which are working on the Commission's proposal dated September 2016. A petition has been prepared in this regard. In it, the copyright community expresses its concern about the ongoing discussions in the Parliament and the Council, where even the Commission's cautious proposals to solve the transfer of value problem are now being questioned rather than strengthened.
The creators' message is that clear and strong legislation must be established at EU level, which will hold user-generated services accountable by requiring them to share their revenues with creators. Failure to do so will have dramatic consequences for the creative sector in Europe. The Oscar-winning composer Jan A.P. Kaczmarek was the keynote speaker at the event and stated in this regard:
– As creators, we need to know that a safe framework exists to ensure that those who profit commercially from the use of our works have our consent and pay us correctly. Without this very basic principle, it is simply not possible to make a living as a professional creator with full dedication to our work.
TONO is one of the European management organizations that work together through the lobby organization GESAC, which was behind the event. TONO was unfortunately prevented from attending the event due to the fact that it took place on the same day as TONO's annual meeting. TONO has an active role in Gesac, including through representation in a legal expert group.
(NOTE: Minor edits were made to the text on June 6.)