ecsa

ECSA Warsaw meeting, Artmusfair, Creators Network

frank stahmer — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 13:41:29 +0000

The European Composers Forum - ECSA’s art music composers’ pillar - is organising this years’ Artmusfair conference from 22nd to 25th of September in Warsaw, Poland. ECSA delegates gather on the 23rd of September for a closed session in order to discuss crucial matters for European music writers.
Entitled “meeting the challenges of 21st century music”, this years’ Artmusfair hosts also another special event: the “Creators Network”, which is rooted in the Creators Conference held in Stockholm in March 2010, will be initiated on 22nd of September. The “Creators Network” aims to be a platform where creators in the broadest sense and music industry professionals, including publishers, managers, legal advisors, inventors, consumers and legislators gather to address crucial issues such as authors’ rights and the future of creativity in the 21st century.
For further information please visit: www.artmusfair.eu

Cabinet of Commissioner Neelie Kroes welcomes ECSA officials

frank stahmer — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 14:00:18 +0000

On 15th of July, ECSA’s Executive Chairman Alfons Karabuda came to Brussels on the occasion of a meeting with Ms Boix Alonso, Deputy Head of Cabinet of EC Vice-President Neelie Kroes, Commissioner for Digital agenda.

“The meeting was extremely constructive” as pointed out by Alfons Karabuda when concluding. Both, Ms.Bois Alonso and Mr.Karabuda exchanged their views on collective rights management and pan-European licensing. It has been agreed that the Cabinet of Commissioner Kroes and ECSA will keep in close contact. ECSA’s Secretary General Patrick Ager and SKAP’s Administrative Director Marten Karlsson attended the meeting as well.

During his stay in Brussels, Alfons Karabuda also took the opportunity to visit ECSA’s office and to discuss with the Secretary General Patrick Ager upcoming issues such as ECSA’s autumn meeting in Warsaw and EU policies in the field of authors’ rights.

From Left to Right: Agostina Di Martino, Marten Karlsson, Alfons Karabuda, Patrick Ager.

ECSA’s Delegation Assembly concludes in Bilbao

frank stahmer — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 09:13:10 +0000

On the 9th of June representatives of European composers societies met in Bilbao to address challenges of the European music creators’ community. ECSA’s three pillars – the European Composers Forum (ECF), the Federation of Film and Audiovisual Composers in Europe (FFACE) and the Alliance of Popular Composer Organization in Europe (APCOE) - met as well and delegated their representatives to the ECSA Assembly, which took place at 4pm. in the Theatro Campo. The main outcome of the extra-ordinary General Assembly is the adoption of a “Resolution on the management of Authors’ Rights”, stressing basic principles in the administration of authors’ rights.
Further topics of discussion of the Assembly included the budgetary situation of the alliance, upcoming ECSA meetings and a report on the work of the Coercion Committee by its’ Chairman Orjan Strandberg.

Cabinet of Commissioner Barnier receives ECSA officials

frank stahmer — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 10:31:37 +0000

On 1st of June, Deputy Head of Cabinet Kerstin Jorna welcomed ECSA’s Co-Chairman Klaus Ager and Spokesperson Patrick Rackow for an exchange of views. The meeting took place in the EC Headquaters in Brussels and dealt with issues of concern for the European music writers.

ECSA General Assembly meeting

frank stahmer — Fri, 21 May 2010 13:40:18 +0000

The location for the Bilbao General Assembly meeting has been fixed: ECSA’s meeting, as well as the meeting of ECSA’s pillars, is going to take place in the Campos Theater, Calle Bertendona, 5.
For further information please click here.

Austrian Government Member visits ECSA’s Office in Brussels

frank stahmer — Tue, 11 May 2010 15:02:31 +0000

Claudia Schmied, Federal Minister for Education, the Arts and Culture of the Republic of Austria visited ECSA’s Brussels Office on 10th of May. Welcomed by ECSA Secretary General Patrick Ager, Minister Schmied was guided through the venues of Flagey by Director General Hugo de Greef, as well as informed about the European House for Culture by Kathrin Deventer, EFA Secretary General.
ECSA Spokesperson Patrick Rackow and Secretary General Patrick Ager provided Minister Schmied with a comprehensive information folder on ECSA and welcomed the opportunity to talk informally with the representative of the Austrian government.
The Austrian delegation also included Mr. Hanspeter Huber, Chief of staff of the Ministers’ office and Mrs. Heidemarie Meissnitzer, Counsellor of Embassy of the Austrian permanent mission in Brussels.

From Left to Right: Patrick Rackow, Patrick Ager, Claudia Schmied, Hanspeter Huber

ECSA’s Coercion Committee gathers in Hamburg

frank stahmer — Mon, 10 May 2010 12:09:46 +0000

Hosted by John Groves, the Coercion Committee met on 8th of May in Hamburg for a day-long working session. “The meeting was extremely constructive, I didn’t expect such inputs. We have now an ambitious action plan for the coming weeks,” as pointed out by Committee Chairman Örjan Stranberg when concluding.
Among others, the committee discussed in deep the growing business practice that acquiring a composing commission for a film- or TV- production includes signing off a “publishers’ share”, as high as 50%, to be paid back to the TV-station. This routine had been unanimously declared as an extremely immoral practice retrieving fees to authors’ societies on the costs of the creators, thus seriously jeopardizing the living ground of composers.

The next meeting of the Coercion Committee is set for the 10th of June in Bilbao.

Left to right: Loek Dikker, Patrick Ager, Patrick Rackow, Chris Smith, John Groves, Örjan Strandberg and Lorenzo Fererro.

ECSA Spokesperson addresses Public Hearing on Collective Rights Management

frank stahmer — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 10:28:44 +0000

The European Commission hold on 23rd of April a Public Hearing on the Governance of Collective Rights Management in the EU.
Entitled “ the relationship between collective rights managers and their members” the first panel comprised also the viewpoint of Europe’s music creators’ community. Addressed by ECSA Spokesperson Patrick Rackow, the audience was thus informed on what music writers want from the European Commission and why authors’ societies are pivotal to the creators.
The address of Mr. Rackow can be found here.

Green Paper on Cultural and Creative Industries

frank stahmer — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 11:23:39 +0000

On 27 April, the European Commission adopted a major policy document – a “green paper” – on “Unlocking the potential of cultural and creative industries”. This Initiative launches a consultation period of three month.
The Green Paper can be found here.

Creators & young entrepreneurs

frank stahmer — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 08:52:07 +0000

ECSA’s Swedish member organization SKAP, arranged a collaboration with The Entrepreneurs Hunt, on Friday the 16th of April, in Stockholm. A day long, 10 teams of young entrepreneurs were set out to deliberate on a key challenge of the music market: promoting future creativity on the internet, providing widespread, affordable access to content for the public and encouraging simultaneously a dynamic creative culture, while returning value to the creators.

”They had many interesting ideas. I find it remarkable that most of the teams pointed to society and the state as holding the major responsibility for culture and therefore building the infrastructure on the internet. There was also a unanimous opinion on the importance of giving the authors a fair remuneration. Perhaps a bit unexpected coming from an entrepreneurial view, “says ECSA Chairman Alfons Karabuda.