66 th Festival de Cannes: professional film music writers, composer associations and policy makers gathered on the 20 th of May 2013 at the German Film Music Day, organised by SoundTrack_Cologne in cooperation with ECSA, Composers Club, DEFKOM/DKV and Mediamusic. ECSA Secretary General Patrick Ager and Vice-President Bernard Grimaldi met with Bernd Neumann – German Minister of State for Culture and the Media. The Minister gave a speech showing strong support for creators and welcomed ECSA’s declaration on collective rights management and the necessity of the exclusive assignment of the performing right. The declaration outlines the implications of the exclusive...

Today the Global Repertoire Database announced its location plans, London will be the location for the headquarters meanwhile Berlin was selected as the location for the operations center. Alfons Karabuda, President of ECSA, the European Composer & Songwriter Alliance, said, ‘We are happy to have a home for the Global Repertoire Database. These two great cities of Berlin and London with their proud heritage and strong support for authors’ rights and for copyright will serve our needs very well. We can now turn our attention to building the world’s first authoritative database of musical works and to creating a completely new system of rights management that will benefit creators...

Under the title Music and Author's right, ECSA Secretary General Patrick Ager elaborated on recent problems regarding censorship, freedom of speech and the need of strong legal protection for moral and economic interests of authors and artists. The article was published by the European Music Council's Magazin Sounds in Europe . For further information please click here .

The report stresses that the system of non-profit collective rights management societies, having authors and artists well represented on their boards, “should be promoted and protected”. ECSA is also pleased that the Special Rapporteur notes the problem of coercive contracts, entailing that creators sign away their rights to their creation in order to gain a commission for creating a work. This practice is frequently done by public and private funded broadcasters and consequently entails that creators lose control over their creation, which can be used in contradiction to their own vision. In sum, the report addresses the multi-faceted ways in which the right to freedom in artistic...

Photo: Jean-François Tifiou Exclusive interview with Bernard Grimaldi, French Film and TV Composer on the occasion of his election as the ECSA Vice-President and Chairman of the FFACE committee can be found here . Bernard Grimaldi talks about his passion for film and music and the specific challenges of composing music for film and television. ECSA Vice-President also explains what motivates him to be politically active. Do not miss this exclusive editorial.

In the framework of the annual general Assembly on 21 February 2013, ECSA members from all over Europe elected their representatives to the new ESCA board. The results are as follows: President: Alfons Karabuda (Sweden), Vice -Presidents: Bernard Grimaldi (France) and Antun Tomislav Šaban (Croatia), Treasurer: John Groves (Germany), Board Members: Chris Smith (UK), Jean Marie-Moreau (France), Jörg Evers (Germany), Martin Q Larsson (Sweden), Kjartan Olafsson (Iceland).

  In the morning of the Creators Conference 2013 on 20th February, ECSA published a declaration on collective management of author's rights and the necessity of the exclusive assignment of the performing right. The declaration was handed over to Members of the European Parliament Marielle Gallo (EPP) and Francoise Castex (S&D) during the panel focusing on Collective Societies and the Digital shift, which also included composers Jana Andreevska and Wally Badarou, as well CEO of Simfy Gerrit Schumann. A number of composers and songwriters raised concerns on the level of payment they receive from digital streaming services and also the non-disclosure agreements that SMS have...

  The Virtuosi award is presented for selected annual achievements in the field of classical and contemporary music in Macedonia. The contemporary music festival "Days of Macedonian Music", organized by the Composers' Association of Macedonia - SOKOM - won in the “Best Music Manifestation” category. The artistic director of the festival, Jana Andreevska was presented the award by Oliver Belopeta, the director of the renowned Skopje Jass Festival. ECSA proudly congratulates SOKOM.

Asociacion de Compositores de Musica para Audiovisual, Asociacion de Compositores y Autores de Musica, Autores de Musica Asociados, Brancheklubben for Film- og Mediekomponister, British Academy of Songwriters, Composers & Authors, Composer's Club, Dansk Komponist Forening, Danske Jazz-, Beat- og Folkemusik Autorer, Danske Populærautorer, Drustvo slovenskih skladateljev, Federacion de Asociaciones Ibericas de Compositores, Félag tónskálda og textahöfunda, Forening for norske komponister og tekstforfattere, Föreningen Svenska Tonsättares, Genootschap van Nederlandse Componisten, Hrvatsko drustvo skladatelja, Irish Association of Songwriters, Composers and Authors, Latvijas Komponistu...

From CNBC : NEW YORK & OTTAWA & BRUSSELS, Nov 08, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The International community of music creators today condemned the on-line service Pandora for filing a lawsuit early this week asking a federal court in New York to reduce the already miniscule performance royalties it pays to songwriters--currently just four percent of Pandora's total revenue. Pandora is also fighting in the US Congress for legislation to lower its royalty obligations to recording artists. "This is greed in its purest form," stated Rick Carnes, president of the Songwriters Guild of America and co-chair of the Music Creators North America alliance. "Songwriters want to...

  “Iceland is inspiring and the right place for historical decisions as we know from the history and ECSA reached a historical decision too”, as pointed out by his Excellency Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, President of Iceland, when welcoming ECSA delegates in his office on Sunday evening, 7 October 2012. The same day, ECSA members from all over Europe gathered in Reykjavik for an extra-ordinary general assembly and discussed key issues such as the Global Repertoire Database, the EC’s proposal for a directive on collecting societies and the upcoming Creators Conference. But the meeting also took a historical decision: ECSA delegates approved in unanimity new articles, which will reform...

Alfons Karabuda interviews President Josipovic, a professional composer and author’s rights activist To leave one's daily life as a music creator in favor of working  for music creators by defending and promoting music authors’ rights is a journey. We know that journey well. But you, Mr. President, have made an even longer journey, a journey which not only gives you the means of affecting the conditions of your own professional group, but those of a country. Croatian president and professional composer Ivo Josipovic, tells ECSA a little bit more about his background in music, and the journey from music to politics. The interview was conducted last June in Zagreb in the...

ECSA structure working group meeting: Zagreb, 20 September 16:00 ECF Board Meeting and General Assembly: Zagreb, 21 and 22 September ECSA Fall meeting: 7 of October 16:30, Reykjavik, Iceland Artsfex: 27 October, Oslo Soundtrack Cologne: 15-18 November, Cologne

Commissioner Kroes, head of the European Commission’s powerful portfolio of the Digital Agenda since 2010, received ECSA Executive Chair Alfons Karabuda and Secretary General Patrick Ager on July 17 th in her office. The meeting proved to be an excellent opportunity for an in-depth exchange of views on key ECSA issues such as the Global Repertoire Database (GRD), coercive practices of a group of European broadcasters and their affiliated production companies and finally, the directive on collective rights management societies. VP Kroes was very interested to be briefed on recent GRD developments and as to when the GRD is supposed to go “live”. In September 2008, then Competition...

Collective Rights Management Societies are crucial for composers and songwriters and ECSA fully supports their role as aggregators of authors' rights. Properly managed societies protect the interests of music writers and ensure that composers and songwriters are remunerated for the exploitation of their musical works. ECSA welcomes the initiative to establish a framework intended to facilitate the re-aggregation of repertoires and to strive for highest efficiency and governance standards in the licensing of musical rights and looks forward to cooperating closely with EU institutions in this important matter.

On June 27 th , ECSA Secretary General Patrick Ager was invited to participate at a panel on music publishing in the framework of the New Media Forum. The event took place in the European Parliament and Mr. Ager outlined key challenges facing ECSA members and took the opportunity to introduce ECSA members, who are composers of audiovisual music and classical music, as well as composers and songwriters of popular music. Speaking on the frequency of unfair contractual practices composers and songwriters face, Ager said, “It’s really about strengthening the position of the music writers in contractual deals with the commissioning counterpart such as broadcast companies. A lot of our...

Songwriters Guild of America and ECSA Team up!

ECSA pays tribute to singer-songwriter Robin Gibb, who passed away on Sunday May 20 at the age of 62 after fighting a long-term illness. Robin Gibb, alongside his brothers Barry and Maurice, performing as The Bee Gees, was part of one of the most successful songwriting teams in the history of pop music. In his capacity as CISAC President and one of the world’s most popular songwriters, Robin Gibb advocated and promoted author’s rights and a fair remuneration for creators. ECSA is deeply saddened and offers its most sincere condolences to his family. http://www.robingibb.com/robin.html

ECSA Chairman Alfons Karabuda announced yesterday in his capacity of Chairman of the Award Committee of the Polar Music Prize the laureates of the prize. “The Polar Music Prize 2012 is awarded to Paul Simon. Nobody else is more deserving of t he epithet of “world-class songwriter.” For five decades, Paul Simon has built bridges not only over troubled waters but over entire oceans by (re)joining the world’s continents with his music. With consummate skill, innovative arrangements and provocative lyrics that never fail to capture the currents of his age, Paul Simon has compiled a library of songs which will remain open to future generations.”   The Polar Music Prize...

ECSA's contemporary music pillar ECF (European Composers' Forum) launched today its' new website. ECF deals specifically with issues affecting the composers of arts and concert music. Major aim is to stimulate and initiate activities to foster contemporary music composition in Europe and to increase the awareness for contemporary music. For further information please click here .

http://www.change.org/petitions/fair-trade-for-creators Two intense days for ECSA, the ECSA structure working group met on May 2nd and the ECSA coercion working group met on May 3rd. Both meetings took place in the new ECSA office in Brussels and proved to be an excellent opportunity to assess current ECSA issues such as the complaint against broadcasters and their afficiliated production companies. The coercion working group decided to pursue the fight against coercion and to raise with other creators associations a political campaign entitled "fair trade for free-lance workers".

Please click here for downloading the statement. Sign the petition now and click here  ! Following the ECSA complaint against coercive practices, several international associations representing interests of creators issued a joint statement calling for immediate action against coercive contractual practices facing creators in Europe. The undersigned organizations call for 8 non-waivable key principles to be resected in contractual agreements in order to safeguard the livelihood of creators and Europe’s cultural diversity.

2012-04-03 Former EC Commissioner Vitorino announced stakeholder consultations on private copying levies in a statement released yesterday (April 2 nd ). The mediation aims to bring the two main opposing groups – the consumer electronics makers and the collecting societies – closer together. Antonio Vitorino was appointed in November 2011 by Internal Market Commission Barnier to mediate and provide a recommendation of his investigations this autumn for the awaited legislative proposals on private copying levies by the end of 2012. Vitorino said that “the purpose of this mediation is to move beyond well-known and entrenched positions and to find workable and mutually acceptable...

“This complaint represents what is at stake for the independent community of composers and songwriters and why it matters, not only to the composers, but also the threat to quality and diversity of talent among younger, less well-known composers and songwriters which these practices pose,” said Alfons Karabuda, Chairman of ECSA at a press conference held in Brussels on February 29th. Mr. Karabuda (who is also Chairman of the Swedish Society of Popular Music Composers) and ECSA Secretary General Patrick Ager were joined at the press conference by several affected composers willing to speak out on the matter, notably Chris Smith (UK), Johan van der Voet (NL), Örjan Strandberg...

Composers and Songwriters from all over Europe, the US and Zimbabwe met in Brussels on February 2nd – 3rd for celebrating the 2nd edition of the Creators Conference. Let’s start with music! Prior to the official commencement ECSA organized a concert introducing Coro Grabriel (Sardinia), Alpha (Denmark), Klaus Risager (Denmark), Hush (Denmark) and Jean-Michel Bernard (France). Furthermore, a delegation of the Songwriters Guild of America (Rick Carnes, Janis Carnes, Janie Ross Coulter, Charlie Sanders) met with ECSA representatives (Alfons Karabuda, Patrick Ager) and discussed the setting up of an intensified cross Atlantic collaboration and a network of authors for addressing...

The Slovenian Society of Composers (DSS) hosted in collaboration with the Music Academy of Ljubljana the annual meeting of ECSA’s member ECF (European Composers’ Forum). The meeting was accompanied by a series of round table discussions, concerts and workshops. At the centre of debate were the awaited upcoming legislative proposals from the European Commission regarding collective management of authors’ rights and the representation of composers in Europe. It was stressed that any legislative proposal must take the views of creators into account, such as the necessity to maintain the exclusive assignment (of the performing rights) to collective societies. The event hosted also a...

Ciudad de la Luz Director José Antonio Escrivá with ECSA officials Delegations of composers and songwriters around Europe gathered on October 3rd and 4th in Alicante, Spain. The meetings included sessions of FFACE, APCOE and ECF, as well as of ECSA’s coercion working group and ECSA's autumn general assembly. Watch out for further information soon.

ECSA Secretary General Patrick Ager addressing FIMU audience Copyright: FIMU Vienna/Julia Wesely „My voice in Europe“ was the title of a podium discussion on September 20th in the framework of the International Film Music Symposium in Vienna, Austria. Austrian composer Paul Hertel and ECSA Secretary General Patrick Ager discussed how composers and songwriters can best defend their interest on national and European level. The discussion was moderated by Fritz Niemann, project manager of EU XXL and ECSA. For further information: www.fimuvienna.com

Following a decision taken at the General Assembly last February in Brussels, the next ECSA session will take place in Alicante, Spain on October 3rd. Among other issues the agenda will include updates on ECSA’s Brussels activities and recent GRD developments.   Monday 3rd October, Portamaris hotel: 10am - APCOE, ECF, FFACE meetings 3pm – ECSA session   Tuesday 4th October, Portamaris hotel: 10am - Coercion Working Group

ECSA delegate Jean-Marie Moreau came to Brussels on July 12 th to meet Françoise Castex, member of the European Parliament’s Socialists & Democrats Group since 2004. ECSA Secretary General Patrick Ager participated in the meeting as well. Jean-Marie Moreau, who wrote hits for François Feldmann, Alain Delon and many others, received assurances from Ms. Castex that she considers that authors’ rights are indispensable to assure a return of value to creators. Talking about authors’ rights and new technologies, Mr. Moreau pointed out that it is crucial to have a legal framework and safety net to allow authors to create.  Whilst it was acknowledged that authors may decide, and have...

On the initiative of the Slovak Instiute in Vienna, currently presiding the EUNIC Vienna Cluster, a concert entitled Long Night of European Music took place in Vienna’s famous Museums’ Quartier on June 21st. The concert was co-organized by ECSA’s member network of contemporary music composers, the European Composers’ Forum and the Vienna Cluster of EUNIC. The event included premieres with the European Contemporary Composers' Orchestra under Jürgen Bruns (GER) - with works by H. Heher (AUT), T. Räisänen (FIN), A. Giorgobiani (GEO), S. Azevedo (POR), C. Sojar Voglar (SLO) und L'. Cekovská (SVK). Innovative and experimental sounds are contributed by J.-C. Risset (FRA), A. Eliasson...

On 16th and 17th of June the Digital Agenda Assembly took place in Brussels. Opening the plenary, Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for the Digital Agenda marked out the significance of new technologies in a modern life. Ms Kroes called decision-makers to “start seeing and using Internet Communication Technologies (ICTs) as an essential engine for our economy – not as an optional extra” and requested for a dialogue with stakeholders. The Assembly consisted of different workshops and plenary sessions. One of the workshops was entitled “ICT and management of creative content”. It focused on challenges and vision of the intellectual property management in...

From left to right: Frank Dostal (German lyricist, President DTV), Robin Gibb (Bee Gees, CISAC President), Jörg Evers (Composers, President of DKV, Patrick Ager (ECSA Secretary General) “Kroes said we are desperately seeking success, but all we want is fair remuneration for the work we do.” as pointed out by ECSA Chairman Alfons Karabuda adressing this years’ World Copyright Summit. More than 500 representatives of creative industries worldwide gathered on June 7th and 8th under the theme “creating value in the digital economy” and discussed pending issues related to copyrights, collective rights management and licensing. The World Copyright Summit included interventions from...

As part of the EU Single Market Act, the Commissioner Barnier (Single Market and Services) unveiled on May 24th a wide-ranging strategy to modernize intellectual property rights (IPR) in the Single Market. Among the first deliverables of this strategy are proposals for an easier licensing system for so-called "orphan works", a new regulation to reinforce customs actions in fighting trade of IPR infringing goods, and a new proposal to reinforce the European Observatory on Counterfeiting and Piracy. Here is a brief summary of the points which relate to songwriters, composers and authors: - the EC plans to submit proposals for the collective management of copyright to enable...

Alfons Karabuda (SKAP Chairman, ECSA Executive Chairman) On the 16th of May, ECSA’s member, SKAP-the Swedish Union of Composers of Popular Music, celebrated its 85th anniversary at the prestigious Stockholm City Hall. During the evening 13 stipends and awards were granted to composers, songwriters and lyrisicts. Handing over an award to Freemuse for its work against censorship and oppression of composers and musicians, Jan Eliasson, the former chairman of the U.N. General Assembly and the former Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs stated that censoring musicians is an abuse of human rights. In her turn, giving a present to SKAP, the Iceland’s Minister for Trade and Cultural...

On the 11th of April, a working breakfast took place between ECSA delegates and Staffan Nilsson. Mr. Nilsson was recently elected President of the European Economic and Social Committee and heads the Committee for the next three years. The meeting proved to be an excellent opportunity for an in-depth discussion on authors’ rights, Authors’ Rights Management Societies and the necessity for finding new licensing models. Leading the delegation, Alfons Karabuda stressed that whilst ECSA claims for increased standards of governance, Europe’s composers and songwriters consider Authors’ Rights Management Societies as indispensable. In turn, Mr. Nilsson briefed ECSA on the work of the...

On the 11 th of April, a working breakfast took place between ECSA delegates and Staffan Nilsson. Mr. Nilsson was recently elected President of the European Economic and Social Committee and heads the Committee for the next three years. The meeting proved to be an excellent opportunity for an in-depth discussion on authors’ rights, Authors’ Rights Management Societies and the necessity for finding new licensing models. Leading the delegation, Alfons Karabuda stressed that whilst ECSA claims for increased standards of governance, Europe’s composers and songwriters consider Authors’ Rights Management Societies as indispensable. In turn, Mr. Nilsson briefed ECSA on the work of the...

Following a decision taken at the last general assembly of ECSA in Brussels, the alliance positively responded to an invitation for joining the Global Repertoire Database Working Group (GRD WG). The Group initially included music publishers EMI Music Publishing and Universal Music Publishing Group, music service providers iTunes, Amazon and Nokia and the collective societies PRS for Music, SACEM and STIM. The Working Group was set up to explore the creation of the Global Repertoire Database (GRD) to deal with many of the fundamental challenges in the administration of music rights and the collection of royalties in the licensing of multi-territorial digital music services. ECSA’s...

On June 7th and 8th world-known composers and songwriters, politicians and key industry players will gather in Brussels for the World Copyright Summit. As member of the World Copyright Summit’s Advisory Committee, ECSA strives to ensure that the authors' concerns and viewpoints are adequately echoed. Outstanding personalities and politicians confirmed already their participation. Among them composer Ivo Josipović, President of Croatia and former Secretary General of ECSA’s member HDS (Croatian Composers Society), Bee Gees’ legendary singer-songwriter Robin Gibb, French visual artist Hervé Di Rosa, songwriter and ASCAP President Paul Williams and finally European Commissioner Michel...

Klemens Lendl and David Müller (Die Strottern: Modern Traditionals from Today's Vienna) Composers' Lounge Brussels Edition Photo: Elena Cusimano On the occasion of the first ECSA General Assembly in Brussels, the Austrian Composers’ Society held an edition of its Vienna-based Composers’ Lounge. 24 Austrian artists including 10 composers came to Brussels and introduced their music to members of ECSA, as well as to invited guests. In cooperation with the Austrian Cultural Forum Brussels, the compositions were dedicated to the theme of silence: “Das Ruhelied ist herrlich” (The silent song is wonderful), as Goethe wrote it in a letter to a friend in 1814. The concert took place on...

ECSA will hold its General Assembly meeting on February 3rd 2011, at 3:00 pm in Flagey, Brussels. As usual, the meetings of the pillars, APCOE, ECF and FFACE will take place the same day, at 10:00 am. On the occasion of the first General Assembly of ECSA in Brussels, the Austrian Composers Society will hold a Brussels edition of its club-like concert event entitled “Composers Lounge”. The concert takes place on February 2nd 2011 at 7:00 pm in Flagey, Brussels and can be attended only upon invitation. The Composers Lounge is dedicated to the creative variety of contemporary music and usually takes place in Vienna’s famous Jazz Club, Porgy and Bess. The Brussels Edition aims to introduce...

Photo: Anders Lidén Secretary General Patrick Ager went to Stockholm January 11th for one day visit. Mr. Ager had in-depth meetings with ECSA’s Executive Chairman Alfons Karabuda and SKAP’s staff members Marten Karlson, Johan Hammarbäckand and Anders Lidén. In the heart of the conversation were ECSA’s overall agenda in 2011 and upcoming meetings such as the ECSA General Assembly on February 3rd in Brussels.

  Mr. Almunia, Commissioner for Competition, received on 30th November an ECSA delegation for an exchange of views on pending EU policies related to authors’ rights. The meeting took place at the European Commission in Brussels and has been an excellent occasion for ECSA to discuss its’ viewpoints with the Commissioner. Among other issues, the delegation stressed the necessity for music creators to maintain the exclusive assignment to their collective societies, as well as the efforts of ECSA’s “Coercion Committee” to collect evidences on coercive practices for the commissioning of film and media music. It has been agreed, that both, ECSA and the Commission stay in contact. The ECSA...

The European Composer and Songwriter Alliance held its’ autumn session during this years’ Artmusfair conference in Warsaw, Poland. The ECSA meeting, as well as the meeting of the three pillars APCOE, ECF and FFACE took place on the 23rd of September. The major outcome of the meetings was the endorsement of a position paper on “Collective Management of Authors’ Rights in Europe”, which is based on the ECSA Resolution adopted in June in Bilbao. The position paper outlines pending problems with the licensing of music for online uses, proposes a solution advocated by ECSA and highlights some ideas for how this can be achieved. ECSA delegates were further briefed on the Global Repertoire...

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,...

/* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Normale Tabelle"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} 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...

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...

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.

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.

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...

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...

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.

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.

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...

On 1st of April, ECSA Secretary General Patrick Ager opened the new office in Flagey, Brussels. Mr. Ager will henceforward coordinate and administrate the activities of the alliance, as well as ensure ECSA’s permanent representation in Brussels. Prior to his assignment with ECSA Patrick Ager worked in the department for European Council- and Foreign Affairs Meetings in the Austrian Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Mr. Ager holds a Master degree in Political Science and is a former Research Fellow of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. He speaks German, French and English. Contact: + 32 491 360 932   info@composeralliance.org

On 14th of April ECSA representatives joined the European Parliaments' Working Group on Copyright. The Working Group is a subsidiary body of the EP Committee on Legal Affairs. ECSA Spokesperson Patrick Rackow addressed the working group on behalf of the alliance. The delegation also included ECSA’s Acting Chairman Alfons Karabuda and Secretary General Patrick Ager. A summary of the address can be found here

On the 26th of March, ECSA chairman Alfons Karabuda joined the inaugural meeting of the World Copyright Summit Advisory board, in Brussels. The World Copyright Summit is organized by the International Confederation of Authors and Composers Societies (CISAC) and will take place in June 2011, in Brussels. The advisory board will have monthly meetings and ECSA will strive to ensure that the authors’ perspective in approaches to copyright and collective management is considered.

The date for the next General Assembly meeting has been fixed: On the 9th of June, 4.pm, delegations of European composer and songwriter organizations will gather in Bilbao. Information on location and registration procedure for observers will be provided in due time.

It is our great pleasure to announce that Croatian composer Ivo Josipovic (also head of the Zagreb Music Biennale and Board member of the Croatian Composers' Society) has been elected President of Croatia on 10 January 2010. Josipovic is the first composer as a head of state in history and he will lead Croatia towards the full membership in the European Union in 2012.  Read more...

The purpose of the Conference was to discuss: How to provide widespread, affordable access to content for the public and to encourage a dynamic creative culture, while returning value back to creators. The international panels consisted of representatives from the whole music industry as well as inventors and consumers such as Peter Jenner, music manager and record producer and Bennett Lincoff, intellectual property law attorney, consultant and writer. Mark Fishlock was leading the seminar as our moderator. For more information please visit: www.creatorsconference.se

Read the ECSA statement to the Reflection Document of DG INFSO and DG MARKT on the topic of "Creative Content in a European Digital Single Market: Challenges for the Future"  here

23 January 2010 -  The ECSA Delegates Assembly will take place on Saturday 23 January from 14:30 to 17:00 on the "Scandinavian Terrasse", Blvd. La Croisette, Cannes.

As a major political result of ARTMUSFAIR 2009 in Glasgow, which was held under the motto “Shaping the Future for Contemporary Music” by the European Composers Forum in cooperation with BASCA British Academy of Composers, Songwriters & Authors from 29th October - 01st November as an international European gathering of composers and experts in contemporary classical/art music, the  “Declaration on the Future for the Creation of Contemporary Art Music in Europe”  was approved by the delegates on 01 November 2009.  This Declaration addresses political and cultural decision makers throughout Europe, outlines main issues of concern and suggests urgently necessary actions to improve the...

From 29 October - 01 November 2009 ECSA attends ARTMUSFAIR which is held by the European Composers Forum in partnership with the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers & Authors and the Scottish Music Centre. During ARTMUSFAIR, ECSA will also hold its regular Delegates Assembly. ARTMUSFAIR, under the 2009 title "Shaping the Future of Contemporary Music" is open to representatives from throughout the contemporary classical music scene, and attracts hundreds of composers, music publishers, record labels, musicians, promoters, managers and agents from across the whole of Europe.

Dear colleagues and partners of ECSA, dear friends,It is with great sadness that we have to report that David Ferguson died on Sunday 5th July after a long and courageous fight against pancreatic cancer. As chairman of BASCA in the UK David was founder and director of APCOE and co-founder and co-chairman of ECSA. It is no exaggeration to say that without his passion and enthusiasm these organisations would not exist today.David’s knowledge of the music industry, the role of creators and the problems that were faced was comprehensive and was matched by the breadth of his determination to make the writers case, whether to publishers, collecting societies, governments or EU institutions. As...

The European Composer & Songwriter Alliance (ECSA) welcomes the decision of the Swedish Court in the trial of the founders of Pirate Bay.  ECSA believes that the verdict sends out a strong message the facilitation of file sharing on such a scale is a criminal act that threatens the livelihoods of the music writers that ECSA represents.Whilst ECSA accepts that suing individual consumers is not a desirable or viable solution to the problem of illegal file sharing any solution must be based upon a firm foundation of rights that can be enforced against such industrial infringers.ECSA further believes that the decision opens the way for the myriad of legal online music offerings as it...

The European Composer & Songwriter Alliance (ECSA) and the International Council of Creators of Music (CIAM) note with concern the recent action taken by Google/YouTube in their negotiations for new licences with music collecting societies PRS for Music (UK) and GEMA (Germany).ECSA and CIAM regard Google’s actions as nothing more than a cynical and coercive public relations ploy by which they are apparently trying to set users against creators. ECSA and CIAM are increasingly concerned that Google’s precipitous and unjustified move presages further use of such tactics in their negotiations with other collecting societies throughout Europe and may establish a pattern for how such...

ECSA welcomes the decision of the EU Legal Affairs Committee to approve legislation extending the term of copyright for sound recordings.  ECSA  believes that this decision demonstrates the committee’s  recognition of the value of the work of all creators of music and trusts they will continue to support the system of copyright which provides protection and allows creators to benefit from their creative efforts.

BRUSSELS, 3 rd JULY 2008 – Benny Anderson, Charles Aznavour, Pedro Almodovar, James Blunt, Miguel Bose, Patrick Doyle, Bryan Ferry, Robin Gibb, David Gilmour , Julio Iglesias, Maurice Jarre, Mark Knopfler, Michel Legrand, Paco de Lucia, Sir Paul McCartney, Enio Morricone, Nicoal Piovani, Sade, Alejandro Sanz, Caetano Veloso, Gabriel Yared are among the numerous artists and creators who recently appealed to the European Commission President José Manuel Barroso to express their deep concerns about a possible unfavourable decision on pan-European licensing of music. In a meeting with the cabinet of EC President Barroso (on July 3 rd at 9:00am) and in a public declaration read today at...

The "Levai-Report", released in March 2007, has been approved by the EU Parliament. The report demands a revision on the EU Commission's recommendation on collective cross-border management. ECSA supported this decision addressing to all EU Parliament members.

One voice for European composers and songwriters set up in Madrid. The European Composer & Songwriter Alliance (ECSA) was launched on Wednesday 7th March at the Theatro Circo Price in Madrid, where 23 countries and 35 organisations came together from all over Europe to form a single voice for European Composers and Songwriters.The Member countries of ECSA are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and of course the United Kingdom .