Creators declare trust in author societies.

Over the summer months, stakeholders in Brussels will be mulling over the European Commission’s new proposal on collective rights management. Once September starts, our work begins in earnest as we get down to the nitty gritty of going through the proposal and helping the institutions carve out a final version that brings about real positive change for creators, consumers and cultural diversity in Europe.

As we’ve said before, we’re pleased that EU is taking steps to boost confidence in collective rights management. Why? Because ensuring transparency and good governance in author societies is in everyone’s interests – especially ours!

 

Three important facts are overlooked by some ill-informed critics of our work:

1)      Author societies’ membership is made up entirely of creators and their heirs, and we work to serve their interests.

2)      Author societies are not-for-profit organisations. We don’t work to make money – we work to ensure creators get a fair deal.

3)      Author societies are already taking important steps to improve how they are run, and often the standards they set for themselves are higher than those laid out in the proposal.

Within author societies, trust is high. Just last month, members of SUISA joined hands to declare their trust in their author society. The first line of their membership manifesto reads as follows:

United we have the strength to safeguard our rights and negotiate fair remuneration for our work.

Clearly, SUISA’s members feel confident that their interests are being served – and that their society has an important role in their livelihoods.

And it’s easy to see why. Last year, SUISA redistributed nine Swiss Francs out of every 10 they collected. The remaining fraction was spent on the administrative costs of managing rights (no small task in today’s digital world!) What’s more, the SUISA Foundation works hard to promote the broader interests of their members and music, for example by conducting campaigns for the promotion of Swiss music in Switzerland and abroad.

Like all author societies, SUISA puts creators first. That’s why we welcome pan-European sureties in place that safeguard their best interests.