News

Press Release
Brussels, 26 November 2013

The European Parliament’s JURI Committee has today approved the Collective Rights Management Directive. This follows the agreement of the Trialogue earlier this month and marks a significant step towards the Directive being formally adopted early next year.
GESAC, on behalf of the 33 societies it represents across Europe, welcomes the agreement on the Directive by the JURI Committee. The Directive highlights the key role of collective management organisations (CMOs) in negotiating deals with licensees and securing fair remuneration to creators. It aims at setting European wide standards of transparency and governance, which are essential to ensure that relationships with rightholders and users are based on confidence.
GESAC has welcomed the CRM Directive from the beginning of its legislative journey. The completed text confirms the crucial role that author and rightsholder members play in overseeing the operations of their societies. It also sets a legal framework that accompanies the development of the online market for the cross-border use of music and the solutions already provided by CMOs to organise rights clearance in a manner that is efficient for users and respectful of rights holders’ interests.
CMOs are producing innovative solutions to assist the development of the online market both in the form of simplified licensing offers and in international collaborations driving greater efficiency in data management and better access to content. Common technical solutions and licensing hubs are examples of CMO leadership in this area. These solutions are crucial to swifter market development, and they offer up access to greater numbers of repertoires encouraging business users to access to the full range of creative content produced throughout the European Union.
GESAC regrets however that the opportunities to guarantee cultural diversity were not taken as necessary, since it is uncertain whether all repertoires will be offered by digital services on a pan-European basis.
GESAC General Manager Véronique Desbrosses commented, “This process has sparked the political interest for collective management and how CMOs contribute to economic growth and continuous cultural creation in the EU. Authors’ societies lead the way to meet the needs of the online market and are essential to ensure that authors and rights holders are adequately paid”.

At the end of November, the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee will vote on an opinion on private copying levies, also known as private copying remuneration (PCR). Ahead of this vote, authorsocieties.eu is writing a series of posts called ‘PCR matters’ that explains why you should care about private copying levies. This week we tell you how private copying levies contribute to financing social and cultural activities in Europe.

At the end of November, the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee will vote on an opinion on private copying levies, also known as private copying remuneration (PCR). Ahead of this vote, authorsocieties.eu is writing a series of posts called ‘PCR matters’ that explains why you should care about private copying levies. This week we tell you how private copying levies contribute to financing social and cultural activities in Europe.

As we explained last week, copyright levies exist to ensure that authors get fair compensation for the use of their creations. But in many EU countries, part of the money collected through levies is also used to finance social programmes for artists and cultural activities for all.

These funds are used to finance large projects like music festivals, films, and trade shows as well as supporting schemes for niche content or new risky projects, fostering innovation and ensuring diversity. Private copying levies also fund training for emerging artists and authors, laying the foundations for Europe’s cultural future.

More about our views on private copying remuneration:

PCR matters #1- Private copying remuneration: More relevant in today’s digital world than ever

PCR matters #2 – Private copying levies: Fair compensation for creation

Why you should care about private copying remuneration

What author societies want for private copying remuneration

How it is an essential source of income for European creators

The French, like all of us, love culture. We all listen to music, go to the cinema, watch television, listen to the radio, read newspapers, magazines and books, play video games, and enjoy going to shows, museums and art events. We all know that culture makes our lives richer and more enjoyable. Yet the value of the cultural and creative sector in economic terms is not as well-known. This means it can be underestimated at times.

A new study has been published in France to set the record straight. Here are the most striking facts we have spotted in the study:

• Cultural and creative industries employ 1.2 million people in France, which is 5% of the country’s job market. What’s more, most of these jobs cannot be moved offshore.
• The annual revenue of the sector (€61,4bn) exceeds that of the automobile industry (€60,4bn) and of the luxury goods industry (€52,5bn). It is almost equivalent to the revenue generated by the telecommunications industry (€66,2bn) and the revenue of the chemical sector (€68,7bn).
• The French cultural and creative sector has produced European and international champions: the n° 1 music production company in the world (Universal Music Group); two of the international leaders in web-based streaming services: audio (Deezer), and video (Dailymotion); the 2^nd largest publishing group worldwide (Hachette), and the 3^rd largest video game publisher (Ubisoft).

You might have seen our tweets yesterday at the Licences for Europe plenary meeting, which closed a 9-month cross-sector effort to identify solutions to bring more content online. Speaking at the event, EU Commissioner Michel Barnier shared a personal conviction: the next European Commission, which takes charge at the end of 2014, will have to present a strategy to support cultural and creative industries. This French study and a recent European study on the same sector give statistical evidence that confirms the cultural and creative sector is worth it.

The English version of the study’s website (www.francecreative.fr) will be available at the beginning of next week and the study later in the month.