News

–          What do you consider will be the biggest challenge for SABAM in the months and years to come?

Sabam meets many important challenges.  The two most important at the moment are:

Improving the external image of SABAM by totally reviewing its approach to communication and involvement in cultural sponsorship.Starting, one way or another, with decent Internet collections from Access Providers.

–          How important are authors’ societies like SABAM for Belgium today?

Collective management is the guarantee that culture and creation can keep on existing, and this isn’t just big ideas.  By its totally private/non-public nature, a collecting society gives creators the chance to live independently from the revenue of their creations and to participate in national culture, which is the basis of a national or a sub-national identity.

–          What does your daily work consist of?

Making sure Sabam will be able to meet the challenges and secure its role in serving its members.

–          What are your views on EU policy toward authors’ societies?  What are you expecting from the EU institutions?

The European Union seems to be quite divided on the issue of authors’ societies.  Some Commissioners clearly want to help us, some consider us as their enemies.  Collective management and copyright are very topical  issues in the European Parliament.  The EU should try to have a better multi-disciplinary vision of all the challenges that intellectual property and its management are faced with.  It should try to have a more clear and better coordinated understanding of the impact of the digital era on creation.  This should proceed from a longer term strategy. We aren’t gangsters.  An in-depth dialogue should be(re-)opened.

–          Cross border licensing is an issue for EU officials. What is the role of SABAM in the EU digital market?  What are the challenges in this global market? Is there room for the Belgium music abroad?

Sabam issues licenses to any online user in Belgium.  Currently, our role is mainly national, due to the fragmentation of the repertoires. The challenges are monetizing the uses of our repertoire. We should also be much better lobbyists in defending our interests against those of enormous users like Google. Belgian music is not as well-known as Belgian chocolates, but Belgian music and films are  appreciated abroad, and some 10% of our incomes are generated in other countries.

–          Transparency and governance of collecting societies is sometimes challenged.  What can be improved?

Sabam is now really cutting edge on this issue.  We have adopted a Charter of Corporate Governance, a code of deontology and an audit charter.  All these elements are a logical piece of the respect we have for our members, and of the efficiency they deserve.

Come rain or shine, festivals are an increasingly popular fixture on Europe’s summer agenda. In recent times, it seems as though each year brings forth a new batch – each one with its own unique appeal.

The expansion and diversification of the festivals on offer means there’s now something to suit all tastes and ages, which explains why more and more of us are getting involved.

But did you know that authors’ societies are behind many of the festivals you might find yourself at this summer? For example, Sabam – the Brussels-based author society – will be sponsoring numerous Belgium festivals in 2012, from five-day rock fest the Dour festival to the Francofolies, a folksy celebration of French song.

In Spain, the Fundación Autor SGAE is gearing up to mark the International Day of Music on June 21 by organising a whole host of free concerts that will take place in Barcelona, Bilbao, Santiago de Compostela and Valencia.

There’s more to festivals than just having a good time. A recent study of 841 festivals in France by the author society Sacem reveals that they bought in funds of about 12 million euros for their members in 2011, demonstrating that their importance is economic as well as cultural.

And of course, live music isn’t the reserve of summer festivals. New research by PRS For Music shows that the top 100 live music venues in the UK alone put on an incredible 13,781 concerts last year, demonstrating just how important live music is to local and national economic growth. The Southbank Centre in London I stop of the list – hosting 422 musical events over the year, attended by over one million people.

A great many actors have a stake in the digital world, so bringing about concrete and tangible change requires carefully thought-out alliance building and pooled resources. Everyone, from authors and performers through to technology companies, deserves to have their voices heard before decisions are made.

Finnish author society Teosto is an active player in the digital debate in Finland. The copyright organisation representing more than 26,000 music authors and publishers recently joined forces with recording industry trade association IFPI, the media company Sanoma Entertainment and Nokia to take stock of Finland’s digital situation and publish an agenda for change.

We’ve just published three landmark studies on this site that analyse where music in Europe stands today, the opportunities and challenges it faces and the way forward.

The impact of piracy on the cultural diversity of European Music addresses the threat of piracy and calls for firm action to be taken now to help reverse the damage already done.

The online music market in Europe- New Business Models and Consumer Choice is an in-depth assessment of how the Internet is transforming how we enjoy music and what industry is doing to help consumers access music in a convenient and legal way.

The Truth About Licensing Music in Europe examines the trends and problems facing the music industry, proposes solutions that serve everyone’s interests – and rebuts some common myths about author societies.

You can access all three studies here.

The studies were prepared by IFPI, the trade association representing the worldwide recording industry, in collaboration with Gesac – The European Grouping of Societies of Authors and Composers – and ICMP, the world trade association representing the interests of the music publishing community internationally.