News

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.

Anton REIXA is, since the May 8, the new President of the Spanish Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers (SGAE). He has also taken on the functions of President of the Board of Directors and of the Administration Board, by majority decision of the new Board of Directors.

Born in Vigo in 1957,  he holds a degree in philology and is a poet, composer, scriptwriter, film and television director and producer. He has been the president of the audiovisual production company Filmanova since 1999 and was the president of Cluster Audiovisual of Galicia.  He currently collaborates on the programme of Onda Cero Julia en la Onda. As a multimedia artist, Anton REIXA started his career writing poetry within the Grupo de Communicación Rompente (1975).  He was a lyricist and singer of the group Os Resentidos (1982-94).  He has been also prolific in the area of video creation, producing numerous video clips; his last work in this area, Leccions de Cousas, was shown at the Centro Galego de Arte Contemporanea (CGAC, Galician Centre for Contemporary Arts) of Santiago de Compostela until October 2011.  His last published poetry book is Látego de Algas (August 2008).  As an executive movie and television producer, he has been director, scriptwriter and producer of the movies El Lápiz del Carpintero and Hotel Tívoli.