News from ECSA - April edition

The Centre national de la musique (CNM) organised the “One Voice for European Music” event, labelled by the French Ministry of Culture as part of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, on 6th April 2022 at the headquarters of the Conseil Régional in Strasbourg. During the event, the CNM presented the results of the consultation carried out by the CNM with the French & European music professionals, in order to create a single voice for European music. ECSA participated in this dialogue and fully supports the recommendations designed with all key stakeholders in the music sector, in particular, a) the need to better recognize the economic, cultural, and social importance of the music sector b) the creation of a European Music Observatory c) the need to tackle the detrimental impact of buyout contracts on the remuneration of music creators d) a stronger focus on social aspects and fair practices and e) the clarification between competition law and collective agreements. Let's now hope that the European Commission will take those points on board and engage in a fruitful dialogue with the music sector under the Music Moves Europe framework. 

At the end of March, the US Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) officially decided not to extend the longstanding mechanical royalty rate of 9.1 cents for physical formats and downloads. In its decision, the CRB found that the proposed settlement between the US National Music Publishers Association and the major labels “does not provide a reasonable basis for setting statutory rates and terms.” The three judges have rightly objected that the settlement does not represent all the parties, in particular songwriters and that the settlement does not take into account inflation and the increased cost of living. Together with the community of composers and songwriters in the US and worldwide, ECSA welcomes this decision which echoes the songwriters community's concerns. Both our President Helienne Lindvall and our Alliance have been joining the songwriters community in asking for greater transparency in the CRB process and pointed out the inherent conflict of interests between the three main music majors and the NMPA.  Read more here. 

On 26th April 2022, the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) delivered its long awaited judgement on the compatibility of Article 17 of the 2019 Copyright Directive with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and its Article 11, on freedom of expression and information. Almost three years after Poland introduced its action against Article 17, the Court confirms the validity of the article in question and considers that its specific liability regime includes appropriate safeguards to ensure a fair balance between the right to freedom of expression and the right to intellectual property, including authors’ rights.  Read more here.

The European Commission has published two detailed studies regarding Artificial intelligence in the creative industries as well as data management. One of the studies is called “Copyright and New Technologies: Copyright Data Management and Artificial Intelligence”. With a very exhaustive list of interviewees, papers, and studies, this study gives the reader a very comprehensive overview of the situation on copyright and new technologies. The second study is a study on “Opportunities and Challenges of Artificial Intelligence Technologies for the Cultural and Creative Sectors”. This study on Artificial intelligence and in Cultural and Creative Sectors (CCS) is a 229 pages study that discusses the important aspects of AI in a very detailed manner in order to not overlook any important facets of this technology.  Read more here. 

ECSA is pleased to launch the call for works to be considered for this year’s “Discover ECSA’s music creators'' Playlist! The playlist will be a compilation of songs and compositions from ECSA’s member organisations. Our goal is to promote European composers and songwriters and to raise their visibility, globally. ECSA aims to actively guide the audience in discovering recent releases from over 15 countries by creating a one-of-a-kind “European Music Listening Experience”. The theme of this year’s playlist is “Music for Peace”. The playlist will be made available publicly on 21st June 2022 - World Music Day. The deadline for submissions for the ECSA Member organisations is 7th June 2022, 12h (CEST).

ECSA is delighted to announce that the next ECCO concert will feature the Styx ensemble and will take place at Espace Senghor, on 17th November 2022. For this concert edition, All ECSA Members representing contemporary music composers are invited to participate in the Call for Works, whose details you can find on the ECCO concert website. Please kindly note that the deadline for submissions is Thursday 30th June 2022 – 12:00 PM (CEST). Find out more about this ECCO concert and all previous editions here.

Throughout March and April, ECSA held the first working group meetings on Fair Practice, Diversity & Inclusion (D&I), Tech & AI, and Music Streaming. The aim of these inductive meetings was to define the goals and ambitions of the respective Working Groups which are part of ECSA’s Creative Europe work programme. The members of the Working Groups were invited to define the work plan, and the group’s priorities, and engage in a discussion. The brainstorming process was fruitful in determining what the next steps will be for the individual Working Groups in the next three years. 

ECSA is happy to announce the official preselection for the 2022 edition of The Camille Awards - European Film Composer Awards. Delegations of ECSA members representing media composers coming from 13 countries preselected 36 compositions in three categories: Best original Film Score, Best original music for a drama series, Best original score for a feature documentary. In each category, representatives of European composers' organisations belonging to ECSA's FFACE Committee will now need to elect three nominees to be reviewed by an international jury of composers. The awards ceremony will take place on 27th September, 2022 in Split, Croatia. Find out more about the Camille Awards here.

The Basic Income for the Arts pilot scheme will see 2,000 artists and arts workers are given a basic income of €325 per week for three years in order to gather data for the rollout of a full scheme for all artists and arts workers. This marks a fundamental change in how the Irish Government supports the arts and the recognition and status given to the value of arts to society as a whole.  Screen Composers Guild of Ireland welcomes this scheme which we feel will greatly enhance the ability of artists to sustain professional careers which are often precarious in nature. Read more here. 

SoundTrack_Cologne 19 (June 8 – 11, 2022) invites young and upcoming composers and sound designers to compose music or create the sound design for a short film in the European Talent Competition! The competition will be judged in two categories: WDR Film Score Award and Sound Design. The aim is to musically interpret and connect the visuals and narration of the short film “UnVernunft” (D: Hanna Viktoria Heimann). Contestants may either compose the score and/or create the sound design for the short film, and may also work together in a team with another composer or sound designer. The work of the 12 finalists will be presented to the audience and a jury at the SoundTrack_Cologne competition screening and the award gala on Saturday, June 11, 2022. Learn more here.

In celebration of its 11 years anniversary,  Media Sound Hamburg invites young musicians, composers, game musicians, and sound designers (up to 35 years old) to write a new (media) composition for the Kaiser String Quartet. The theme for this year’s competition is “Storytelling”. Contestants are required to compose a soundtrack to one of the 18 paintings/ 17 stories from “In Sunlight or in Shadow”, a book containing stories inspired by the paintings of Edward Hopper. The first 3 winners of the competition will be invited to attend Media Sound Hamburg (MSH) from June 14 till June 19. Learn more here. 

Classical:NEXT announced their final programme. Among the most interesting initiatives, participants will have the chance to attend mentoring sessions. The aim of these mentoring sessions is to provide an opportunity to engage with various classical music experts. The delegates can book online slots with the mentors to get practical advice as well as exchange ideas and have a chance to ask questions. Interested delegates can register here. Find out more about the event here.

The 13th Fidelio Online Piano Composition Contest will be held online this year. Pianists and composers from more than 25 countries will be participating from home. The contest is organised by Fidelio Editores Y Taller de Músicos (Fidelio Editors and Workshop of Musicians). Participants are required to register and record their own solo piano compositions before submitting their audio file(s) online. A score will not be necessary, only an audio file is required to participate. The last day to register and submit your work(s) before voting begins is May 22, 2022. Find out more.

The 24th edition of the international music competitions of Val Tidone has been announced! The competition is open to participants from all nations and offers € 20,000.00 in cash prizes, cachet for concert engagements, and scholarships. In-person rehearsals will be held in Castel San Giovanni (Piacenza). “Silvio Bengalli” Piano Prize, “The International Music Competitions of Val Tidone" Youth Category Competition, and the “Egidio Carella" Composition Competition are the three competitions that will be held this year. The deadline for the “Egidio Carella” Composition competition (without age limits) is on the 31st of May 2022. More information on the program, rules, and more can be found here.

The town council of Harelbeke in Belgium is organising the 8th International Composition Competition Harelbeke is open for applications for participants all over the world, this year. The competition aims to showcase wind orchestra compositions by encouraging participants to integrate the achievements of contemporary music and current composition techniques. The work of the three finalists will be performed live by the Royal Wind Orchestra Vooruit Harelbeke. The competition is open to composers of all ages and from all countries. Each composer can enter two works. More information on the prizes and application procedure can be found here.