News from ECSA - June edition

On 23rd June, ECSA organised a conference on the implementation of the 2019 Copyright Directive in collaboration with the Federation of European Screen Directors (FERA), the Federation of Screenwriters in Europe (FSE) and the European Writers' Council (EWC). The event was also supported by the European Cultural Creators Friendship Group (CCFG). The panel discussions tackled the current transposition of Articles 18 to 23 of the 2019 EU Copyright Directive into national law and delved into the concrete next steps to improve authors’ contractual position and prevent buyout contracts. This conference has been a great opportunity to further stress the importance of the 2019 Copyright Directive for authors’ contract and support the French Presidency’s initiative related to the effectiveness of the European Copyright framework and circumventing practices such as buy-out contracts. In the context of the conference, ECSA in cooperation with Dr. Ula Furgal (Lecturer in Intellectual Property and Information Law at University of Glasgow) published a report about the implementation of the Chapter 3 of the Copyright Directive. The conference gathered around 45 participants in Brussels and more than 1100 views on ECSA's YouTube channel. 

You can find the full report here and watch the full video-recording of the event here.

On 16th June, ECSA organised the International Creators Dialogue at the New York Law School, with the support of the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM). The roundtable, moderated by our President, Helienne Lindvall, was a great opportunity to bring representatives from North-American organisations representing composers and songwriters to exchange updates on the latest political and legal developments in the EU and US. 

The recording of the event will be made available to ECSA members. Find out more information about the programme and speakers here. 

On 15th June, Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market, exchanged with the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs)’s CULT Committee. MEP Ibán García del Blanco (S&D-Spain) asked the Commissioner about the implementation of the 2019 Copyright Directive, the impact of buyout contracts and the Commission’s plans to tackle those practices. In response, Thierry Breton announced a report on the impact of buyout contracts that will be published before the end of 2022. During our conference, Marco Giorello, Head of the Copyright Unit at the European Commission, clarified that the Commission will look into the impact of buyout contracts in the context of the European Media Outlook report. ECSA welcomes this announcement and will further exchange with the European Commission to bring evidence about the negative impact of buyout contracts on music authors.
Picture: © European Union 2019 - Source : EP

On 17th June, ECSA organised an online exchange meeting for its members with Håkan Hildingsson, an external consultant working for BIEM (Bureau international de l’édition mécanique). BIEM is an international organisation representing mechanical rights societies. The focus of this meeting was to exchange about the current situation in the game industry and the licensing of music rights. We look forward to continuing our exchanges with Mr. Hildingsson and other experts on this topic.  

On 15th June, the General Assembly of the International Council of Music Creators (CIAM) elected the members of its Executive Committee. We congratulate CIAM’s President Eddie Schwartz (MCNA), Wally Badarou (SACEM), Amanda Brown (APRA), Jörg Evers (GEMA), Carlos Lara (SACM), Anna Lidell (KODA), Stan Meissner (SOCAN), Arriën Molema (Buma-Stemra) and Facundo Saravia (SADAIC) for their appointment and election. We look forward to continuing our cooperation with CIAM in the future. 

ECSA is happy to introduce the nominees and the international jury members of Camille Awards 2022! Delegations of ECSA members representing media composers from 13 countries submitted their national entries in three categories: “Best Film Score”, “Best Score for a Feature Documentary” and “Best Original Music for a Drama Series”. Following a thorough screening and selection process, the delegates from the ECSA Film & Audiovisual Committee selected 9 final nominees from 7  countries. Find out the full list of nominees here. The nominees’ entries will now be evaluated by the Camille Awards International Jury which consists of: Miriam Cutler (USA), Victor Reyes (Spain), Tuomas Kantelinen (Finland) Florencia di Concilio (Uruguay, France).  Join us at the Camille Awards ceremony on the 27th of September 2022 at the Croatian National Theatre in Split, Croatia. 

More information about Camille Awards here.

ECSA is honoured to present the 2022 The Lifetime Achievement Award to one of the greatest Croatian, European and world renowned composers of film, theatre and TV music: Alfi Kabiljo. With this award, ECSA wishes to honour Mr. Kabiljo’s successful career which spans half a century, with over 40 films and 100 TV series. The Alliance believes Mr. Kabiljo’s ability to work across so many musical genres over the years, while maintaining such a high level of professionalism and artistic integrity, serves as an example to the entire community of audiovisual music creators. In receiving this award, Alfi Kabiljo will join a select group of distinguished European composers including Maestro Ennio Morricone, who received his Camille Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020.

Our warmest and sincerest congratulations to Mr. Kabiljo on this well-deserved success!

In the frame of the 2022 World Music Day, ECSA is excited to present its first "Discover ECSA's Music Creators Playlist''. The theme of the playlist is “Music for Peace”, as music has always been an ally of peace and in these trying times it could be the source of support and inspiration. The "Peace" theme is portrayed in our playlist through a variety of genres, including instrumental, pop, slam, contemporary classical, film music, etc. The theme is interpreted through peaceful meditation melodies, dynamic symphonies, prayers, statements of love to one's country and mother nature. The playlist features songs and compositions by ECSA member organisations from 13 countries. This follows ECSA’s objective to support and increase the visibility of European songwriters and composers to a wider audience. Listen to our Playlist both on Spotify and Apple Music. 

ECSA is happy to have partnered once again with SoundTrack_Cologne, one of Europe's leading congresses for music and sound in film, games and media. The 19th edition took place from 8th to 12th of June 2022. The event addresses business professionals, music students and everyone interested in film and music. During the conference, a panel discussion was organised about music politics. Sincere thanks to all participants: the moderator Anselm Kreuzer (Composers Club), the ECSA delegates Jesper Hansen (Autor/Komponister og Sangskrivere) and Micki Meuser (DEFKOM) as well as GESAC’s General Counsel Burak Özgen and Katharina Uppenbrink from Initiative Urheberrecht. And thanks to Soundtrack Cologne for organising. 

The Ivors Composer Awards annual call for entries is now open. Celebrating their twentieth anniversary, the Awards recognise creative excellence in composition for contemporary classical, jazz, and sound arts. The Ivors Composer Awards will take place on Tuesday 15th November 2022 at the British Museum, London. Find out more on the Ivors Academy’s website and enter here. Deadline for entries is July 8th. 

In celebration of the 111th anniversary of our member – Nieuw Geneco (Dutch Composers’ Association) & New Music NOW NL (a platform to support and promote new music in the Netherlands) launched the first Dag van de Componist (Composer's day) – a day of live concerts that took place on the 18th of June across the Netherlands. Each organisation presented a festive programme in its own city or region to celebrate the anniversary of the Nieuw Geneco and in support of diversity and vibrancy of new music and its composers. The recording of some of the concerts is available on New Music Now YouTube channel.

ECSA was happy to join the European Music Council’s Lab and General Assembly on the 10th and 11th June in Brussels. On 10th June, the EMC Lab was dedicated to a discussion on initiatives supporting refugees or artists suffering from the war in Ukraine as well as a workshop on environmental sustainability. This also gave the opportunity to present the newest EMC Fellows and caught up with the "outgoing" participants of the EMC Fellowship Programme 2020-2022. On 11th June, the EMC members gathered for the General Assembly. The members took significant decisions, exchanging views and opinions about various topics. The Council welcomed its new members, while future steps and events were decided. 

Picture by @diegocrutzen. 

The Composers’ Association of Serbia has launched the Call for scores for the 32nd International Review of Composers 2023. The Call for Scores is open until 30th November, 2022.  The right to submit applications is reserved to composers, performers, societies and national associations of authors. The pieces for the following ensembles are eligible: symphony orchestra, female choir or mixed vocal octet, ensemble of choice, ranging from 1 to 9 instruments, with or without electronics, flute and hammered dulcimer & woodwind quintet. Check out more detailed information on the submission criteria here. 

The first MusicAIRE open call was a success. More than 400 applications were received from more than 40 countries in Europe and beyond. On 3rd June 2022, after a thorough evaluation from an independent jury panel, the MusicAIRE consortium notified all project applications with the results of the first MusicAIRE open call. The Consortium is happy to announce the provisional list of the selected projects, that can be consulted here. Congratulations to the 22 selected projects and all applicants that have submitted their project ideas. For those that were not selected, the Consortium encourages you to apply to the second open call. Stay tuned!

From 27th to 31th July 2022, Leading Voices - an event organised by the European Choral Association (ECA) - introduces a unique 5-day programme of workshops, masterclasses and lectures for conductors, choral and vocal professionals from all over Europe. Music professionals will have an opportunity to get together to connect, get inspired by new music, projects and develop new skills. The programme also offers a series of live concerts featuring The Netherlands Chamber Choir and the ZO! Gospel Choir, the theatrical British I Fagiolini, the Italian Cuncordu e Tenore de Orosei and many more. The event is organised in Utrecht, Netherlands from 27-31 July 2022 in cooperation with ZIMIHC. The tickets to the concerts can be purchased here.