ECSA publishes report on Fair Practice

Composers and songwriters are the very source of artistic music creation. However, they often face insecure economic and social conditions, including precarious working conditions, low and fluctuating income, and weak bargaining power with their negotiating counterparts, placing them in a position of vulnerability and insecurity. On 13 November 2023, ECSA published its Fair Practice report, in which it further investigated these circumstances. 
 
The report builds on the results of a consultation ECSA initiated in September 2022, exploring the working and living conditions of music creators in the European market. The consultation and the development of the report were carried out in close collaboration with ECSA’s Working Group on Fair Practice. The survey closed on 15 May 2023 and was filled in by around 250 music creators working in Europe.  
 
The report reveals various worrying imbalances and precarious working conditions of music authors. For instance, the outcomes of the consultation show that more than 90% of respondents have experienced completely unpaid work at least once in their professional career. Moreover, only 20.3% of music creators claimed to never or rarely experience unfair remuneration, while less than a third claimed to earn sufficient income exclusively from their main work of artistic creation.  
 
The publication of the report marks the start of a European campaign on Fair Practice, with the main goal to improve the commissioning and remuneration practices in the music sector and thus establish better frameworks and working conditions for all composers and songwriters.