News from ECSA: August 2024

The Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the EU has recently published a “Policy questionnaire on the relationship between generative AI and copyright and related rights”, which it presented to EU Member States in June. The questionnaire aims to gather views and opinions from Member States on various open issues related to the training of generative AI models, compliance with EU copyright rules and the potential emergence of a licensing market. Member States’ views will feed into a report that will be published at the end of the year. ECSA welcomes this questionnaire, which includes key open questions regarding the exercise of the opt-out, transparency, remuneration schemes, the protection of the output, and the impact of generative AI on cultural diversity.

On 5 September, Initiative Urheberrecht (Authors’ Rights Initiative) will present a report titled “Copyright law & training of generative AI – technological and legal foundations” at the European Parliament in Brussels. Authored by Prof. Dr. Tim W. Dornis (University of Hanover) and Prof. Dr. Sebastian Stober (University of Magdeburg), the report explores how AI training works from both a technical and copyright perspective. Initiative Urheberrecht is a German platform representing 44 guilds and unions across the creative sectors, including German ECSA members Composers’ Club, DEFKOM, and DTV. The presentation will be preceded by welcome words by MEP Axel Voss (EPP, Germany), who is hosting the event. More information and a link to the study will be available in English and German on 5 September via Initiative Urheberrecht’s website.

In a new study published on 31 July, US-based MIDiA Research has shed further light on the extremely low levels of remuneration for songwriters on streaming platforms. The study, which features contributions from ECSA members and President Helienne Lindvall, found that most songwriters earn less than $10,000 annually, with only the top 10% of them earning a livable income. These findings echo ECSA’s long-standing work on this issue, including ECSA’s 2023 consultation on fair practice, ECSA’s vision on music streaming, and our 2024 article in Future Europe on how to make streaming sustainable for creators. These concerns were also central to a pivotal 2023 European Parliament report on authors’ conditions in music streaming, which ECSA strongly advocated for. Click on the link below to download the summary report and watch an interview with Helienne and songwriter Mariami Bibilouri discussing the lack of meaningful streaming income for composers and songwriters.

The Coalition for the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (CDCE), a Canadian association representing more than 360,000 creators and professionals and 2,900 companies in the cultural sector, has invited ECSA Secretary General Marc du Moulin to participate in the panel “AI and Culture: European, Canadian, and Quebec Perspectives” at the ALL IN Conference in Montréal on 12 September. ALL IN is the biggest event dedicated to AI in Canada, bringing together AI providers and government delegations from over 40 countries to discuss and foster collaboration on AI. Hosted by CDCE, the panel will discuss the impact of AI on the cultural sector from a European, Canadian and Quebec perspective. Addressing legal and ethical issues raised by AI, as well as challenges faced by creators, it will explore approaches to ensure that AI respects cultural diversity and the rights of creators.

On 18 September, ECSA President Helienne Lindvall takes part in a panel organised by the European Commission as part of its Music Moves Europe framework at Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg, Germany. The discussion will serve as a follow-up to the February “EU Conference on Music” and will focus on strategies to improve fairness of remuneration in music streaming. In addition, on 20 September, Helienne will join the panel “Follow The Money: Tech changing the face of artist compensation”. The panel will focus on how new and emerging technologies can improve equality in the distribution of music revenues and ensure fair and transparent compensation for creators.

The European Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act, an EU regulation that requires AI providers to comply with copyright and fundamental rights, officially came into force on 1 August. This marks the beginning of a two-year enforcement period, by the end of which the regulation will be fully applicable. In particular, obligations for general-purpose AI model providers to comply with EU copyright law and to publish detailed summaries of the content used for training will apply in one year. The Code of Practice for AI providers, which the AI Office will draft over the following months in consultation with a range of stakeholders, will also be applicable in one year.

Ahead of the entry into force of the European AI Act on 1 August, the European Parliament’s committees on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) and on Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) have set up a joint working group to monitor its implementation, reports Euractiv. The European Parliament has been a staunch supporter of creators’ rights during the AI Act negotiations, introducing various provisions on compliance with copyright law and on transparency. More details over the working group’s composition and role will be unveiled after the summer.

A new report on AI in the music sector, conducted for APRA AMCOS, a Collective Management Organisation operating in Australia and New Zealand, highlights the appalling consequences that AI could have on creators’ income. Based on the responses of over 4,200 APRA AMCOS members, the report indicates that as much as 23% of music creators revenues could be wiped out by generative AI by 2028, a number that amounts to AUD 519 million (€315 million). In addition, 82% of creators surveyed are concerned that AI in music could put them out of a job. In light of these challenges, 95% of creators demand that policymakers pay more attention to AI and copyright challenges, and that creators must be asked for permission for the use of their works. The report marks the first major study on the impact of AI on music in the region.

Fair MusE, an EU-funded research project on fairness in the European music sector, has shared two new publications. The first, a policy brief titled "Fairness in the EU Music Ecosystem Policy: Heading Towards a Multifaceted Approach", addresses the market dominance of digital platforms, advocating for fair competition, the equitable remuneration of creators, and transparent licensing. The second publication, titled “Origins, goals and effects of EU law and policy in the online music sector”, provides a detailed analysis of several EU legislative and policy documents related to the music sector, with the aim of assessing how the concept of fairness has emerged and evolved over time. Find these publications and more info via Fair MusE below.

The European Parliament has published a new study investigating future perspectives of EU policy for the cultural and creative sectors (CCS). Commissioned by the CULT Committee, the study provides an overview of the current and future policy challenges in the EU’s CCS ahead of the EP’s next term. The study recognises several obstacles, including the prevalence of short-term funding, the precarious situation of many CCS workers, and the rise of new technologies affecting artistic creation. Among the proposed solutions, the study recommends improving working conditions in the CCS by focusing on copyright law and fair remuneration in the context of the training of AI systems. Another recommendation is to monitor the implementation of the AI Act and the effect that generative AI will have on other CCS policies.

During the last General Assembly of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) on 9-17 July, WIPO for Creators debuted a booth for Creators Learn Intellectual Property (CLIP), an online platform providing information to increase knowledge around creators’ rights. The booth served as a hub to engage WIPO delegates with CLIP and raise awareness about the platform and discussions around supporting creators. During the Assembly, WIPO Director General Darren Tang also announced that next year’s World IP Day will be focussed on music. Find out more about CLIP via the link below (available in six languages).

This month, the European Commission opened the third call for the individual mobility action of the Culture Moves Europe mobility scheme. This call provides mobility grants to artists and cultural professionals in various fields such as architecture, cultural heritage, design, fashion, literature, music, performing arts, and visual arts. Artists and cultural professionals living with disability are particularly encouraged to apply and will be eligible to receive disability support. The call will be open until 30 November 2024.