News from ECSA: January 2026
Advocacy
ECSA welcomes Legal Affairs Committee report on copyright and AI and calls on all MEPs to support it in plenary
On 28 January, the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs (JURI) Committee adopted its report “Copyright and generative artificial intelligence - opportunities and challenges” with an overwhelming majority. ECSA welcomes the report and encourages all Members of the European Parliament to adopt it in plenary session. In particular, we welcome the report’s calls for: an "additional legal framework" to ensure a "functioning licensing market that restores bargaining power of rightsholders" and the fair remuneration of creators; the labelling of AI-generated content and protecting creators and individuals from illegal AI-generated and manipulated content using their voice, likeness and intellectual property; and full transparency of the use of copyrighted works – notably by establishing a rebuttable presumption of use of protected works for any generative AI models or systems placed on the EU market. We warmly thank rapporteur Axel Voss, the shadow rapporteurs, and the entire Committee for their efforts to uphold authors’ rights in the age of AI. Read our press release below.
ECSA at ESNS 2026: Creators’ Talks panel on practical tips for songwriters and much more
© ECSA's Creators' Talks panel On 16 January, ECSA organised the Creators’ Talks panel "The Business Behind the Song: Practical Career Tips for Songwriters" at Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS) in Groningen, the Netherlands. During a hands-on, interactive session, songwriter and ECSA President Helienne Lindvall (SKAP), songwriter and ECSA Board Member Aafke Romeijn (BAM! Popauteurs), songwriter and artist RuthAnne and Edith Severs (Copyright Power International) delved into the practical side of being a songwriter in this day and age. The panellists shared insights with the audience about both the creative aspects and the business side of being a songwriter today. The panel was co-funded by Creative Europe.
ESNS also saw many other panel sessions with ECSA participation. ECSA President Helienne Lindvall talked about the current music streaming ecosystem and how it can be reshaped, the future of streaming in the age of AI, and the intersection of AI and copyright. Furthermore, ECSA Board Member Aafke Romeijn moderated two panels about music and activism and on how to speak out. In addition, ECSA EU Affairs and Programme Manager Claire Iceaga participated in the panels “How will the EU’s next big funding plan shape the future of music?” and “Artists, indies & cross-realities”, with the latter being presented by the European Commission’s Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). We thank ESNS for having us for another great conference!
ECSA President talks about AI’s impact on music creators on Bloomberg Tech Europe
On 9 January, ECSA President Helienne Lindvall spoke live in the studio with Bloomberg Tech Europe’s Tom Mackenzie about the impact of AI on composers and songwriters as well as on the music sector as a whole. During the interview, she underlined the importance of regulation that protects music authors’ intellectual property and ensures fair remuneration. Watch the full show, with Helienne’s interview from 18:10, via the link below.
ECSA Secretary General speaks AI at CNSMD in Lyon
On Friday, 23 January, ECSA Secretary General Marc du Moulin was invited by the conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse (CNSMD) in Lyon, France to speak about AI and film music composition. During a roundtable discussion organised as part of the International Master in Composition for Screen (InMICS), Marc was joined by composers Oren Boneh, Dominique Pauwels and Julien Jaouen. The session was moderated by Gilles Alonzo. Together, they zoomed in on the challenges AI poses for young composers, the way it affects the future of film music, and its intersections with authors’ rights. Marc also presented the current EU legal framework as well as ongoing developments, including the future European Parliament report on copyright and AI. Many thanks to CNSMD for inviting us!
NFMD and ECSA co-organise panel “The Dynamics of Composing for Film” at EFM in Berlin
On 14 February at 11:45, Nordic Film Music Days (NFMD) and ECSA co-organise the panel “The Dynamics of Composing for Film” at the European Film Market (EFM) in Berlin, organised in the frame of Berlinale. Co-funded by Creative Europe, the panel will shed light on the complex set of relationships and collaborations between composer, director, producer, and editor - shaped by artistic vision, time pressure, budgets, and shifting creative priorities. How do workflow, technology, and tightening production schedules affect creative freedom? How does the rapidly changing future - including remote collaboration, virtual production, and the growing impact of AI on authorship - affect these collaborations? During the panel, perspectives from across the whole filmmaking ecosystem will be shared by Chiara Sambuchi (documentary filmmaker, FERA Board member), Matthew Whiteside (composer, sync agent), Andrea Berentsen Ottmar (producer of Oscar-nominated film “Sentimental Value” and moderator Torgny Amdam (composer, artist).
SCGC and ECSA to hold next International Creators Dialogue in Berlin
On 13 February, the Screen Composers Guild of Canada (SCGC) and ECSA host the next International Creators Dialogue titled “The State of the Score: A Conversation With the Leadership of Screen Composer Associations Around The World”, featuring ECSA Vice-President Jesper Hansen, ECSA Secretary General Marc du Moulin, Micki Meuser (DEFKOM), Amanda Brown (AGSC), David Das (SCL), and Halfdan E. (BFM). The panelists will offer insights into how collective action and strategic partnerships can shape a more sustainable future for screen composers worldwide, with a specific focus on working conditions and copyright integrity to AI, education, and government advocacy. The panel is co-funded by Creative Europe and part of SCGC’s second annual International Screen Composers Leadership Summit, taking place in Berlin alongside Berlinale. For more information on how to attend, please contact SCGC’s Executive Director Tonya Dedrick via tkdedrick@screencomposers.ca.
ECSA President to talk about discoverability in music streaming and AI at MIDEM
Next week, ECSA President Helienne Lindvall will participate in two panels during MIDEM in Cannes, France. Organised by Live Nation, the conference provides a platform for exchanging ideas, fostering collaboration, and exploring emerging trends in the music industry. On 4 February, Helienne will moderate the panel “Creation & AI: The New Artistic Frontier”, which will focus on “how artists and institutions can navigate this new frontier while ensuring fairness, transparency and artistic freedom”. Helienne will be joined by Elisabeth Le Hot (Adami), Nathalie Birocheau (Amplify), and Stan Massueras (ElevenLabs). On 6 February, during the panel “Local heroes. What levers can be pulled to improve consumption of local catalogs and promote artistic emergence and musical diversity?”, Helienne, together with Gee Davy (AIM), Romain Vivien (Believe), Dan Chalmers (YouTube), and Ulysse Hennessy (Billboard), will examine discoverability, policy frameworks and the balance between global reach and local identity in today’s digital music ecosystem. Find more info on the conference and how to attend below.
ECSA organises Social and Economic Conditions of Music Authors Working Group meeting with Elena Polivtseva
On 27 January, ECSA’s Working Group on Social and Economic Conditions of Music Authors gathered for a presentation of independent researcher Elena Polivtseva, who authored several publications on cultural policy and artists’ working conditions. During the meeting, Elena shared her perspectives on current challenges, obstacles and initiatives for fair pay in the arts. Her presentation, in which she elaborated on the nature and value of artistic labour, policy and funding structures, and ethical challenges posed by cross-border inequities, was followed by a Q&A with ECSA members. We thank Elena for joining us to bring forward these important exchanges.
ECSA welcomes Ceyda Berk-Söderblom to Diversity and Inclusion Working Group meeting
On 29 January, ECSA had the pleasure to welcome arts manager, curator and festival programmer Ceyda Berk-Söderblom to its latest Diversity and Inclusion Working Group meeting. During the meeting, Ceyda shared insights on gender equality in the music sector and on why reaching lasting changes often proves difficult. Afterwards, during an interactive session, ECSA members were invited to move from policy to practice and to reflect together on how power operates in everyday working life: who gets to decide, how ideas of “quality” are shaped, and where resistance, both visible and subtle, emerges. We warmly thank Ceyda for sharing her perspectives with us!
Members' news
Dutch ECSA Member BAM! Popauteurs publishes results of Artist Monitor 2025
The Dutch pop music sector is vibrant and diverse, but for many, a career in music is fraught with uncertainty. This is stated in the recently published BAM! Artist Monitor, conducted by the research group Rotterdam Popular Music Studies (Erasmus University Rotterdam) in collaboration with BAM! Popauteurs. Among other things, the study concludes that a large proportion of Dutch pop artists are financially vulnerable, experience structural insecurity and feel stressed about AI potentially making their work redundant. Find a summary of the results in English on this page. The full results are available (in Dutch) below. For follow-up questions, please reach out to BAM! Popauteurs Chair Arriën Molema via arrienmolema@gmail.com.
Danish ECSA Member Autor organises Drivkraft camp
During the final weekend of January 2026, more than 30 music creators will gather in Copenhagen for the final camp of the course Drivkraft. The course is a three-month international program designed to develop, motivate, and empower participants in their careers, as well as strengthen their skills as project managers for their own music, in collaboration with peers from across Europe. In total, 36 music creators are participating, representing Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, the Netherlands, Germany, Estonia, Poland, Argentina, and the US. The project is produced by Autor in Denmark in collaboration with ECSA Members SKAP (Sweden) NOPA (Norway), and BAM! Popauteurs (the Netherlands).
French ECSA Member U2C announces call for entries U2C Awards
French ECSA Member Union des Compositrices et des Compositeurs (U2C) is pleased to announce its entry call for the International Score category of the U2C Awards 2026. Any foreign film composer can compete by submitting an original score attached to a movie released between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2025. Please write to contact@u2c.fr to receive the submission form. Entries are open until 20 February 2026.
In other news
Call for Nominations: Camille Awards 2026
Last month, ECSA opened the Call for Nominations for the 2026 edition of the Camille Awards. All ECSA member organisations that represent film composers are eligible to submit their nomination for the categories Best Original Film Score, Best Original Music for a Drama Series, and Best Original Score for a Feature Documentary. Applications are open until 16 February 2026.
AEC–ECSA–EJN–JMI Mentorship Programme: mentors announcement
We are pleased to announce the selected mentors for the AEC–ECSA–EJN–JMI Mentorship Programme 2025–2027, an EU co-funded initiative dedicated to supporting emerging artists while actively promoting gender equality and non-binary visibility in the music industry. We are delighted to welcome the following mentors, nominated through ECSA member organisations and representing the contemporary classical music field: Seung-Won Oh (Nieuw Geneco - the Netherlands), Sorana Santos (PCAM - United Kingdom), and Age Veeroos (Estonian Composers' Union - Estonia). We look forward to sharing our mentors' expertise with the mentees!