News from ECSA: March 2026

On 2 March, ECSA and 13 other organisations representing authors, performers, and other artists and cultural workers called on the European Parliament’s CULT Committee and rapporteur Zoltán Tarr (EPP, Hungary) to put forward ambitious measures in the upcoming own-initiative report "Cultural and creative sectors in the age of AI". As stated in the letter, AI must respect the principles of authorisation, remuneration and transparency for Europe’s cultural and creative sectors (CCS) to thrive. Moreover, non-labelled AI outputs erode our trust in news and media and threaten our cultural and linguistic diversity. In the letter, we therefore urge the CULT Committee to draft a report that champions the rights and interests of our creative communities, ensuring that human creativity is placed at the heart of the forthcoming AI strategy for the CCS and any upcoming actions under the Culture Compass. Find our letter, which includes seven key asks, via the link below.

On 2 March, ECSA's European Affairs Officer Giacomo Bonetti participated in a stakeholder meeting at the European Parliament on the earlier mentioned own-initiative report "Cultural and creative sectors in the age of AI" led by rapporteur MEP Zoltán Tarr (EPP, Hungary). During the meeting, Giacomo emphasised the main challenges faced by music authors in the context of AI, highlighting the increasing prevalence of AI-generated music on online platforms and the urgent need for transparency. He also highlighted our key asks for the report, as listed in the letter mentioned in the item above. We warmly thank Zoltán Tarr for hosting this important meeting.

On 4 March, ECSA's EU Affairs and Programme Manager Claire Iceaga took part in a stakeholder consultation meeting in the European Parliament on the Report on the Proposal for a Regulation establishing the AgoraEU programme for the period 2028-2034. During the meeting, Claire underlined the importance of reintroducing a sectoral approach within AgoraEU that addresses the concrete challenges the European music sector faces today. She stressed that it is vital that creators and artists can truly benefit from the emphasis put on artistic freedom and the improvement of working conditions in the AgoraEU proposal, as also highlighted in last month’s joint letter from ECSA and other organisations from across Europe’s music ecosystem. We thank MEPs Emma Rafowicz (S&D, France) and Alice Kuhnke (Greens/EFA, Sweden) for having us.

On 16 April, ECSA organises its next Creators’ Talks panel at Baltic Music Days in Riga, Latvia. During the session, titled “Fair Practice Across Borders”, ECSA Vice-President Zahra Mani, Esther Gottschalk (Nieuw Geneco), Liene Ozoliņa (Latvian Academy of Culture) and moderator Sine Tofte Hannibal (Danish Composers Society) will take a deep dive into fair practice throughout Europe as a way to ensure fair pay and improve the working conditions for artists and cultural workers. The session explores concrete models, tools and ways forward for artist-led policy on fair practice, and reflects on questions such as what fair practice across borders entails, and how we can secure fair practice in cultural sectors under pressure. Find the full programme of Baltic Music Days below.

On 26 March, ECSA President Helienne Lindvall joined the panel “AI and the Creative Industries – Where Are We Three Years Post the Arrival of ChatGPT?” at Anthropy26 in Cornwall, UK. During the session, Helienne, Cam Blackwood (Rezonate Music), Maureen Kerr (Kerr Partners Limited), and moderator Nick Breen (ReedSmith) talked about how AI reshapes the creative landscape and what the implications are for the creative industries. The topics discussed centred around ethics, governance, ownership, and the urgent need for transparency. Find more info on the panel below.

On 9 March, ECSA President Helienne Lindvall was interviewed by German radio station Deutschlandfunk Kultur. The interview featured in an item on AI music generator Suno. During the interview, Helienne explains how Suno uses creators' works without their consent and without remuneration, then competing against the very works exploited. Helienne elaborated on this earlier in the open letter “Say no to Suno”, signed last month by Helienne and six other signatories. Listen to the full item (in German) below.

This month, Spanish classical music magazine Ritmo features an article written by ECSA Secretary General Marc du Moulin. In the article, Marc highlights the role and activities of ECSA, and in particular of its ECF (arts and classical music) Committee, for the promotion of European composers and the development of contemporary music. Moreover, Marc looks back at the Jornadas de Encuentros Profesionales de Música Contemporánea, organised last December by Spanish ECSA member AMCC and SGAE in Madrid, where ECSA participated in a panel focusing on the international representation of contemporary music. The magazine, available in Spanish, can be purchased via the link below.

From 4 to 6 June, the Composers Soundtracks Festival (CSF) will take place in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, for the first time. The festival was founded by Brazilian composer and producer Marcos Souza, who is organiser of the international film music festival Musimagem in Brazil. The event brings together composers, filmmakers, and audiences to celebrate the art of music for film and visual media. On 5 June at 15:00, the conference will feature a session by ECSA, in which ECSA’s European Affairs Officer Giacomo Bonetti will provide an overview of the main challenges facing audiovisual composers in Europe, including harmful contractual practices, and ECSA’s work in this regard. Find more information on the conference and how to attend via the link below.

The 27th edition of the Festival Music & Cinema Marseille, packed with panel discussions, networking sessions and screenings, takes place from 30 March until 4 April. During the conference, French ECSA members SNAC, U2C and UNAC organise the session “Comment développer sa carrière de compositeur·trice dans l’audiovisuel ?” (“How to build a career as a composer in the audiovisual industry?”), taking place (in French) on 2 April at 10:00. During the session, composers Siegfried Canto (SNAC), Joshua Darche (U2C), Laetitia Frénod (Sacem), Laurent Juillet (UNAC), Laetitia Pansanel-Garric and Julie Roué provide practical insights into the career paths, skills and strategies needed to build a career as a film and TV composer.

ECSA is honoured to welcome the Greek Composers’ Union (GCU) as a new member to the ECSA family. As of this month, GCU will join ECSA's ECF (art and classical music) Committee. GCU is the primary representative body for contemporary music composers in Greece. Founded in 1931, it is one of the oldest artistic unions of Greece, dedicated to the protection and promotion of Greek musical creation through various activities. We warmly welcome GCU and look forward to many fruitful collaborations!

This year, ECSA and the Global Trade Body for Independent Music Publishers (IMPF) are co-organising the ECSA-IMPF Songwriting Camp, bringing together 20 songwriters for four days of collaboration at Palma Music Studios from 4 to 8 October 2026. Of these 20 writers, 10 participants will be selected from ECSA members’ applications. ECSA members can send their submissions to the ECSA office at the latest by 6 April. For more information, please contact the ECSA office.

World Soundtrack Awards (WSA) Ghent offers screen composers under the age of 36 the chance to participate in the WSA Film Music Composition Contest and win the Award for Best Original Composition by a Young Composer. Participants are invited to show their skills by writing a symphonic score for the selected excerpt. The jury will choose three finalists, whose compositions will be performed at the annual World Soundtrack Awards Ceremony and Concert on 10 October 2026, after which the winner of the Award for Best Original Composition by a Young Composer will be announced. The deadline is 15 May 2026.

On 3 March, Freemuse, an independent non-governmental organisation advocating for the freedom of artistic expression and cultural diversity, observed Music Freedom Day. Founded by the organisation in 2007, the day serves as both a tribute and a warning, honouring musicians who have been censored, harassed, imprisoned, or killed for their work. To mark Music Freedom Day, Freemuse shared various stories of artists under pressure worldwide. Find more info below.

Last month, Fair MusE, an EU-funded research project aimed at promoting fairness in the European music industry, launched “Digital Rights Awareness”, an eight-episode e-learning course that explores how music rights are shaped in today’s digital ecosystem. The aim of the course is to help creators, professionals, and the wider public make sense of the transformations to the way music is created, distributed, and valued over the past decades. You can follow the eight modules via the link below.