News from ECSA: April 2026

On 2 June 2026 (14:30 - 18:30), ECSA hosts its conference "Authors’ Rights and Music Streaming in the Age of AI" at MEDAA in Brussels, Belgium. The event will provide a platform to exchange on the current state of copyright and generative AI regulation in the EU, focusing on the challenges faced by music authors and other creators and exploring possible solutions. Panel discussions and keynotes will examine both the relationship between generative AI and authors’ rights and the implications of AI-generated music for creators in today’s streaming ecosystem. More than 70 attendees are expected, including music creators, EU policymakers, industry stakeholders, academics, and other representatives from the cultural and creative sectors. More information about the programme and registration will be shared in the coming weeks.

On 16 April, ECSA organised the Creators’ Talks panel “Fair Practice Across Borders” at Baltic Music Days in Riga, Latvia. The panel was part of the Satellite Beyond Conference organised in close collaboration with Culture Action Europe and Nordic Music Days. During the session, ECSA Vice-President Zahra Mani (Austrian Composers), Esther Gottschalk (Nieuw Geneco), Liene Ozoliņa (Latvian Academy of Culture), Damien McGlynn (CREATEm Ireland) and moderator Sine Tofte Hannibal (Danish Composers Society) dived into the topic of fair practice throughout Europe as a way to ensure fair pay and improve the working conditions for artists and cultural workers. During the session, they highlighted concrete models, tools and ways forward for artist-led policy on fair practice, and reflected on questions such as what fair practice across borders entails, how we can secure fair practice in cultural sectors under pressure, and the role of arts and artists in repairing societies today. Many thanks to Baltic Music Days for hosting ECSA's Creators’ Talk!

On 17 April, ECSA Board Member Niilo Tarnanen participated in the seminar “Composing in Between Cultures” at Tampere Biennale in Tampere, Finland. The session, organised by ECSA member Society of Finnish Composers, focused on the diversity of music and the multiculturalism of composers in Finland. During his intervention, Niilo specifically elaborated on European mobility policy and its potential to increase composers’ engagement in their new countries of residence. The session was also joined by researcher Sari Karttunen and composers Jaime Belmonte, Juha T. Koskinen, and Jin Oh.

On 14 April, ECSA Vice-President Zahra Mani moderated the session “AI & developing technologies for our industry” at the IAMA (International Artist Managers'​ Association) International Conference on Audio Classique in Tallinn, Estonia. The session, also joined by Olga Fitzroy (UK Music) and Anne- Marie Verdin-Mulot (Oxford Creatives for AI), shed light on the challenges and opportunities for the classical music sector posed by AI, and on how legislation should protect the works of music creators. We warmly thank Audio Classique for providing a platform for these important discussions.

On 22 April, ECSA had the pleasure to participate in a stakeholders’ roundtable at the European Parliament, titled "Copyright and AI: navigating challenges, risks and opportunities", organised by Members of the European Parliament Mario Furore (Italy - EPP) and Gaetano Pedullà (Italy - GUE/NGL). During the meeting, ECSA’s EU Affairs Officer Giacomo Bonetti emphasised our support for the recent European Parliament resolution on copyright and AI. We reiterated our support for an additional legal framework to ensure transparency, fair remuneration and a functioning licensing market that benefits all creators, not only the large players. As AI-generated music continues to proliferate on streaming platforms, we also stressed the need to tackle AI-fueled streaming fraud, improve metadata and tackle deepfakes. We warmly thank MEPs Mario Furore and Gaetano Pedullà and their teams for the invitation and for hosting this roundtable.

On 23 April, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a resolution on “Copyright enforcement in the Artificial Intelligence environment”, based on a report by Mogens Jensen. ECSA warmly welcomes this resolution and thanks Mr. Mogens Jensen and all other supporting parliamentarians. The report rightly states that current copyright laws in Europe are “neither clear-cut nor fit for purpose” as regards the training of AI systems, pointing out that such a legal environment favoured the interests of big tech companies while those of creators were marginalised. It also urges a series of steps to “balance the rights and interests of AI providers and rights-holders so that innovation is not achieved at the expense of creators, and to protect citizens and democracy at large against the abuse of AI tools”. Read more on the resolution via the Council of Europe below or via ECSA’s LinkedIn.

On 8 April, the European Commission published its study on "The discoverability of diverse European cultural content in the digital environment". The study provides an overview of online discoverability of European works, with a focus on music and books - investigating how those works are discovered, recommended and curated on digital platforms. Among other things, it highlights key challenges for creators such as popularity bias in playlists and recommendation algorithms, growing market concentration, incomplete or inconsistent metadata and the proliferation of AI-generated music. The recommendations listed are encouraging, but concrete policy and legislative measures are needed to turn them into real action.

Earlier this month, the UK Intellectual Property Office published a report on music streaming metadata, an initiative stemming from the 2023 UK Industry Agreement on the same issue. Collecting responses from creators and stakeholders across the music supply chain, the report highlights ongoing issues with incomplete and inconsistent metadata, including missing or mismatched data and difficulties with linking ISWCs to ISRCs, leading to delayed registrations and royalty payments. The report puts forward several recommendations, including establishing educational initiatives for creators and the industry and conducting regular surveys to monitor progress on these issues. Find the full report below.

Together with a wide range of organisations from the cultural and creative sectors in France, French ECSA Member SNAC (Syndicat National des Auteurs et des Compositeurs) supports a call for including the draft law on the presumption of use of cultural content by AI providers on the agenda of France’s National Assembly. Still open for individual signatures, the call addressed to members of the National Assembly has already gathered some 20,000 signatures, including thousands of authors and performers across all cultural and creative sectors. Sign the petition below.

Zagreb, Croatia becomes a hub of the Croatian jazz scene this May, as the JazzHR Festival Spring Edition takes place from 11-13 May at Peti Kupe, featuring five concerts and accompanying Vinyl Sessions. The festival is organised by Croatian ECSA Member HDS (Hrvatsko drustvo skladatelja). The program highlights Croatian artists and original projects from across the country. The festival is preceded by a warm-up series at the Liszt Institute, opening on 30 April with a performance by the Martin Listabarth Trio (Austria), presenting their new album In Her Footsteps. A week later, Tacet Jazz Quintet (Hungary) will follow. Audiences are invited to discover contemporary jazz stories in Zagreb starting in late April and leading into the festival’s main program in mid-May.

Last week, ECSA announced the nominees of the 2026 edition of the Camille Awards. Out of these nominees, an international jury of renowned composers will elect the final winners in each category. The award winners will be announced at the Camille Awards ceremony, taking place on 22 September in Vienna, Austria, where the prestigious Tonkünstler Orchestra will perform and celebrate all nominated works. The ceremony will be hosted by ECSA member ACOM (Austrian Composers Association) and is co-funded by Creative Europe. Find the list of nominees via our press release below.

Freemuse, an independent non-governmental organisation advocating for the freedom of artistic expression and cultural diversity, has published the 2026 edition of its State of Artistic Freedom report. The report documents the most alarming conditions facing artists and cultural workers, and shows how war, authoritarianism, religious extremism, far-right politics, and deepening polarisation are placing artistic freedom under growing pressure. The document was launched on 17 April in Brussels during a dedicated event hosted by the Federation of European Screen Directors (FERA). Find the full report via Freemuse's website below.

On the occasion of World Book and Copyright Day on 23 April, the Authors’ Rights Initiative (Initiative Urheberrecht), representing the interests of around 140,000 authors and performing artists in Germany, called for stronger support for Europe’s cultural, creative and media sectors. In a statement, the organisation stressed that regulation of generative AI must be Europe-centric and highlighted concerns regarding the increasing influence of big tech. It also pointed to the unauthorised and uncompensated use of creators’ works and performances. Initiative Urheberrecht will further discuss the topic of “Digital Economy and Copyright” at its 14th International Copyright Conference, taking place in Berlin on 9 November 2026.

Are you a music or gaming professional looking to collaborate across industries? The Let the Music Play Games capacity building programme 2026 is a unique opportunity for mid-level professionals from the music and video game sectors to meet, learn and create new synergies together. Co-funded by the European Commission, the programme is led by a consortium of cultural organisations Music Innovation Hub (Italy), Centre National de la Musique (France), MICA – Music Information Center Austria (Austria), Music Finland (Finland), and Spielfabrique (Germany). The initiative is designed to bridge the gap between two creative industries by fostering sustainable collaborations. Through a combination of free online sessions and two on-site events, participants will gain practical knowledge on licensing, workflows, business models and more while connecting with peers from across Europe. Applications close on 15 May.

This month, World Soundtrack Awards Ghent (WSA) opened submissions for six categories of awards. For the categories Film Composer of the Year, Television Composer of the Year, Best Original Song and the WSA Game Music Award, members of the WSAcademy can submit until 15 June 2026 (more info on how to become a member here). WSAcademy membership is not required to submit for the Discovery of the Year Award and Belgian Film Composer of the Year. All eligibility criteria can be found in the 2026 Rulebook. The nominees will be announced in August and September 2026. The winners will be announced during the World Soundtrack Awards Ceremony and Concert on 10 October 2026 in Bijloke, Ghent, Belgium.

The Spanish film “Deaf” (“Sorda”), directed by Eva Libertad and with music composed by Aránzazu Calleja, has won the 2026 LUX Audience Award, the European Parliament’s annual film prize organised jointly with the European Film Academy, the European Commission and Europa Cinemas. The award aims to bring European cinema closer to audiences and to encourage debate on issues such as inclusion and diversity. Sorda follows a deaf woman as she navigates motherhood in a hearing world, raising questions about accessibility and representation. This year’s edition also made all shortlisted films available with subtitles for deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences.