ECSA welcomes MEP Rafowicz and MEP Kuhnke’s draft report on AgoraEU

Brussels, 21 May 2026

Today, the European Composer and Songwriter Alliance (ECSA) welcomes the draft report on the proposal for a regulation establishing the ‘AgoraEU’ programme (2028-2034) by Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) Emma Rafowicz and Alice Kuhnke.

Songwriter and ECSA President Helienne Lindvall stated: “We warmly thank MEP Rafowicz and MEP Kuhnke for their important work, especially for including a dedicated strand and sectorial approach for music within AgoraEU. The report rightly suggests dedicated support to address the specific challenges and structural imbalances impacting the sector, from the disruptive impact of generative artificial intelligence, to the increasing market concentration and the growing dominance of digital service providers. As music creators, we also commend the rapporteurs for prioritising human creativity over AI generated works, and advocating for full artistic freedom, fair remuneration and social protection for artists, cultural and creative professionals, including through the application of social conditionality. ”

In particular, ECSA welcomes the proposal to allocate at least 15% of the programme’s budget to the “Culture - Music strand”, although this should be considered as a strict minimum in order to effectively address the scale of the challenges identified above. The reintroduction of the Annex detailing the programme actions is also essential to provide more concrete elements for the implementation of the programme’s priorities. However, it fails to explicitly mention the support to networks of music authors, performers, and artists, who are at the origin of all musical works but too often the most vulnerable across the entire value chain.

Our Alliance also supports the proposal to establish an independent, centralised European Music Observatory that would collect and analyse meaningful comparative data on a regular basis, and across the entire value chain. Such an observatory could play a key role in addressing the fragmentation and lack of harmonisation of data collection, assessing market developments and providing evidence-based insights for the benefit of both policy makers and the music sector at large.

As discussions on AgoraEU progress, ECSA will keep engaging constructively with policymakers, with the shared ambition of building a fairer, more diverse, and sustainable music ecosystem in Europe.

About ECSA
The European Composer and Songwriter Alliance (ECSA) represents over 30,000 professional composers and songwriters in 29 European countries. With 57 member organisations across Europe, the Alliance speaks for the interests of music creators of art and classical music (contemporary), film and audiovisual music, and popular music.

For more information, please contact info@composeralliance.org.

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