On 5 December 2016, AEPO-ARTIS and key representatives of the FAIR INTERNET campaign, gathered at the Solvay Library in Brussels, to take stock of the Commission’s draft Directive on Copyright with European Commission officials, Members of the European Parliament and Member States’ representatives.
The fair remuneration of performers from on-demand services (iTunes, Netflix, Spotify, …) was at the heart of the discussion with unanimous support from performers for the European Parliament and Member States to make key changes to the current draft Directive.
Xavier Blanc, Secretary General of AEPO-ARTIS said:
“The European Parliament and Member States have a once in a life time opportunity to ensure hundred of thousands of performers across Europe receive a fair share from on demand services. If unchanged, most performers in Europe will continue to be excluded from a thriving digital market receiving merely a symbolic fee for all types of exploitation of their performances and no additional payment for making their work available for on-demand services”.
Katja Holm, Danish actress and president of the Danish Actors Union added:
“Actors do work a lot in the limelight but it is often forgotten that, throughout their career, they face a very uncertain professional future. I am here in Brussels to express my support to the Fair Internet Campaign and to call on European legislators to honour their political commitments by ensuring that all actors can make a decent living from their work. We need EU law to also include a statutory right to be remunerated for the streaming/downloading of performances, which would guarantee that actors like me are treated fairly in the digital environment”.
Swedish artist Katarina Henryson, singer and founding member of the Real Group, performing on the night, concluded:
“Musicians, singers, actors, dancers, … are at the heart of creation. With more and more on-demand services being developed, performers, like me, rely on their rights to earn a living. Sadly, most of us do not get a fair share for the actual use of our performances via download and streaming services. European legislators have been sympathetic to the cause of artists. They now need to translate their words into action and introduce in the draft Directive on Copyright a right to remuneration for performers payable by on demand services and collected by performers’ collective management organisations”.
⇒ GIVE PERFORMERS THEIR FAIR SHARE!
