On 17 March 2021, European collective management organisations and their members came together to discuss how to secure fair remuneration for performers and audiovisual authors. 12 European performers, screenwriters and directors contributed with a clear message that they need their collective management organisations to be involved in the implementation of Article 18 of the Copyright Directive.
Watch the video from performers and audiovisual authors here.
THEIR MESSAGE (TRANSCRIBED):
In 2019, the EU adopted the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market.
Article 18 of the Directive obliges Member States to make sure that we – authors and performers – receive fair remuneration for the exploitation of our work.
We call on Member States to implement this Directive properly and to ensure we receive fair remuneration.
We invest our passion, time, and money into our projects, but we rarely benefit from its success, particularly online.
So far, streaming and downloads have not given us the returns that we deserve.
Alone, it is difficult to defend our rights and royalties against the big on-demand platforms.
Together, as members of Collective Management Organisations, we are stronger and can make sure our rights are respected.
CMOs manages authors and performers’ rights on our behalf and in our best interest. They are our safety net.
We trust CMOs to defend our rights, negotiate with users, collect and distribute our royalties.
Article 18 would create an income stream for authors within the audiovisual sector and for all performers across Europe, independent of our contractual arrangements, and managed by our CMOs.
We deserve to be fairly remunerated for our work, right? Right!
IN THE VIDEO:
Robert Alberdingk Thijm, screenwriter, the Netherlands
Barbara Białowąs, director, Poland
Isabel Blanco, actress, Spain
Anne Bouvier, actress, France
Sebastian Cavazza, actor, Slovenia
Luc Dardenne, director, Belgium
Neil Dudgeon, actor, UK
Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar, director and screenwriter, France
Gregory Montel, actor, France
Katharina Mückstein, director, Austria
Kasia Rodowicz, singer, Poland
Ivana Sujova, screenwriter, Slovakia
The event was organised by the Association of European Performers’ Organisations (AEPO-ARTIS) and the Society of Audiovisual Authors (SAA), and supported by the European Parliament’s Cultural Creators Friendship Group (CCFG).
Quotes
“To make art is a hard work. It takes months, years to write a book or a screenplay. I live with my story night and day. I have no time left for negotiating or managing my rights. Writing for film and TV is a very isolated and competitive profession. That’s why I joined my CMO when I was a young author, otherwise I would be alone”.
Jochen Greve, screenwriter, Germany
“Unity is strength. Collectivity is the key here. CMOs can offer a common response and legal solutions to global troubles. I think CMOs are the strong arm that performers can hold onto during their whole career, in the good times and the bad”.
Nacho Garcia Vega, musician, Spain
“I have taken a new initiative, aiming at the establishment of a European Label or Certificate, for the platforms that play-and-pay fairly. With such a sign or a badge, citizens are informed and may make a consumption choice, and thus, prefer platforms that pay artists according to their played content.”
Alexis Georgoulis, actor and MEP (GUE/NGL, Greece)
Note to editors
AEPO-ARTIS – is a non-profit making organisation that represents 36 European performers’ collective management organisations from 26 different countries. The number of performers represented by the 36 member organisations of AEPO-ARTIS can be estimated at between 400,000 and 500,000.
Press: Nicole Schulze, aepo-artis@aepo-artis.org, +32 2 280 19 34 @aepoartis
SAA – the Society of Audiovisual Authors is the association of European collective management organisations representing audiovisual authors. Its 33 members in 25 countries manage rights for over 160,000 film, television and multimedia European screenwriters and directors. Press: Annica Ryngbeck, a.ryngbeck@saa-authors.eu, +32 475 66 95 94. @saabrussels #WeLoveAuthors
CCFG – the Cultural Creators Friendship Group is a cross-partisan coalition in the European Parliament with members from six different political groups. We aim at improving the whole European cultural ecosystem, such as the Cultural and Creative Sectors and especially the situation and conditions of creators, for example authors, performers and artists.
@CultCreatorsEU
