CISAC AGM highlights creators’ rights

“In the digital world, creativity has never been more abundant, but for millions of creators the market is simply not working the way it could and should,” CISAC director-general Gadi Oron said.

“We need the help of government and lawmakers to build a 21st century landscape which brings fairer rewards to the millions of creators whose livelihood depends on their creative works.”

CISAC's key campaigns are aimed at fixing the transfer of value in the digital market, seeking fair rights for audiovisual creators, an international resale right for visual artists, and promoting private copying levies.

Early this year, CISAC released a global collections report that said private copying levies were pivotal in African countries where physical sales are still dominant. Furthermore, Africa had shown growth in the collection of private copying levies, particularly because of Algeria’s active engagement in the matter.

“It is imperative that more African countries treat their creators with the respect they deserve and adopt measures to protect them and their rights,” CISAC vice-president Angelique Kidjo said.

Fixing the transfer value gap is championed by CISAC and the European Composer and Songwriter Alliance in an attempt to get content creators paid when they’re work is uploaded by third parties to streaming services such as YouTube.

"We fight not for the past but for the future," CISAC president Jean-Michel Jarre said. "We need a 21st century copyright framework for a 21st century digital market – one that allows future generations of creators to make a living from their work."

Coinciding with the AGM is the release of the CISAC annual report, which mentions last year’s global collections, the private copying levy conference held in Algeria last month and the projects that the organisation has embarked on in the past year.

CISAC boasts a membership of 239 collective management organisations in 121 countries, 22 of which are in Africa. One of the highlights in the annual report is the record $9.2bn collected in royalties from member societies. Africa contributed $67m towards this figure, which is just 1% of the global total.

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry last month released a report that shows music streaming encroaching on traditional media such as CDs. What this means is that artists could potentially generate more income by participating in the digital market in the future. The report highlighs digital growth in Africa and echoes a PricewaterhouseCoopers report which expects the Internet to strongly boost Africa's music industry.