Royalties increase in Africa on CISAC agenda this week

The meeting will focus on ways to increase royalties for African creators. It will be attended by representatives from the Pan-African Composers' and Songwriters' Alliance, the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and the African Intellectual Property Organisation.

“This is a critical moment for the future of the rights and income of creators in Africa," CISAC Africa Committee (CAF) chair Irène Assa Vieira said.

"Our organisations are working together to represent African creators, to protect their rights and ensure they are fairly remunerated. In a world where the users of creative content are increasingly global and cross-border, a unified collective approach has never been more important.

“A separate study day takes place on Monday, 23 July, organised jointly by the CAF and WIPO, focused on copyright legislation and regulation of the audio-visual ecosystem,” she said.

CISAC is on a drive to support the growth of creative industries in Africa. This year, intellectual property experts convened at the Algiers Creativity Fair in Algeria to discuss the positive impact private copying levies could have for African creators.

A 2017 CISAC report said private copying levies in Africa contributed €6m ($7m) to all global royalty collections in 2016 – a 75% increase from the €3.2m generated in 2012.

Africa contributed €67m to the total global collection revenue of €9.2bn, which is an underwhelming 1% contribution to the global total but a 9.5% increase in royalty collection on the continent for the same period. CISAC said a 2017 global collections report would be released later this year.

CISAC director-general Gadi Oron said Africa had become a connected region with with the capacity to develop its cultural industries.

“The work of authors’ societies in Africa, with full collaboration from CISAC and our societies worldwide, is to unlock that potential by establishing business conditions and a fair legal environment so that creators can make a living and a career from their work," he said.

"CAF, under the dedicated leadership of Irene Vieira, CEO of BURIDA, the Ivory Coast authors’ society, is working relentlessly to achieve that goal."

The 24-25 July meeting will be hosted by BURIDA and opened by Ivory Coast Minister of Culture and Francophonie Maurice Kouakou Bandaman.