CISAC's General Assembly focuses on creators issues

By Emmanuel Legrand

Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo addressing
the 2019 CISAC General Assembly in Tokyo. Photo ©: JASRAC

Fair remuneration from digital services, better protection for creators, improving data standards, and advocacy in favour of creators dominated the discussions at the General Assembly of the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC), held in Tokyo May 30-31.

  Electronic music pioneer and CISAC President Jean-Michel Jarre addressed several of these issues in his speech. Reflecting on the situation of creators in the digital age, Jarre asked: “Has digital delivered for authors? The answer is no. Not enough.” Claiming that "creators are the fuel of the digital world," Jarre pleaded for "a fair partnership with the users." He added: "We are not at war with digital platforms. We need them and they need us."

  CISAC Director General Gadi Oron listed the many challenges facing creators and collective management societies in his opening speech. He highlighted several advocacy fronts where CISAC is active: pushing for the adoption of private copying levies, especially in Africa, following the adoption of such levies in countries like Malawi, Morocco, Cape Verde and Tunisia; supporting the on-going campaign for an unwaivable right to remuneration for audiovisual authors; and promoting the re-sale right for visual artists, in particular by focusing on the World Intellectual Property Organisation in Geneva – where CISAC is continuing to promote a new international treaty on the right – and on priority markets such as Japan, China, Canada and the US, "to convince these countries to introduce the right."

Solve data integrity issues

  Regarding data, Oron said CISAC undertook a two key initiatives to support licensing in the digital market. The first was to invest in a major upgrade to the ISWC system, which is currently being rebuilt. The project should be conclude next year. "It will help us to significantly improve the allocation and dissemination of ISWC codes, to avoid duplications  and to solve data integrity issues," said Oron. The goal, he added, was to help societies "achieve more accuracy in collections from online services and distribution of digital royalties."  

  The other key project is the integration of FastTrack, the data technology provider and network infrastructure, into CISAC. For Oron, this integration will "better equip" CISAC with the technology skills we need to serve its members and give "control and ownership of the tools we’ve developed and will develop in the future."

  Oron also addressed concerns over the growing practice of buyout contracts. "This is an important challenge, because of the dramatic increase in the popularity of video on demand streaming platforms," said Oron. "We know that more and more authors are being asked by these digital platforms to agree to the buy-out of their rights, in exchange for a lump sum payment."

  For Oron, these practices "can conflict with assignment of rights that already took place between the author and the society" and creates "complications to our societies’ licensing negotiations." CISAC has commissioned a legal analysis on this issue and will provide recommendations and guidelines to its members. 

A new era in Japan

  CISAC's meeting coincided with the 80th anniversary of Japanese member society, JASRAC. Japan Prime Minister Shinzō Abe addressed the 200 delegates present in Tokyo, and underlined the vital importance of protecting the rights of creators in Japan and throughout the world. “CISAC’s General Assembly is a part of our new era in Japan,” said Abe.

  During the Tokyo meeting, the General Assembly renewed for one year the mandate of its President Jean-Michel Jarre, who has already served two three-year mandates.The Assembly also elected the new Board of Directors consisting of representatives from 20 member societies, each of whom will serve a three-year term.

  Marcelo Castello Branco from Brazilian society UBCwas appointed as Chair of the Board, taking over from Eric Baptiste, CEO of Canada's SOCAN, who served as Chair for the past five years. Asaishi Michio from Japan's JASRAC and Patrick Raude from France's SACD were elected Vice-Chairs.

  CISAC counts 239 authors’ societies from 122 countries/territories among its members, representing over four million creators in all artistic fields (music, TV and film, drama, literature and visual arts). Overall, CISAC members collected over €10 billion in 2018.