Wednesday, March 31, 2021

Campaign calls on record labels to 'Pay Songwriters'

By Emmanuel Legrand

Over 2,500 songwriters, performers and industry executives have endorsed the “Pay Songwriters” campaign calling for record labels to better take into account the contributions of songwriters to the success of their artists.

  Swedish songwriter Helienne Lindvall, Chair of the Songwriter Committee & Board Director of The Ivors Academy of Music Creators, has penned “An Open Letter to Record Labels” in which she called for "a sustainable model of compensation for music writers that reduces the risk of writers quitting the business or taking on second jobs due to the increasing costs of operating."

  Lindvall noted in the letter that "100,000 streams of a song will not cover the price of a cup of coffee," when in turn the record industry has "experienced a huge upturn in revenues whilst songwriter profits have collapsed." 

Fixing the model

  Lindvall said that in there conditions, there is "a sincere danger that we may lose a whole class of writers before people truly comprehend the situation and the model is fixed."

  She proposed the following mechanisms to help songwriters enjoy a better share of the value they create:

  > Pay writers a per diem (a per day allowance) as a simple cost-covering exercise, when the presence of songwriters is necessary in studio or in a writing session with performers. 
"[We] believe paying a minimum per diem of £75 / $120 to each songwriter working with your artist would be a sensible and structure-preserving measure," writes Lindvall. This per diem would be non-recoupable from the artist share and should not be considered in any way as a "work-for-hire" upon which songwriters forfeit their rights.

  > Give writers points on the master from the label share. For Lindvall, this would "enable writers to be properly rewarded when their work is used, and to participate in the rewards of the success of your artists." A minimum of four points on net revenue to be shared among the non-performing songwriters on a record "would be a sensible and structure-preserving measure."

Covering songwriters' cost of working

  Speaking to Legrand Network, Lindvall said the project has been years in the making and is based on her own experience as a songwriter, being called to a studio, at her cost, and not having any financial compensation for showing up. "Labels sign artists and put them in a studio with songwriters to develop the sound of what the album should be," she said. 

  "But for songwriters, the cost of working is not necessarily covered. In the current situation this is unsustainable; that's why we think per diems are the solution. They cannot be confused with work-for-hire, and they are not so difficult to put in place and not prohibitive."

   She added that through discussions with "high-level managers to see how we could change the paradigm and make it better for songwriters," the idea of having points on the master to be shared with the non performers on the recording made economic sense.

  The letter was endorsed by the likes of Andrew Lloyd WebberDon Black, Giorgio MoroderMikkel Eriksen of StargateMerck Mercuriadis of Hipgnosis SongsJess GlynneRick NowelsNatalie HembyRobin Millar, among others. It has also been endorsed by Songwriters of North America (SONA) in the USA.

Negotiate with labels

  "We've had incredible response to the letter," said Lindvall. "Our goal was to bring the value of songwriters in the conversation. It's nice to see artists being supportive, and also see people such as Andrew Lloyd Webber supporting us. And the signatures keep coming."

  The next step, according to Lindvall, is to start a discussion with labels and see how these proposals can be implemented. "We want to help songwriters and managers have confidence when they enter the room for that conversation," said Lindvall.

Streaming subscriptions in China boost Tencent's revenues


By Emmanuel Legrand

China's music streaming company Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) has posted revenues of RMB29.2 billion ($4.47 bn) in 2020, up 15% year-on-year, with stable profits of RMB4.16 bn ($637 m). Revenues from online music services for the full year of 2020 increased by 30.7% to RMB9.35 bn ($1.43 bn).

  The company said the increase was driven "by strong growth in music subscription revenues and advertising revenues, supplemented by growth in sales of digital albums, despite a decrease in sub-licensing revenues."

  Revenues from music subscriptions reached RMB5.56 bn ($852m), up 56.0% from 2019's figures. The company's mobile monthly active users were down by 4% year-on-year, but the number of paying users went up 44% to 56 million from 39.9 million.

Investment in new products

  In parallel, cost of revenues for the full year of 2020 went up by 18.4% to RMB19.85 bn ($3.04 bn), primarily due to "increased investments in new products and content offering, and increased revenue sharing fees to strengthen our platform's competitiveness, and other increased royalty content costs related to variety shows."

  “While our online music MAUs slightly declined, core users on our platform are increasingly engaged and we saw a year-over-year increase in average daily user time spent on our platform during the fourth quarter,” said TME CEO Cussion Pang. “We demonstrated resilience and agility during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. We forged ahead with our operations, invested in technologies to customize services and introduced new products to meet the evolving demands of our users."
 
  In addition, TME and Warner Music Group have signed a new multi-year licensing agreement, covering the different platforms operated by TME (music streaming services QQ MusicKugou Music and Kuwo Music, and karaoke platform WeSing). TME has set up in previous years similar deals to launch joint music labels with Universal Music Group  (August 2020) and Sony Music Entertainment (2018). 

An expanded partnership

  TME has also formed a new label in partnership with WMG, which will benefit from “Warner Music’s global resources and experience in supporting artists’ careers, as well as TME’s massive influence in mainland China’s music and entertainment market.”

  “Alongside our increased investment in artist & repertoire and marketing in Greater China, this renewed and expanded partnership means we can help make our artists impossible to ignore in one of the world’s fastest-expanding music markets,” said Simon Robson, President, International, Warner Recorded Music, WMG. 

BMG and KKR join forces with the ambition to be leading acquirers of music rights

 

By Emmanuel Legrand

Bertelsmann-owned music company BMG and global investment firm KKR have joined forces for the acquisition of music (publishing and recording) catalogues and other music rights.

  “BMG and KKR can jointly pursue opportunities for acquisitions of major catalogues of music rights from now on," said Bertelsmann Chairman & CEO Thomas Rabe. "Together with KKR, we are ideally positioned to make attractive offers to rights owners.”

  The two partners did not disclose how much they have bookmarked for acquisition but said they have the ambition be "leading acquirers of music rights with world-class catalogue management capabilities and the ability to invest in transactions of all sizes."

Grow the value of music assets

  "Working together, the companies will deliver a compelling solution for artists, songwriters and other music rights owners seeking to realise and grow the value of their music assets," said BMG in a statement. 

  Under the terms of the agreement, BMG and KKR will join forces "to source individual transactions to acquire music catalogues" by combining BMG’s industry knowledge with KKR’s network, resources and experience as an investor in market-leading music, digital, media and content businesses.

  The agreement re-unites BMG with KKR as the investment company was the initial partner chosen by Bertelsmann when it relaunched its music operation. KKR owned 51% of BMG between 2009 and 2013, when it sold all its shares to Bertelsmann, making BMG a wholly-owned subsidiary of the German conglomerate. BMG CEO Hartwig Masuch recalled that the early partnership with KKR "helped us rapidly become the first new international music company of the streaming age winning the trust of artists and songwriters with great service and 21st century levels of fairness and transparency."

A financially stable home

  Reflecting on the new agreement with KKR, Masuch said: "This new relationship with KKR will offer artists and songwriters a well-funded, financially stable home for their music assets with the confidence that their songs and recordings will be managed both professionally and respectfully.”

  Richard Sarnoff, Partner at KKR and previously an executive at Bertelsmann, added: “BMG has become an innovative leader in the music industry by embracing digital trends early on, while always placing artists at the center of everything they do. We are delighted to reunite with BMG’s talented team to pursue future opportunities together, leveraging our complementary platforms.”  

  BMG and KKR have recently completed transactions to acquire music rights from leading artists: KKR acquired in January 2021 a majority stake in the music catalogue (publishing and recording) of songwriter, musician, producer and lead vocalist of One RepublicRyan Tedder; BMG acquired Fleetwood Mac co-founder Mick Fleetwood’s interests in the band’s recordings.
 
[Analysis:
It's interesting to see Bertelsmann reuniting with KKR, which helped the German conglomerate re-launch its music operations in 2009. The two partners have a history together and have performed quite a few transactions between 2009 and 2013. 
  At the time, BMG had a big chequebook and did buy what was believed to be above normal prices. What they did was just anticipating the current craze for acquiring music assets.
  However, what has changed is that there are far more companies in the field and prices have gone up and up. In addition, while there are still catalogues to be acquired, a lot of them from "heritage" acts have already changed hand. Think of Bob Dylan (Universal), Neil Young (Hipgnosis) and now Paul Simon (Sony).
   This new venture might a bit to late for music assets, but if its purpose is to also invest in digital, media and content businesses, then we could see some strategic moves that could position BMG at the centre of a complete digital eco-system which would be quite groundbreaking.
    Emmanuel Legrand

Italy's SIAE partners with Algorand to launch a blockchain-based rights management platform

 By Emmanuel Legrand

Italy's rights society Società Italiana degli Autori ed Editori (SIAE) has launched more than four million non-fungible tokens (NFTs) through blockchain specialist Algorand, as part of a project to create a blockchain-based open platform that allows transparent and efficient management of authors' rights.

  The four million NFTs will digitally represent the rights of the more than 95,000 SIAE members authors. SIAE said that NFTs will be used for the first time to represent author’s rights of SIAE members.

  "We are not interested in building technological infrastructures to generate profit," said Gaetano Blandini, General Manager of SIAE. "Instead, our goal has been and always will be to create value addition for our members. This is why we can afford to talk about open infrastructures and make all our know-how available to the community."

A decentralised management of metadata

  For Blandini, blockchain technology "is definitely an interesting strand to continue exploring because of its transparency and efficiency – by design– features, which are fundamental for those who, like us, manage the salary of other people's hard work.”

  For SIAE, the project, which started in Italy, has potential for international adoption. SIAE said it intends to share its project results with the broader community "to expedite the truly decentralised management of this metadata, which is fundamental for accurate and transparent management of rights."

   "SIAE has brought an ambitious project to life, where transparency and simplicity in data management are becoming a new reality for their industry," said Professor Silvio Micali, winner of the Turing PrizeMIT Professor, and founder of Algorand. 

  "SIAE is a forward thinking organisation that will open up new opportunities as they build the foundations for new economic models. I am thrilled to have SIAE a part of the Algorand ecosystem as they embrace the scalability, efficiency and security of Algorand.

NetEase and Merlin renew their licensing agreement

 


By Emmanuel Legrand

China's music streaming service provider NetEase Cloud Music, and Merlin, the digital music licensing agency for the independent sector, have extended their strategic partnership in China to include a wider range of cooperation. Merlin and NetEase's initial agreement goes back to 2018.

  The new multi-year licensing deal will include access to additional marketing and promotional opportunities for Merlin members. NetEase Cloud Music’s users will have the ability to access an even more diverse array of music from Merlin’s members around the globe, as the agreement now includes the new catalogues represented by Merlin. 

  Merlin’s members will be able to expand the visibility of their catalogues in China by harnessing NetEase's marketing and promotional tools to tap into the service's growing audience. NetEase Cloud Music claims to have more than 800 million users.

A deepening relationship

  “Deepening our direct relationship with Merlin marks another important step in our strategy to bring high-quality music with style, character and vitality to our ever-growing user community,” said Ding Bo, Vice President of NetEase Cloud Music. “The expansive and diverse music of Merlin member labels span the global divide and increase the rich music experience we offer, which brings us closer to this goal.”    

  Jeremy Sirota, CEO of Merlin, added: “Independent music is a real focus across the world, including in China, and Merlin is thrilled to renew its partnership with NetEase Cloud Music and bring the largest number of independent labels, distributors and other rights-holders and their artists’ repertoire to the platform.” 

Photographer Lynn Goldsmith wins appeal against Warhol Foundation

 By Emmanuel Legrand

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York has overturned a 2019 ruling in favour of the Andy Warhol Foundation (AWF) about a series of works from Warhol using a photo from photographer Lynn Goldsmith​. 

  The initial ruling ​concluded that Warhol's creations were transformative in that the final works were significantly different from the picture they were based on. The appeals court ruled instead that the series of works known as the 'Prince Series' by Warhol ​"retains the essential elements of the Goldsmith Photograph without significantly adding to or altering those elements,” ​according to the decision from Judge Gerard E. Lynch.  

  In 1984, Goldsmith, through her licensing arm LGL, licensed to Vanity Fair magazine ​a picture she had taken of Prince during a 1981 session. In turn the magazine asked Warhol to create an image based on the Golsdmith picture. Unbeknownst to Goldsmith and LGL, Warhol created 15 additional works based on the photo.

The photo as the foundation of the work

  Following the death of Prince, Vanity Fair secured more visuals from the Foundation and the works came to the attention of Goldsmith, who then warned the AWF that she believed it was an infringement of her copyright.

  In 1917, AWF sued Goldsmith and LGL for a declaratory judgment of non-infringement or, in the alternative, fair use. Goldsmith countersued for copyright infringement​. In the 2019 ruling, the court held that ​​"the Prince Series works are transformative works​.​”

  ​In contrast,​ Judge Lynch wrote that "while the cumulative effect [of Warhol's] alterations may change the Goldsmith Photograph in ways that give a different impression of its subject, the Goldsmith Photograph remains the recognisable foundation upon which the Prince Series is built." 

Celebrity-plagiarist privilege

  The Judge also addressed the point that “each Prince Series work is immediately recognisable as a ‘Warhol'.” He wrote: "Entertaining that logic would inevitably create a celebrity-plagiarist privilege; the more established the artist and the more distinct that artist’s style, the greater leeway that artist would have to pilfer the creative labors of others.​"

  ​Added Judge Lynch: "The question we must answer is simply whether the law permits Warhol to claim it as his own, and AWF to exploit it, without Goldsmith’s permission. And, at least as far as this aspect of the first factor is concerned, we conclude that the answer to that question is 'no'.”​

  Attorney Luke Nikas, acting on behalf of the AWF, commented: “Over fifty years of established art history and popular consensus confirms that Andy Warhol is one of the most transformative artists of the 20th Century. While the Warhol Foundation strongly disagrees with the Second Circuit’s ruling, it does not change this fact, nor does it change the impact of Andy Warhol’s work on history.” Nikas said the Foundation will challenge the ruling.  

 A vindication of the rights of photographers

  “Apart from being ecstatic as to the result, in my view it’s a long overdue reeling in of what had become an overly-expansive application of copyright 'transformative' fair use,” said Attorney Barry Werbin on behalf of Goldsmith. 

  “The decision helps vindicate the rights of photographers who risk having their works misappropriated for commercial use by famous artists under the guise of fair use."

  The case is now remanded back to the District Court for further proceedings.

Music Deals -- Week 13 2021

Short form video platform Triller has signed a licensing agreement with the US National Music Publishers Association (NMPA), which covers the repertoire of its members. NMPA President and CEO David Israelite welcomed the fact that Triller "has recognised the importance of music creators and made a positive step forward by coming to this partnership." He added that the agreement with Triller accounts "for the past use of songs as well as a forward-looking license for our eligible independent publisher members.”  Triller Executive Chair Bobby Sarnevesht said: “We are very excited to enter this partnership with the NMPA, which ensures that songwriters are fairly compensated and fully recognised for their work.”

Irving Azoff-backed rights society Global Music Rights (GMR) has signed a long-term deal with media group Entercom Communications which will allow Entercom to use GMR’s repertoire across all of its platforms. GMR said the multi-year partnership "paves the way for a strong partnership between the rapidly growing audio content and entertainment platform and the boutique performing rights organisation." Entercom is a leading creator of live, original audio content in the US disseminated through podcasts, digital and broadcast platforms. “We are excited to partner with Irving and the team at GMR,” said David Field, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Entercom. “They represent some of the top talent on radio today. The combination of Entercom’s reach and GMR’s music is a huge win for our audience.”

mySongbird, the streaming platform for live and concert performances and music documentaries, has signed a licensing contract with Universal Music Group's Mercury Studios. Under the partnership, mySongbird has acquired the rights to thousands of hours of live concert footage and documentaries of bands like the Rolling Stones and Fleetwood Mac, new concerts from the likes of Imagine Dragons and Mumford & Sons, as well documentaries featuring Bob Dylan and John Lennon. mySongbird was launched in late 2020 by Mike Mountford and the agreement with UMG will allow the platform "to broaden its online catalogue." The subscription-based platform currently offers around 500 live concerts across multiple genres, including classic rock, new wave, pop, punk, jazz, etc. "Concert videos from Mercury Studios dating back to the 1960s are an invaluable source of entertainment and we're delighted to add these to our platform," said Mountford.

China’s music services company Kanjian Music has sealed a partnership with lyrics licensing platform LyricFind to become LyricFind’s sole sales representative in China and help LyricFind "expand its licensing collaboration and related business opportunities with Chinese companies in China." Kanjian Music Founder and CEO Shen Jia said the deal with LyricFind "allows us to offer the world's lyrical content, and by extension a large piece of the world culture, to China. This is a win-win for the audience and industry alike, as the rapidly expanding digital product space in China will now tap into the extensive and diverse catalog of LyricFind, further enhancing Kanjian Music’s role as the global music industry's trusted partner in China."

Music credits database Jaxsta is now fully integrated with global B2B music rights and licensing marketplace platform Songtradr. The integration of the two services enables eligible Jaxsta Pro members who have claimed their profile to utilise Songtradr’s platform and tools to initiate collection and ongoing management of their neighbouring rights income. Songtradr will utilise Jaxsta’s music credits metadata to assist in the identification of uncollected revenue resulting from the public performance of sound recordings. “The partnership demonstrates the significant opportunity to solve data-centric challenges faced by the music industry and to create new efficiencies through automation, said Jaxsta CEO and Co-Founder Jacqui Louez Schoorl. "The neighbouring rights service is part of a growing set of tools and benefits that Jaxsta Pro members can access through our membership.”

Malaysian independent music company KRU Music and Warner Music Group have formed a strategic alliance to market and distribute the label's artists’ music in South East Asia and the rest of the world. KRU's distribution will go through ADA, WMG's service and distribution company for independent artist and labels. KRU Music was set up in 1996 by the members of the band KRU. Its roster includes acts such as Fitri Hakim, Forteen, Hazury, Iqwan Alif, Jaclyn Victor, Mojo, Wings, Dian Hashim, Fai Ramli, Fateh and Timur. “With this collaboration, KRU Music and our artists can leverage Warner’s size and strength to ensure our music will be more visible on hundreds of streaming platforms aiding its discovery by their users," said Norman Abdul Halim, President and CEO of KRU Music.

Warner Music Group has acquired Russian indie label Zhara Music, and the company will be rebranded as the Russian division of Atlantic Records. Zhara Music was launched less than three years ago, with success in Russia and markets such as China and the Middle East. Zhara Music was co-founded by artists and businessmen EMIN and Bahh Tee and its roster will be represented globally under the Atlantic Records banner. Artists signed to the company include HammAli & Navai; Зомб; Morgenshtern; Slava Marlow; Rauf & Faik; Jony, Elman, Andro, Gafur (RAAVA Music); ЛСП; Idris & Leos; and DAVA. Atlantic Records Russia will be headed by Bahh Tee as General Producer, and he will maintain a dedicated team of A&R and marketing specialists in a standalone office, separate to Warner Music Russia. Alexander Blinov, Director General of Warner Music Russia, will provide strategic leadership for Atlantic Records Russia, while back office functions, such as legal and financial support, catalogue registration and content distribution, will be performed by the Warner Music Russia team. 

Sony Music Publishing South Africa has signed a global representation deal with SA's independent music company Gallo Music Publishers. The agreement, which excludes Africa, will provide a range of services and create new opportunities for Gallo's songwriters and catalogue on an international scale. SMP will provide administration services, helping to collect, distribute, and expedite royalty payments across the world; as well as synchronisation services, licensing Gallo's music for film, television and commercials. Gallo Music Publishers is the publishing arm of Gallo Record Company, the leading independent music company in South Africa, which will celebrate its 95th Anniversary this year. "Having started my career at Gallo many years ago, I’m thrilled to be reunited with celebrated works from the likes of Lucky Dube, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Stimela, Sipho Mabuse, Caiphus Semenya and so many others," said Guy Henderson, President, International, Sony Music Publishing. "Together, with Sony Music Publishing’s great roster of writers, we look forward to taking the best of African music to the rest of the world.” 


B​ertelsmann's music division BMG has signed a multi-faceted partnership agreement with the ​Montreux Jazz Festival, which will kick off with the production and the release of 'The Montreux Years', a three-part documentary series celebrating the history of the music festival, alongside unreleased and remastered recordings from the festival’s 55-year history.

Sony Music Publishing Nashville has renewed a worldwide deal with award-winning country music songwriter Tom Douglas, who has penned songs for Tim McGraw, Carrie Underwood, Chris Janson, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, George Strait, Kenny Chesney, Brett Eldredge, and Keith Urban​, among others​.

Musical Chairs -- Week 13 2021

 GLOBAL

Alfonso Perez-Soto has been appointed President, Emerging Markets at Warner Recorded Music. His brief covers Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, India and South Asia, the Eastern Mediterranean and Eastern Europe. Perez-Soto, who has been with Warner since 2005, was EVP, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa since 2018. He reports to WMG's President, International Simon Robson.

USA

Bob Valentine, the CFO of US independent music company Concord, has been promoted to President of the company. Current Concord Music Publishing CFO Kent Hoskins will take over his position as CFO. Both executives report to Concord CEO Scott Pascucci. In his new role, Valentine will work closely with Pascucci to guide the company’s overall business strategy, and with the rest of the senior executive team, he will "lead Concord’s efforts to grow via additional acquisitions, further the interests of Concord’s recording artists, songwriters, composers, playwrights and creative partners and help to expand its reach into new markets and areas of business centered around music and music-related IP."

Gregg Goldman has been appointed as the new EVP, Business & Legal Affairs, Recorded Music, at independent music company Concord. He is reporting to General Counsel Amanda Molter and replaces Larry Blake who will retire at the end of May after 40 years in the industry, 25 of which working for Concord. While at Concord, Blake has guided numerous transformative acquisitions, including that of Fantasy, Telarc, Rounder, Vee Jay, Vanguard, Fearless, Razor & Tie / KIDZ BOP, Musart/Balboa, Savoy, Varèse Sarabande and Imagem. “It has been my great fortune to have been able to combine my legal education with my passion for music, to have been mentored by one of the deans of music lawyers, Lee Phillips, and to have gotten the opportunity to help build Concord from a small jazz label to the indie powerhouse it is today,” said Blake.

Mechanical rights society the Mechanical Licensing Collective, which started operating on January 1, 2021, has added three new members to its leadership team: Kristen Johns as Chief Legal Officer, Nathan Osher as Assistant General Counsel and Publisher Relations, and Andrew Mitchell as Head of Analytics and Automation. All three executives will be based in Nashville. Johns joins from law firm Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis in Nashville, where she was a partner; Osher recently served as Senior Vice President of Legal & Business Affairs for Warner Chappell Music; and Mitchell was Vice President of Analytics & Process Automation at Warner Music Group

Alison Finley has been appointed Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer at Motown Records. In this newly created role, Finley will oversee the day-to-day operations of the label and shared services with various teams across Motown’s parent company, Universal Music Group. Finley is based in Los Angeles and reports to Motown Chairman and CEO Ethiopia Habtemariam. Finley was SVP of Business and Legal Affairs at UMG.

Alfred C. Liggins, III, Chief Executive Officer of Urban One, and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TV One, and Craig Robinson, Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer for NBCUniversal, have been appointed to the Board of Directors of US rights society Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), effective April 1, 2021.

US composers Jon Batiste and Sharon Farber have been elected to the Board of Directors of US rights society American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) for a two-year term starting April 1st, 2021. “It is both a privilege and a great responsibility to serve on the ASCAP Board and I know I speak for the entire Board when I say that we welcome Jon’s and Sharon’s insights and expertise,” said President and Chairman of the Board Paul Williams.

Connie Bradley, who had been in charge of the Nashville operations of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) for 34 years, has died at the age of 75. "Connie Bradley was a trailblazing woman in the music industry and under her leadership, ASCAP’s community of songwriters and publishers in Nashville grew in strength and impact for more than three decades,” said ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews.

EUROPE

Independent music company [PIAS] has
re-branded its distribution business as Integral Distribution Services. [PIAS] Group Chief Digital Officer Adrian Pope will had to his remit the role of Managing Director of Integral. Pope will work alongside European regional Director Leo van Schaick to oversee the Integral business. Pope and van Schaick report to [PIAS] Group Managing Director Edwin Schröter. In addition, Felicia Flack has joined Integral as Head of Label and Artist Services from digital platform Amuse.


UK

Jacqueline Saturn and Matt Sawin, respectively President and GM of Universal Music Group's division Virgin Music Label and Artist Services in the UK, have promoted Adam Starr to SVP/Marketing. He was Head of Marketing for the Virgin Music/CMG label.

FRANCE

The Board of neighbouring rights society for musicians Spedidam has elected trumpet player Jean-Pierre Ramirez as President, replacing François Nowak, whose election in 2018, alongside that of seven other board members, has been nullified by a Paris court. The board has also appointed Fabrice Vecchione as the society's manager, succeeding Guillaume Damerval. Laurence Pons has been named Vice President and Maria De Rossi deputy treasurer. A new AGM will be held within a month to replace the eight board members whose election was canceled by the court.

F​rance's trade body representing online music services, ESML, which regroups such platforms as Deezer, Spotify and Qobuz, has named Sophie Goossens, a partner at law firm ReedSmith, as its legal counsel, replacing Gilles Bressand. In addition, ESML has welcomed two new companies to the organisation: livestream start-up Akius, and Bridge.audio, a platform for "storing, managing and sharing audio files dedicated to music professionals."

GERMANY

Berlin-based group of companies Guesstimate has confirmed the arrival of Jens-Markus Wegener, the former General Manager of Meisel Music and Managing Director of Imagem Music Germany, as Director of Publishing. Wegener will be working alongside joint Managing Directors Gian Köhler and Martin Heuser to develop the company music publishing activities, focusing on international signings. Wegener brings in to venture his own music publishing company AMV Publishing. Wegener said Guesstimate is "a true indie with an international outlook" with the ambition to "shake up the market."

Wednesday, March 24, 2021

Global recorded music market up 7.9% to $21.6bn in 2020

By Emmanuel Legrand

The global recorded music market generated revenues of $21.6 billion in 2020, up 7.4% compared to the previous year, in what was described as "challenging year" by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), which released the annual Global Music Report for 2020. 

  Speaking at a virtual launch event, IFPI Chief Executive France Moore, said the report shows a sense of "optimism" within record companies as they have been able to weather the pandemic, while continuing to operate and grow.

  “Companies have continued to drive new, exciting experiences for fans whether it's gaming, exercise or beyond,” she said. 

Six consecutive years of growth

  It marks the sixth consecutive year of growth for the recorded music sector, boosted by streaming, especially by paid subscription streaming revenues, which increased by 18.5% year-on-year. 


  Total streaming revenues, including paid subscription and advertising-supported, grew 19.9% to $13.4bn and represented 62.1% of total global recorded music revenues. There were 443 million users of paid subscription accounts at the end of 2020, according to the IFPI's Global Music Report for 2020.  

  "The growth in streaming revenues more than offset the decline in other formats’ revenues, including physical revenues which declined 4.7%; and revenues from performance rights which declined 10.1% – largely as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic," noted the IFPI. 

Acceleration of consumption trends

  The 4.7% decline in physical sales to $4.2bn was also echoed by an even greater decline of download revenues (-17.3% to $1.2 bn), although vinyl saw revenues up 23.5%.
  Performance rights for the use of recorded music in public spaces were down 10.1%. Moore said she expected the markets to recover in 2021 and enjoy a return to normal by 2022. 


  Sync rights were impacted by the disruption in the production of advertising, film, TV shows and video games (-9.4%).  

  Sony Music Entertainment President, Global Digital Business and Sales Dennis Kooker acknowledged during the virtual chat with journalists that the pandemic has transformed the way music is consumed, but with the proviso that "many of the trends were trends that were occurring before the pandemic,” and that the pandemic "accelerated some of those trends."  

Immersive entertainment to expand

  For Kooker, there is "a convergence of audio, video and gaming" that is purpose-built for consumer's experience and that space is "expanding." He added: "If we get this right, ultimately, immersive entertainment is going to continue to grow in the future.” 

  Overall, eight of the top 10 markets posted growth in 2020, with the Netherlands replacing Brazil as the tenth biggest music market. 

  Recorded music revenues grew in every region around the world in 2020, including: 

  > Latin America: The region maintained its position as the fastest-growing region globally (15.9%) as streaming revenues grew by 30.2% and accounted for 84.1% of the region’s total revenues.

  > Asia: The region posted revenues up 9.5% with digital revenues surpassing for the first time a 50% share of the region’s total revenues. IFPI noted that excluding Japan, which saw a decline of 2.1% in revenue, Asia would have been the fastest-growing region, with "exceptional growth" of 29.9%. 

  Shridhar Subramaniam, President, Strategy and Market Development for Asia and the Middle East at Sony Music Entertainment, broke down the region into "three groups at different stages of development": China and South Korea, which are leading the region and are the fastest growing markets; India and some South East Asian countries, with a steady growth rate; and, last, countries “yet to fundamentally come online” but ready for growth. "Given its demographics and the size of its population, [Asia] will be a consumption powerhouse," said Subramaniam. 

  Warner Music Group's President, International, Recorded Music Simon Robson noted that Asia "is home to almost 60% of the world’s population" and concluded that its potential in the streaming world was "massive.”

  He also reflected on the fact that "Asia has been driving a lot of recent innovation" such as livestreaming, virtual gifting and tipping, and said there was much to learn from the way China's streaming services/social networks provide functionalities to fans that do not exists elsewhere. 

  > Africa & Middle East: the region was featured for the first time in IFPI's report. Revenues increased by 8.4%, driven primarily by the Middle East and North Africa region (37.8%). Revenues from streaming were up 36.4%.  

  Sipho Dlamini, CEO of Universal Music South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa, said the African music market, while relatively small, offers "significant potential" thanks to the combination of demographics factors (a large proportion of the population is under 35) and technology developments, with the growth of smartphone sales and cheaper mobile data packages. 

  > Europe: revenues in the second-largest recorded music region in the world grew by 3.5%, thanks to strong streaming growth of 20.7%, which offset declines in all other consumption formats.  

  > US & Canada: the region grew 7.4% in 2020, with the US market up 7.3% and Canada by 8.1%.

 

 > Policy priorities:

IFPI has outlined in the report a series of policy points or "principles" that it wants to introduce across markets "to enable music to thrive globally." One of the main issue for IFPI is recognising the value of music.

  Public policies, says IFPI, should "ensure that all services that distribute music, regardless of how they operate, negotiate market-rate licenses with music creators and right holders (those who create and own the music) in a fair, competitive marketplace."

  Policymakers around the world should also "ensure that ‘safe harbour’ provisions are not misused by online platforms to claim exemption from copyright liability and undermine the value of music in the online marketplace." With regards to that issue, IFPI urges member States of the European Union to transpose and implement the Copyright Directive  "faithfully, or it will undo the public policy goal for which it was enacted."

  IFPI also noted with satisfaction that at the end of 2020, China established full performance rights for the use of recordings in public performances and broadcasts (neighbouring rights). For the first time, wrote IFPI, "revenue for right holders will be generated for the use of recordings in public performances and broadcasts, enabling further re-investment in the Chinese music community."

  In addition, Singapore has also agreed "to recognise public performance rights and is working to implement them." In future, the industry "still needs to ensure full performance rights protection in Japan and the US."


Other countries have have also unveiled market figures for 2020:

  > In Japan, the world's second largest market, revenues were down in 2020 by 9% to 272.6 billion yen ($2.64bn), despite a 25% growth in streaming revenues, according to the Recording Industry Association of Japan(RIAJ). Digital sales reached 78.3bn yen ($719.2m), with streaming audio revenues accounting for 50.7bn yen ($465.9 m). By contrast, physical music sales were down 15% to 129.9bn yen ($1.2bn).

  > In the UK, the world's third largest market, recorded music revenue rose by 3.8% in 2020 to reach £1.118 billion ($1.53bn), according to music industry trade body the BPI, which noted that this was the highest figure since 2006 and the fifth consecutive year of growth. The rate of revenue growth slowed in 2020, compared to a 7.3% growth rate in 2019, due to the effects of the pandemic.

  Revenues from streaming rose to £736.5m (up 15.4%), with subscriptions revenues were up 14.7% to £650.3m, with ad-funded streaming income up 17.5% to £42.4m  and income from video streaming platforms, such as YouTube, were up 24.4% to £43.8 million, but the BPI noted that they only represented half of the amount generated by vinyl. Streaming now accounts for 80% of UK music consumption, with consumers listening to 139 billion audio streams in 2020, up 22% on 2019's figure.

  Physical revenues decreased by 2.6% to £210.3m. Revenues from vinyl increased by 30.5% to £86.5m, the highest total since 1989, while CD sales were down 18.5%.  
from streaming, which now accounts for 80% of UK music consumption

  > In the Netherlands, the world's tenth largest market, revenues reached €225.8 million in 2020, up 9.8% over 2019's figures, according to local trade body NVPI. Streaming revenues were up 15.6% at €185.6m and now represents 82.2% of the market's revenues. Physical sales were down 10.1% to €36.5m in 2020, and for the first time in decades, sales of vinyl, up 11% to €17.1m, over-performed CD sales, down 25.9% to €16.9m.

  > In Spain, the recorded music market grew by 4.4% to €354 million in 2020, according to trade organisation Promusicae. Streaming revenues were up 24.4% year-on-year to €250.8m, with paid subscriptions accounting for €157.4m, up 13.5% over 2019 figures. Adverting-financed streaming generated revenues of €55.8m, up 81.5% year-on-year, thanks to a massive use of social media platforms such as TikTokInstagramFacebookand Snapchat. Physical sales were down 24.5% to €55.21m in 2020.

  > In Italy, the recorded music market reached €258.6 million in 2020, up 1.4% compared to 2019, according to trade body FIMI. Streaming income was up 29.5% to €165m and represents 78% of total sales, while physical sales were down 25% to €40m.

 

[Analysis:
As a preamble, the amount of data made available by the IFPI was extremely limited. In the summary provided to journalists, there were no itemised data-sets per region or country. Similarly, it was difficult to figure out the weight of streaming revenues per region. Nonetheless, here are a few takeaways from the IFPI report:
 
  > Streaming is Covid-compatible:
  The figures released by the IFPI are clear about one thing: without streaming, recorded music revenues would have plunged during the pandemic. This is overall good news. It shows that there is now a dominant model and it is resilient. The downside is that there is now a dominant model, and it tends to overpower all other sources of revenues. It is almost certain that streaming will generated some 90% of the industry's revenues in a couple of years. This means that the debate about the sharing of streaming value will become even more important.

  > Subscriptions drive the business:
  No matter how much they try, ad-supported platforms only represent a small fraction of streaming revenues. The bulk of the money comes from subscriptions, and even in times of a pandemic, it seems that the level of subscriptions has not gone down, which is a credit to the value that consumers find in their services. Now the question is how elastic can the subscription rates be? The 9.99 a month pricing point has not changed in a decade. This should be an important part of the discussion on the future value of streaming.

  > YouTube anyone?
  You can look at the figures any way you want, there is definitely a gap between the levels of consumption of music via YouTube, and the platform's financial contribution to the industry. YouTube will tell you otherwise but don't be fooled. This is why the implementation of Article 17 of the European Copyright Directive (which has been delayed in most EU countries so far) will be an important test in assessing if rights owners can finally negotiate with the Google-owned platform real market rates for the use of content. A fully licensed YouTube should contribute more to the overall pot of revenues.

  > Cancel CDs:
  Within three to five years, at the current rate, CDs will probably stop having any significance in terms of revenues. It's been a good run for the format since the early 1980s, boosting revenues to close to $40 billion at the start of millennium. It also brought the music industry into the digital world, and it also created the seeds of its own demise once the digital routes became virtual and no longer physical. 
 
  Even in CD-solid markets such as Germany and Japan, sales have gone down in 2020 at a faster rate than in previous year. It could well be that Covid has accelerated the retirement of the format. CDs will probably continue as a tool for special products such as box-sets or for a small portion of releases.

  > Vinylmania gets stronger:
  Even with countries in lockdown, and despite closed record stores for parts of the year, vinyl sales continued to grow in virtually every country. This is a sign that vinylmania is a long-term trend and that vinyl will represent a significant part of the industry's revenues in years to come.
 
  > China is the market to watch:
  China is the world's seven largest music market and its weight is becoming increasingly significant on a regional and global basis. Following a massive clean-up of illegal online sources of music, the Chinese music market hasn't stopped growing and streaming has been the engine of growth. Platforms operated by Tencent and NetEase have been converting more and more users who previously were accessing music via illegal sites. 
 
  But China (alongside South Korea) is also showing what the future could be with a greater integration of social media functions within streaming platforms and a higher monetisation of the relationship between artists and fans. It is not simply about selling music, but also the lifestyle that comes with it. This is something that has not yet reached the regions that started the streaming revolution, mainly Europe and North America.
 
  > Gaps in data in a changing market:
  A week before the IFPI released its figures, MIDiA Research put out its own set of figures, and there's a discrepancy: IFPI's figures show that the global recorded music revenues grew 7.4% to $21.6bn; MIDiA's figures puts it at $23.1bn, up 7%. "The gap between the IFPI’s and MIDiA’s figures is steadily widening each year, in large part because of the way in which the market is changing," explained MIDiA's Mark Mulligan in a blogpost. "The traditional market, which is of course the easiest to measure, is being out accelerated by an increasingly diverse mix of non-traditional revenue streams."

  He cites revenues from music production library sector, "of which the revenues do not flow through any of the channels that traditional music industry trade associations track," and the long tail of independents as key area of variance.

  For Mulligan, "whichever measure you use, the recorded music market is transforming at pace" and, in turn, "it is becoming more difficult to measure."

  But what does not seem to be in question is that the market keeps on growing. We are still far from the pre-Napster-era figures, but we're getting there.

Emmanuel Legrand]

 

Tuesday, March 23, 2021

IMPALA proposes 10-point plan to make the most of streaming and grow the music market in a fair way

By Emmanuel Legrand


IMPALA, the Brussels-based organisation representing independent music companies, has unveiled a 10-point plan to "Make the Most of the Streaming Opportunity." The plan responds to the need to grow the market in a fair way for all stakeholders and bring the recorded music market back to its pre-Napster levels. 

  "Music streaming is now the main source of income from recorded music worldwide, and the main source of listening pleasure for fans," wrote IMPALA in its proposal. "But it is also the main bone of contention for the very artists who create the pleasure and the income." 

  Consequently, IMPALA believes time has come for "new ways for streaming companies to grow revenues." Adds IMPALA: "We need to encourage a diverse range of options for consumers, and we need to consider different approaches to the way revenue is distributed." 

  Mark Kitcatt, Co-owner and MD of Everlasting Popstock and Chair of IMPALA’s streaming working group, said the ideas put forward by the organisation are meant to "deliver greater income and opportunity to creators, and greater value to fans."

  He added: “The safe harbour experiment has failed on both those fronts – it needs to be put away for good. Labels must pay contemporary digital royalty rates to all artists. And then we can put fans and artists at the centre of a plan to unlock the true potential of streaming for this industry.” 

  IMPALA sees this task as a collaborative effort between diverse parts of the industry, and alongside music streaming services. "We see music services as our partners, and together we can create a sustainable, diverse, dynamic market, exciting and rewarding for musicians, fans and all of us in the music business," says the organisation. 

"Suffocating" safe harbours

  IMPALA proposes to end the safe harbour regime and implement reforms to revenue distribution models. For IMPALA, safe harbours are "suffocating the market" and prevent labels, artists, songwriters and publishers to "have a say over how their music is used or how much they can earn." Explains IMPALA: "Without safe harbour, we can all grow revenue. We can make a bigger pie." 

  "Once safe harbour is abolished, we see many opportunities to innovate and offer value-added services to consumers. The most voracious, active listeners are willing to pay more for better experiences.," writes IMPALA. 

Rejection of equitable remuneration

One point which could be contentious with artists is IMPALA's rejection of equitable remuneration (which is the payment of royalties for the use of music by online services split equally between labels and performers/musicians). "Equitable remuneration sounds fair and has recently received a lot of attention," explains IMPALA. "But let’s be clear. It is not a new right – it is a compensation mechanism for rights when they are stripped away."

It continues: "The model on which it’s based illustrates the loss of value it brings, with radio paying rates per listener that are up to 200 times lower than streaming. And in some countries, like the USA, terrestrial radio doesn’t pay anything to play recorded music. It may also allow monopoly market participants to end the industry’s freedom to negotiate commercial rates for streaming; and it would not result in greater pay-outs to artists."

  For IMPALA, equitable remuneration would "deplete value from the commercial market and reduce capital for investment in new artists and projects. This would disproportionately harm the independent sector, which is responsible for 80% of new releases, and that’s before counting the community of artists who are not signed to record labels."

Investigate business models

  When it comes to business models, IMPALA believes that "there is no single model that would provide an instant fix to more fairly distribute revenue" and therefore recommends "a spectrum of ideas to investigate and implement as appropriate." 

  For example, IMPALA keeps the options open regarding the user-centric model for royalty pay-outs and advocates for differentiated distribution models. "We are ready to explore this option and scrutinise the pros, cons and unintended consequences of some services choosing the user-centric model," says IMPALA. "We feel, though, that on its own it won’t create the optimal market for artists, just a different set of artists who gain and lose, without growing the market or embracing other dynamics which we feel are needed to achieve change."

Change the status quo

  IMPALA now hopes that these proposals will be taken into concrete recommendations. "We believe our paper is written in the best interest of independent record labels and the artists they work with, who are trying to make a living with their passion for music." 

  IMPALA Executive Chair Helen Smith commented: “We need to change the streaming status quo. Our conclusion says it all. The independent music community stands with artists, ready to help build better models for creators, consumers, services and the environment to make the most of the promise of streaming. Our proposals will also be useful for EU countries implementing the copyright directive. Exempting short clips for example would be a giant step back in time. We hope Germany and others are listening.”

 

Overall, the plan includes the following ten points: 

  1. End safe harbours effectively – no new loopholes. 

  2. Pay artists a fair contemporary digital royalty rate. 

  3. Reform allocation of streaming revenue. Different services may wish to explore any or all of the following proposals: 

   a - Differentiation of rates: 

       I - Pro Rata Temporis Model: To deal with the value imbalance for long-form music content, for example by having a rate for the first 30 seconds to 5 minutes of a song, then further payments triggered at 5 minute intervals until 15m 30s minutes. 

      II - Active Engagement Model: Encourage artists to stimulate active fan engagement by attaching a premium value to tracks which the listener has sought out or reached by artist, track or album name, or where she has saved, “liked”, or pre-ordered an album or track, for example. 

      III - Artist Growth Model: Enabling artists to accelerate revenues to a sustainable level, support a broader diversity of emerging, and credible niche talent. The top tier streams would generate a bit less and bottom ones a bit more to help emerging and niche artists. 

      IV - User Choice Model: Facilitate spaces within services for rights holders to develop incremental revenues through direct relationships with fans, eg by offering access to extra tracks, better audio, and features. 

  b - No threshold for a song to start generating revenue from streaming. 

  4. No reductions in royalties in exchange for enhanced plays, or privileged treatment in algorithms, or other features that recreate elements of payola. 

  5. Revenue enhancement mechanisms in markets where services are failing to convert users to paid models. 

  6. More vigilance by music services on unlawful activity that removes value from creators, including streaming manipulation, ad-blocking and stream-ripping software. 

  7. Enable search by labels, performers, producers, composers, musicians, authors, publishers. 

  8. Boost local repertoire and languages by better profiling in playlisting and other features, as well as having track titles in more than one language or specific, and ring-fenced funding mechanisms allocated to investment in new, local recordings. 

  9. Work collaboratively with a spectrum of labels, across all markets (e.g. through Merlin for independents) to ensure editorial algorithm developments don’t negatively affect diversity, local repertoire and opportunities for artist discovery. 

  10. Work with the recorded music sector to help assess and reduce the carbon footprint of digital music.

 

Europe prepares for the re-opening of its cultural and creative activities

 
The European Commission, alongside the Parliament and the Council, has unveiled a framework under which EU members will set up guidelines for festivals and other cultural venues and spaces to re-open.

   Titled "A common path to safe and sustained re-opening," the communication details all the protocols to re-open Europe. One of the key points raised in the proposal is the necessity to bring back cultural events. 

  "Sharing once again the collective experience of cultural venues and events, heritage sites and cultural tourism will be one of the most visible signs of re-opening," reads the communication. "It will also be essential for the survival of a cultural and creative economy that has been particularly badly affected by the restrictions imposed to control the pandemic." 

Building confidence

  The Commission noted that the cultural sector lost around 31% of its revenues in 2020, with performing arts down 90% and music facing a 76% drop. "Again, a common approach and common indicators will help decisions to lift restrictions by building confidence amongst audiences and visitors that opening is taking place in a responsible way."

   The Commission will use "existing cooperation structures and  networks to exchange information on the safe re-opening of the cultural sector" and will "develop guidelines for sectors in the field of music (festivals, venues), audiovisual (film festivals and markets, cinemas, production sets), performing arts (festivals, venues), exhibition spaces such as museums or galleries, libraries, and cultural heritage sites." 

  In addition, seven major cultural and event organisations have sent a letter to Commissioner Thierry Breton, in charge of internal market, asking for an EU-wide approach to reactivate Europe’s cultural events and venues before the busiest period of the year. Reopening cultural events and venues is seen as a "make or break" time for authors and performers of artistic works.

Prepare for the new normal

   "Though we are still enveloped in this crisis, Europe’s cultural industries know the current situation will not last forever," reads the letter to Breton. "It is therefore imperative that we adapt and put in place suitable planning measures to prepare for our new normal." 

  Throughout Europe, the cultural sector and in particular the live event sector has been working with national and local governments "to find financial solutions for both creators and organisers," but the authors of the letter claim that current solutions "are not sustainable without political leadership and a clear vision to take coordinated steps at the European level." 

  Noting that only one other industry — air transport — has been hit as hard by the crisis as culture, and despite the rise of digital consumption, "digital has not saved culture," reads the letter. It continues: "Now is the time to start planning for how culture can play its part in saving Europe. There is no satisfactory recovery that does not include access to events where Europeans can embrace one another and revel in the euphoria of a shared cultural experience, under the necessary precautions of our new normality." 

On the road to resilience

  The signatories are asking for "a coordinated post-lockdown strategy for Europe’s cultural venues and events" and called upon Breton "to take the lead in this undertaking that will undoubtedly require the involvement of multiple ministries (culture, sports, health, economy, industry etc.) and the support of other EU Commissioners."

   They added: "We are ready to offer our expertise and experience to the European Commission’s efforts towards helping Europe adapt to the new normal and to develop guidelines for the safe resumption of activities, as projected in the recent Communication. This will allow us to unleash together what President Sassoli, writing in the EY study presented to you in January, called art’s ‘cathartic power that can accompany a post-pandemic society on the road to resilience’."

   Signatories include: AFEM – Association for Electronic Music; EAA – The European Arenas Association; GESAC – The European Grouping of Societies of Authors and Composers; LIVE DMA – European Network for Live Music Associations; Liveurope – The live music platform for new European talent; PEARLE – Live Performance Europe; and YOUROPE – The European Festival Association.

Need for support

   The letter is also a follow-up to a meeting Commissioner Breton had with a delegation from the creative industries led by GESAC in late January, after the launch of an EY study detailing the devastating impact the Covid-19 crisis has had on Europe’s creative economy. Commissioner Breton asked the delegation to return with concrete ideas and requests that his team could work on.

   GESAC General Manager Véronique Desbrosses, General Manager of GESAC, said the Commission "has taken a positive step in announcing that there will be EU-level coordination for live events. We, the signatories of this letter, are offering our collective expertise to Commissioner Breton, who we are asking to taking the lead, and who pledged his help towards finding a coordinated solution.”

   Added Audrey Guerre, Live DMA’s coordinator: “Live music venues, clubs and festivals are still in the middle of the crisis. We are very concerned about the mental health of the staff working in live music who have to continuously adapt with a lack of recognition by public authorities. We need to foresee what comes next. Venues, clubs and festivals are important spaces of socialisation which cannot be replaced by live streaming. This is why we call for a reopening under safe conditions, including amateur practices and educational activities. Music organisations need a financial and structural support until music venues and clubs activities go back to normal. More than ever, we must support our local music scenes." 

Reinvigorating  the  cultural  ecosystem

  Meanwhile, following the open letter titled “Make culture central in the EU recovery” published by 110 pan-European networks on 30 October 2020, the coalition has penned a new letter to national governments and the European Commission. In the second open letter, coordinated by Culture Action Europe, urging the European Commission to include culture in each and every National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) that EU countries should present to the European Commission before the 30 April deadline. 

  The representatives of the European cultural ecosystem urge governments to dedicate at least 2% of the Recovery Fund to culture and put culture as a priority sector when using funds from Next Generation EU.

  “Long-term structural support to rebuild the European cultural ecosystem needs to be co-developed, involving all relevant stakeholders, both public and private," reads the letter. 

  "Reinvigorating  the  cultural  ecosystem  not  only  offers  hope  to  millions  of  workers  who  saw  their  jobs eradicated or endangered by the pandemic, it can offer new meaning and purpose to all Europeans and the European project. Let us put culture at the heart of Europe’s recovery."