Tuesday, June 22, 2021

SACEM elects new Chair of the board and announces additional support measures

By Emmanuel Legrand

The Board of Directors of French rights society SACEM has elected French composer Patrick Sigwalt (pictured, below) as Chairman at the general assembly of the authors' society held on June 15. He succeeds music publisher Bruno Lion, MD of peermusic France, who held the position for two years. 

 
 The Chair is chosen by the Board of Directors for a one-year term, renewable once. Sigwalt had been a member of the SACEM board since 2019. A third of the seats on the board were up for renewal, and the general assembly elected Christine Lidon (author), Serge Perathoner (composer), Valérie Foray (publisher), Thomas Jamois (publisher), France Monot-Fortin (publisher), Marion Sarraut (author-director), Marie-Jeanne Serero (composer) and Frédéric Zeitoun (author). They will serve for a three-year mandate.

Break the isolation

  In the wake of the AGM, SACEM announced a series of measure to help its members navigate through the aftermath of the Covid crisis, which included a 3.5 million allocation for the relief fund supporting SACAM members, bringing the funds to a total of 13.5m since the start of the crisis. The programme has helped so far 11,000 authors, composers and publishers.

  In addition, to "break the isolation and to develop exchanges, collaborations, the professional network, its daily community and supporting the careers of music creators," SACEM has launched SACEM Plus, a new platform accessible for free, where members can find content adapted to their professional needs, create their profile and consult those of the wider community, and additional perks. 

  To reach out to younger members, SACEM is setting up an online membership service which will allow registration with lower membership fees (€100 for authors or composers against €154 previously, and  300 for publishers against €500 previously).

The most fragile in the creative chain

  SACEM has also agreed to extend until September 2021 the exceptional livestreams scheme to remunerate songwriters and composers whose works are featured in livestreams.

  SACEM is also strengthening its support action by providing advice and support through the creation of a cultural engineering office to support its members in the development of their projects. SACEM has also bookmarked €700,000 to support bars, restaurants, hotels and discotheques and help them organise musical events with artists or DJs.

  “Authors, composers and music publishers, the first link in the creative chain, are also the most fragile," commented Sigwalt. "They are among the professionals hardest hit by the crisis, and their drop in income will extend into 2022, if not beyond."

Achieve lasting resilience

  SACEM CEO Jean-Noël Tronc said SACEM will continue to provide emergency support to authors, composers and music publishers in the months to come "until the return to full activity once again allows those who make us dream, to make a living from their creative work." 

  He added that the measures taken by SACEM were designed to provide "more accessible, even more practical, even more adapted services, to enable them to overcome isolation and precariousness and to lead their career with success." He also said SACEM is also "taking action to meet the challenges that will allow the sector to achieve lasting resilience."

Two French news organisations – the National Federation of the Specialised Information Press (FNPS) and the Syndicate of the Independent Online Information Press (SPIIL) – have joined the initiative from the Syndicate of Magazine Press Publishers (SEPM) to create, with the support of rights society SACEM, a dedicated collective management organisation to collect and distribute the proceeds from the neighbouring right on news content. Alain Augé, president of SEPM, welcomed the arrival of both organisation to the project, which will strengthened the effectiveness of the new collective. "Collective management ensures equal conditions for all, transparency, and performance in negotiations,' said SACEM CEO Jean-Noel Tronc.



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