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Konferencja Stowarzyszenia Europejskiego Radia - wystąpienie Lidii Geringer de Oedenberg
W czwartek, 3 marca br., Poseł Lidia Geringer de Oedenberg uczestniczyła w konferencji zorganizowanej przez Stowarzyszenie Europejskiego Radia (AER, Associaction des radios europeennes) z okazji 20-lecia działalności w Brukseli. Stowarzyszenie skupia radia komercyjne, głównie lokalne i regionalne z całej UE. Poniżej tekst wystąpienia w j. angielskim: Collective rights management of authors' and neighbouring rights-Why Commercial Radios need EU action. Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to be here today to speak on the 20th Anniversary of the Association of European Radios. Forgive me for not revealing which are my favourite radio stations, as I don't want to make any advertisements. But I can assure you that I am a big fan of radio and I listen to it both in Belgium and in Poland. Let me begin with a few points concerning the importance of radio in promoting cultural diversity in Europe. As a channel of communication, radio plays an important role in this field, for instance by introducing young, unknown, local artists to a wider public. Radio stations are in general focused on regional or national cultural content, and also on domestic talent. Therefore, young musicians very often receive their first professional exposure through a supportive radio station. Therefore, radio as such actively contributes to one of the pillars of European culture - its diversity. Having said that, radio, as other traditional means of communication, is faced with the challenge of competing with new media (such as social media, online services, etc). To keep up with the competition it must come up with new and creative ideas to attract and reach its audience. It does so, for example, by offering new services online, like programme streaming or on demand services. However, in order to offer these new, innovative services which are expected by their listeners, the radio industry must have easy and affordable access to the global music repertoire. This is where I come to the key point of this debate: collective management of music rights. Let's be honest: the reform of collective rights management is a difficult one, as many interests are at stake. On the one hand we have well established business models for music distribution and broadcasting, on the other hand, there is a downstream pressure on new solutions to be proposed, especially in the online environment. However, despite the many difficulties which this reform faces, it is a necessary one. The EU must create a friendly legislative environment for all stakeholders involved in this field: rights holders, users and consumers, in order to allow all of them to take advantage of the information society and the single market online. While I am not able to comment on the European Commission's proposal for collective rights management, as it has not been published yet, I would like to express my personal opinion about the main points which the European Parliament should defend: 1. (One) Simplification of licensing 2. (Two) Transparency 3. (Three) Competition Firstly: simplification of licensing. We need to ensure that EU-wide solutions simplify (rather than complicate) mechanisms of rights clearance for both retail and broadcasting of music. Simple and affordable solutions for licensing will translate into a wider legal offer of radio programmes playing and promoting music, and more choice for listeners. In this respect I am not certain whether it is possible to separate offline and online music licensing for broadcasting use, which is different from the retail business model. For example: if I was a radio manager, I would like to be able to pay once for a licence to broadcast music both offline and online and, depending on my audience, also on a multi-territorial basis. Today radio stations which want to make their programmes available on the internet are required to get authorisations from over 50 different bodies, to cover the whole EU territory! Of course, pan-European radio, focused at a pan-European audience would be a rare case, if only for linguistic reasons. However, in the year 2011 every radios programme needs to be available online if an information society for modern, mobile European citizens is to be more than just an empty word. For this to happen, radio needs simplified licensing rules. Secondly, transparency In order to create a "level playing field" for all stakeholders interested in broadcasting or selling music online we need to introduce certain EU-wide mechanisms in terms of transparency. I'm thinking specifically about the functioning of collecting societies. They are very important market players with a long tradition and we have to listen to them while shaping the reform. However, certain EU-wide requirements should be established. For example: publication of transparent tariffs, providing information on how much money goes to rights holders and how much is spent on administration or publication of licensing conditions. This is not "against" anyone, but it is necessary for the sane functioning of the market, and in the interest of both rights holders and rights users. Thirdly, competition based on quality of service. It might be surprising to hear, that a socialist member of the EP calls for more competition. However, I'm convinced that a certain level of competition between collecting societies, based on the quality of service, would result in more efficiency. Since 2005 artists have, in theory, some freedom in choosing their collecting society. But from what I heard, in practice, the quality of service has not always gone up. And this is what both users and artists often complain about. For example, I was quite surprised to learn that when it comes to royalties for playing their music abroad, in some cases artists have to wait up to 3 years until they receive the money. And this is my final point: artists EU reform on collective rights management will not be legitimate without a real involvement of authors, composers and artists, as without them, there would be no collective management at all! EU reform should give these rights holders a more advantageous negotiating position towards collecting societies, give them freedom in choosing their partners and better follow-up on how their rights are managed. In this context, you might be surprised to find out that according to a survey carried out by a Belgian association of artists called Younison, 89% of artists questioned didn't know about the planned reform. The remaining 11% have learnt it from the media and not from their collecting societies. Personally, I think this is a paradox. I would therefore like to take advantage of the fact that many radio professionals are present today, and extend my call to you to take an active role in the debate on the collective management of rights. Please, speak about this reform on the radio! This can, in my opinion, be advantageous to all interested parties. Many artists are not afraid to go digital and they will support EU solutions which make their music more easily accessible to their fans. In the end this is what radio has traditionally done. Thank you for your attention! |
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