European Composer and Songwriter Alliance

The European Composer and Songwriter Alliance (ECSA) is an international, nonprofit organization.[1] It is made up of 45 associations of composers and songwriters from all over Europe. It represents around 23,000 composers in twenty[2] different European countries. It was founded in 2007 and is co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.

European Composer and Songwriter Alliance
AbbreviationECSA
Formation7 March 2007 (2007-03-07)
HeadquartersBrussels, Belgium
Key people
Alfons Karabuda (President)
Patrick Ager (Secretary General)
Websitecomposeralliance.org

The company is organized by three general committees based on music genre (popular music, art & contemporary music, and film & audio-visual music) and the current president is Alfons Karabuda.[3]

History

The foundation for ECSA was laid on 4 February 2006 when a group of 100 composers from over 30 European Countries met at the European Composers' Congress at Musikverein in Vienna to sign a letter of intent in order to create a "Federation of European Composers Association".[4] On 7 March 2007, three associations, the Alliance of Popular Composer Organizations in Europe (APCOE), European Composers' Forum (ECF), and the Federation of Film and Audio-visual Composers of Europe (FFACE), came together in Madrid to form the European Composer and Songwriting Alliance (ECSA).[5]

Structure

ECSA is organized into three committees based on music genre: the Alliance of Popular Music Composers of Europe (APCOE), the European Composers Forum (ECF), and the Federation of Film and Audiovisual Composers of Europe (FFACE). The ECSA board is made up of 9 members, three from each of the committees. The current president, chosen from these 9 members, is Alfons Karabuda from the APCOE committee. The ECSA office (ECSA Secretariat), located in Brussels, Belgium, is an administrative office that handles day-to-day business.

Events

Creators Conference

The Creators Conference is an annual European Forum that brings the members of ECSA together along with European policy makers and music industry representatives to discuss important issues and events relevant to the creators of European music, such as fair contracts, remuneration, and the EU Copyright Framework.[6] The first conference was held in 2012 and continued during the years of 2013 and 2015. In 2012, ECSA and the Creators Conference were presented the Visit Brussels Award as International Congress 2012.[7] The 2015 Creators Conference began on February 23 with an opening concert. The conference commenced the following day with panelists discussing fair contracts, remuneration, and EU copyright law. Speakers included composer Michael Price, MEP Julie Ward, and UN Special Rappateur in the field of cultural rights Farida Shaheed.[8]

Cannes Festival

ECSA hosts their own event, European Film Music Days, at the Cannes Film Festival in France during which they work with partners such as the Federation of European Film Directors (FERA) and Soundtrack Cologne in order to promote the rights of Film directors. ECSA sometimes participates in workshops with young composers at Cannes as well.

And also ECSA, joint to Biggest International campaign Freemuse for Iranian musician Mehdi Rajabian and his brother filmmaker Hossein Rajabian, he was signed by the following of the ARJ group.[9][10]

Complaint against broadcasters

In February 2012, ECSA announced that they had filed a formal complaint with the European Union competition law authorities against Europe's largest broadcasters stating that they coerce composers into signing unfair publishing agreements and therefore violate fair competition as well as diminish the earnings of these creators.[11][12] ECSA and the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA), one of ECSA's key members, proclaimed that broadcasters persuade composers to sign less than fair contracts unless they want to receive no commission for their work. They called this practice "coercive commissioning",[13] and stated that it was "a malignant growing business practice in the audio-visual and media productions sectors". Finally, ECSA acknowledged the financial impact that this practice has on creators and that any continuation of it must be halted immediately. This formal complaint caused a solidarity agreement between other relevant organizations and ECSA and resulted in an extensive study released by the European Parliament (Contractual Arrangements Applicable to Creators: Law and Practice of Selected Member states).

Members
CountryMember Organization
AustriaÖsterreichischer Komponistenbund (ÖKB)
BelgiumForum des Compositeurs (FdC);Union des Compositeurs Belges (UBC)
CroatiaHrvatsko drustvo skladatelja (HDS)
DenmarkDanske Jazz-, Beat- og Folkemusik Autorer (DJBFA);Danske Populærautorer (DPA);Danks Komponistforening;Brancheklubben for film – og mediekomponister (BFM)
FinlandSäveltäjät ja sanoittajat Elvis;Suomen Säveltäjät ry (SSR)
FranceSyndicat National des Auteurs et des Compositeurs (SNAC);Union des Compositeurs de Musique de Film (UCMF);Union Nationale des Auteurs et des Compositeurs (UNAC)
GermanyComposers Club (CC);Deutscher Komponistenverband (DKV);Deutscher Textdichter Verband (DTV)
GreeceHellenic Union of Composers and Authors (EMSE)
HungaryHungarian Composer Union
IcelandFélag Tónskálda og Textahöfunda (FTT);Tónskáldafélag Íslands
IrelandIrish Association of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (IASCA);Association of Irish Composers (AIC)
ItalyUnione Nazionale Compositori Librettisti Autori (UNCLA)
LatviaLatvian Composers Union (LCU)
Luxembourg Fédération Luxembourgeoise des Auteurs et Compositeurs (FLAC)
MacedoniaComposer's Association of Macedonia (SOKOM)
The NetherlandsGenootschap van Nederlandse componisten (New GENECO);Beroepsvereniging Componisten MultiMedia (BCMM);Verening Componisten en Tekstdichers Ntb (VCTN)
NorwayForening for norske komponister og tekstforfattere (NOPA);Norwegian Society of Composers
PolandZwiazek Polskich Autorow i Kompozytorow (ZAKR);Zwiazek Kompozytorow Polskich (ZKP)
RomaniaThe Union of Composers and Musicologists of Romania (UCMR)
SerbiaUdruzenje kompozitora Srbije (CAS)
SloveniaDrustvo Slovenskih Skladateljev (DSS);Slovenska unija glasbenih ustvarjalcev (SUGU)
SpainMusimagen;Autores de Musica Asociados (AMA);Asociacion de Compositores y autores de Musica (ACAM);Federacion de Asociaciones Ibericas de Compositores (FAIC);Federación de Músicos Asociados (FEMA)
SwedenSvenska Kompositörer Av Populärmusik (SKAP);Föreningen Svenska Tonsättares (FST)
United KingdomThe British Academy of Songwriters, Composers & Authors (BASCA);The Society for Producers and Composers of Applied Music (PCAM)

Collaboration with other organizations

ECSA collaborates both within Europe and overseas with the Human Rights Council of the Unites Nations, the society of Composers and Lyricists (SLC), the Songwriters Association of Canada, and the International Music Council.

See also

References
  1. "European Composer and Songwriter Alliance" (PDF). Vesalius College.
  2. "World Creators Summit: About Us". World Creators Summit. CISAC. Archived from the original on 2015-05-18. Retrieved 2016-01-11.
  3. "European Composer and Songwriter Alliance". Open Rights Group.
  4. "Basement laid to found a "Federation of European Composers`Associations"". Österreichischer Komponistenbund (ÖKB). Archived from the original on 2017-02-22. Retrieved 2015-03-26.
  5. Stahmer, Frank. "Musikmagazin – Neues vom österreichischen Musikgeschehen". Music Austria. Music Austria. Archived from the original on 2015-05-20. Retrieved 2015-03-26.
  6. Fromer, Bob. "Update on ECSA Creators' Conference & General Assembly: Brussels, 22–23 February". PCAM. PCAM.
  7. "Creators Conference". visit.brussels. Archived from the original on 2015-02-24. Retrieved 2015-03-26.
  8. "European Music Council News". European Music Council. 2014-12-04. Retrieved 2016-01-11.
  9. "Iran: Two musicians and a filmmaker sentenced". Freemuse. Archived from the original on 2017-08-28. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
  10. "ARJ carries an International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran".
  11. "European Composers File Complaint Against Broadcasters". Federation of European Film Directors.
  12. "BBC, ITV, Sky Accused of Coercing European Composers To Give Up Copyright". billboardbiz. Associated Press.
  13. (BBC News, 2012) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-17207980
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