Working Group Media

Chaired by Silja Fischer, this working group dealt with media as the nexus between artistic creation and audiences. Media encompasses production, promotion, communication and distribution. Its stakeholders include public and private radio and television, print media, publishers, online platforms, offline platforms and social media platforms.

Diversity

  • Keep the focus on public interest: public and private broadcasters must reflect musical diversity within a country
  • Regulate the current dysfunctional market in order to break the trend towards homogenisation and monopoly, and foster a fair, open and harmonised market instead
  • Ensure a healthy market ecology in which self-made products are available alongside the big “superstars”
  • Regulate unfair competition (in terms of marketing and branding) to allow space for a variety of products
  • Move away from a purely market-driven approach to ensure musical diversity

Cooperation

  • Foster cooperation between music publishers and collective societies
  • Encourage harmonisation among EU countries
  • Foster a cross-subsidy approach through a healthy connection to market-driven activity

Access

  • Promote media literacy among users, audiences and professionals alike: i.e., interactive media use should form part of a musician’s training as preparation for a sustainable career
  • Improve access of artists, managers and producers to public broadcasters
  • Reduce disparity among public broadcasters in Europe
  • Widen the range of information published in general print media
  • Encourage policy intervention for Public Service Media (catch-up, on-demand services) regarding rights interpretation (i.e., the duration of material online, available online offer, etc.), funding (changes to license fees putting pressure on PSMs) and regulatory limitations (e.g., the permission to operate on the internet).
  • Maintain a readiness and capacity to adapt to future technological developments