Working Group Production

Chaired by Christine Semba, this group focused on how to improve conditions for Production (record companies, instruments/retail, music publishers) in music.

Funding and Business Models

  • Public and private sector funding should be combined as a powerful economic tool.
  • European funding for the music sector must involve long-term investment alongside funding for short-term projects accessible to a broad range of stakeholders.
  • Rather than be totally reliant on the marketplace, the industry should serve as a service provider for the creator.
  • Technological advances should be harnessed to ensure the availability of an attractive legal offer.
  • Obstacles to fair remuneration (i.e., piracy; lack of transparency in the value chain) and the value gap issue are priorities and must be addressed through legislation.
  • Information society services providers actively storing and providing access to copyrighted content should be obliged to conclude agreements with rightholders and take measures that safeguard the protection and proper remuneration of authors, performers and business and creative partners.
  • An EU music programme should be considered, which could cover various activities (production, but also touring, growing a business, etc.) – we see this as linked to fiscal and other incentives such as music-specific loan guarantee schemes.
  • The music sector itself should be educated on how the music industry works, to generate understanding, fairness and respect between each link in the chain.

Mobility and Diversity

  • Artist mobility should be encouraged and/or improved in order to support cultural diversity, one of sector’s traditional strengths in Europe.
  • The media (television, radio, internet) must recognise its increasingly important role in reflecting diversity, espiecally in regard to fosterin more European Synchs featuring European music and artists in European Audio-Visual Production, be it film, TV or advertising.
  • An EU study should be launched within the future EU music programme to assess diversity on offline and online media, with recommendations on what could be improved.
  • With live music/touring having become a major source of income and revenue, social issues for artists should be examined, particularly in certain Central and Eastern European countries where the music sector suffers from a lack of structure.
  • The transport of instruments should be regulated and facilitated.
  • VAT issues must be resolved for music products across Europe.