AI and new technology top the agenda at CISAC’s General Assembly in Sofia
CISAC’s 2025 General Assembly gathered together no fewer than 100 member societies in Sofia. Hosted by member music society MUSICAUTOR, the meeting united creators, CEOs, leaders and legal and policy experts in discussions on safeguarding creators’ rights, encouraging new income streams, improving data management and reinforcing copyright legislation around the world.
In a packed 5-day agenda including the one-day GA, meetings with the Bulgarian Prime Minister and MEPs, a first-ever CISAC/CIAM Creators’ Day and regional meetings, two key issues – AI and CISAC’s technology workstreams – took the lead in discussions. Strong support was also brought to the advocacy of Bulgaria’s members, pressing for an effective regime on private copying and a stronger copyright and enforcement framework.
The first GA to take place in Bulgaria drew attention to the cultural richness of the country, renowned for its classical and folk music artists and internationally accomplished film directors and producers. Despite its potential as a growing creative economy, Bulgaria underperforms in collections for creators, held back by weak rights enforcement, lack of a priority focus on copyright and weakness in its legal framework.
The Guardians of Value: CISAC President Björn Ulvaeus
Björn Ulvaeus opened the meeting with a pre-recorded keynote speech marking his sixth year as CISAC President. “Our job is fighting for creators’ rights across every channel and revenue stream where creative works are used. Our jobs are to be the guardians of value.”
Looking back two years to his speech at the Mexico City GA of 2023, he plotted the rapid evolution of the AI/copyright debate and warned of the urgency of societies’ lobbying efforts in the year ahead. In two short years, discussions and debate have shifted to concrete legal and policy proposals in many jurisdictions.
CISAC’s President emphasised, “All we are asking from policy makers is that creators’ rights are not cast aside in a visionless, misguided rush to claim supremacy in the AI world.
This approach won’t work. It will undermine the foundations of the creative sector and stop the livelihoods of creators. And, equally, it will not deliver economic benefits for the tech society, or our wider societies.
There are countries which, in varying degrees, are looking to legislate on a misguided assumption that copyright must be weakened in order to create the investment conditions and realise the economic potential of new technology. This is the measure of our challenge.”
AI was not the only focus of CISAC’s President. Turning to Bulgaria, he thanked policy makers working to support creators while drawing attention to ways of improving the market landscape in the host country market. Legal reforms are needed, including adopting fair broadcasting tariffs; ensuring audiovisual creators are remunerated when their works are retransmitted on digital networks; and adopting an effective private copying remuneration system.
A year of advancements and achievements: CISAC DG
CISAC Director General Gadi Oron began his keynote also with a focus on the home market.
Bulgaria “has more than 1,300 years of history that has left an extraordinary cultural legacy”. Local societies MUSICAUTOR and FILMAUTOR work diligently in a market posing several challenges. CISAC’s DG said, “We are committed to helping them improve and also to support them in their lobbying to fix the copyright framework here, so they can collect more.”
Oron gave an overview of CISAC’s priorities and recent workstreams during an extremely active year. Projects include lobbying in multiple jurisdictions on AI, publishing the first global economic study on the impact, battling against proposed exemptions in AI legislation in the UK, maintaining advocacy in the EU and combatting fraudulent registration of works.
He focused in particular, on the progress made with CISAC’s upgrade of CIS-Net. “CIS-Net 2 is designed to deliver new efficiencies, improved speed, and eliminate duplications. Progress has also been made on engaging partners to use the ISWC identifier code.”
CISAC Board: tributes to Marcelo Castello Branco and Javier Guttierez
In a year bringing a newly-elected CISAC Board (see below), the DG also paid tribute to the achievements of the outgoing Board, including steering CISAC through the pandemic, revising its services, overseeing the transfer of CIS-Net, advising the expansion of ISWC, and leading the charge on AI.
He concluded with a homage to Marcello Castello Branco, who “can move mountains, build bridges and bring people together”, and Board member Javier Guttierez for his “remarkable contribution to CISAC’s work” for over 20 years representing the interest of visual art societies.
Strength rooted in global presence: outgoing CISAC Board Chair
Marcelo Castello Branco spoke to the Confederation’s global network in his final speech after six years as CISAC Board Chair. Local societies like MUSICAUTOR and FILMAUTOR may be small, but “It’s essential to acknowledge the importance of these smaller societies within our network and help them accelerate their timeframe for consolidation."
"Not every market is significant, and not every society has a long history; however, our strength is increasingly rooted in our global presence. Small and medium-sized societies are crucial in ensuring that creators’ works are protected everywhere in the world. I know that by heart, coming from Latin America as I do.”
Ensuring human art “will become the most valuable art”: MUSICAUTOR Board Chair
MUSICAUTOR Chairman Iassen Kozev has helped MUSICAUTOR navigate local challenges and “difficult conversations” in Bulgaria for the past 12 years. In his welcoming speech he stressed the need for the unity provided by the CISAC community.
Today is “a time when origin and affiliation no longer matter”, said the Chairman. “It is exceptionally important to meet, converse, and build together the common future of artists worldwide.”
MUSICAUTOR’s Chairman rallied the CISAC community, “The creative industries will face very difficult competition, not among themselves, but with technology. I believe that if we use our common resources, we will see the moment when art created by humans will become the most valuable art.”
Election of the new 2025-2028 CISAC Board
The CISAC GA saw the announcement of the 2025-2028 CISAC Board of Directors election results with APRA AMCOS CEO Dean Ormston elected as Chair. VG Bild-Kunst Director General Urban Pappi and SOCAN CEO Jennifer Brown were elected as Vice Chairs.
In addition, three new societies were elected to join the CISAC Board: KODA (Denmark), SGAE (Spain) and DACS (UK).
Dean Ormston is only the second Australian to take the Chair role in CISAC’s 99-year history. “Being elected Chair of the CISAC Board at such a pivotal moment for creators worldwide is an honour. As the creative economy enters a new era shaped by AI and global digitalisation, the opportunity to secure a fair and thriving future for creators has never been greater.”
The 2025-2028 Board of Directors is comprised of:
- Dean Ormston, Chairperson (APRA AMCOS, Australia)
- Jennifer Brown, Vice-Chair (SOCAN, Canada)
- Urban Pappi, Vice-Chair (VG Bild-Kunst, Germany)
- András Szinger (ARTISJUS, Hungary)
- Elizabeth Matthews (ASCAP, USA)
- Christian Zimmermann (DACS, UK)
- Ricardo Gómez Cabaleiro (DAMA, Spain)
- Tobias Holzmüller (GEMA, Germany)
- Kazumasa Izawa (JASRAC, Japan)
- Gorm Arildsen (KODA, Denmark)
- Ga Yeoul Chu (KOMCA, Republic of Korea)
- Andrea Czapary Martin (PRS for Music, UK)
- Patrick Raude (SACD, France)
- Cécile Rap Veber (SACEM, France)
- Roberto Cantoral Zucchi (SACM, Mexico)
- Guillermo Ocampo (SADAIC, Argentina)
- Annabell Lebethe (SAMRO, South Africa)
- Cristina Perpiñá-Robert Navarro (SGAE, Spain)
- Matteo Fedeli (SIAE, Italy)
- Marcelo Castello Branco (UBC, Brazil)
Panels: AI, fraudulent registrations and developing markets
Panels explored if, and how, AI or AI-assisted works could be registered; how to identify and address fraudulent works in the era of AI; advocacy and litigation activities in the major jurisdictions around the world; and a deep dive into the challenges faced in Central and Eastern Europe.
In AI works registration and addressing fraud, how should societies manage AI or AI-assisted works registration and growing incidences of fraudulent AI material on music platforms? CISAC Director of Business Sylvain Piat moderated a discussion examining what should qualify for copyright, how or if an AI or AI-assisted work can be registered, and how various regions and societies are approaching this today. A rise in fraudulent material using AI-generated content on streaming platforms drew attention to Deezer declaring that 20% of uploaded tracks are AI-generated material. Panellists included Rutger Van Rompaey (BUMA-STEMRA), Soo Ho Park (KOMCA) Emer Villalobos (SACM), Cécile Rap-Veber (SACEM) and Nathalie Birocheau (Ircam Amplify).
CISAC societies are fighting a battle to prevent creators’ rights from being “thrown under the bus”. The AI regulation and litigation panel examined various situations in major markets. Discussions revealed different approaches from policy makers in developing legislation on AI, pointed out the importance of litigation and called for the need for relentless advocacy to protect the creative sector and the rights of creators. Moderated by CISAC Director of Legal and Policy Constance Herreman Follain, panellists included Tobias Holzmuller (GEMA), Marie-Anne Ferry Fall (ADAGP), Dean Ormston (APRA AMCOS), John Mottram (PRS for Music), and Mitch Glazier (RIAA).
Central and Eastern Europe is in a constant balancing act among differing market and governing realities. How do we navigate diverse visions of copyright, regulation, and collective management? Moderated by CISAC Regional Director for Europe Mitko Chatalbashev, the final panel brought key insights into Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and the region as a whole. Romana Matanovac Vučković (University of Zagreb), Mariana Andreeva (Outside counsel for MUSICAUTOR), András Szinger (ARTISJUS), Karol Kościński (ZAiKS) and Bodgdan Ficeac (DACIN-SARA) shared their expertise of supporting creators in their respective challenging markets.
Meeting with Prime Minister on AI and copyright
Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Dimitrov Zhelyazkov welcomed a delegation from CISAC, MUSICAUTOR and FILMAUTOR following the Assembly.
There was much to discuss with the government on how to strengthen creators’ rights and improve the legislative landscape to ensure creators are respected and fairly remunerated.
The discussions ranged from the safeguarding of creators rights in the AI age to the need for an effective private copying regime which is currently lacking in Bulgaria. CISAC Director General Gadi Oron and Regional Director for Central and Eastern Europe Mitko Chatalbashev joined MUSICAUTOR CEO Ivan Dimitrov, FILMAUTOR’s President, Stanislav Todorov and CEO Maria Palaurova.
Earlier CISAC’s Presidency and DG met with members of the Bulgarian parliament for further discussions on changes of copyright legislation – thanks as always for your support, CISAC Vice-Presidents Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Arturo Marquez and Kazuhiko Fukuoji.
Global CISAC community backs Bulgarian creators
During the General Assembly, CISAC delegates from across the globe stood in an extraordinary sign of solidarity with Bulgarian creators in a show of support in their efforts to secure respect, fair remuneration, and creators’ rights. The international community stands with you and our member societies MUSICAUTOR and FILMAUTOR.