CISAC Calls for Support of Authors in Meeting with Ministry of Culture for the Republic of Bulgaria

CISAC Director General Gadi Oron urged Bulgarian institutions to stand behind and support authors if they want to see a future for creative industries.

The annual CISAC European Committee will be held for the first time in Sofia, Bulgaria on 6-7 April, 2016. Prior to the meeting, CISAC’s Director General Gadi Oron visited Bulgaria, meeting with the Minister of Culture of Bulgaria Vezhdi Rashidov as well as Council for Electronic Media (CEM) members.

Gadi Oron was accompanied by European Grouping of Author Societies (GESAC) General Manager Véronique Desbrosses, SPAutores (SPA) President and CISAC European Committee President José Jorge Letria, CISAC Regional Director for Europe Mitko Chatalbashev, Musicautor President Iassen Kozev, Musicautor CEO Ivan Dimitrov and Filmautor CEO Maria Palaurova.

“This is the biggest committee of CISAC, gathering more than 40 collective management societies and over 100 representatives”, said Gadi Oron to Minister Vezhdi Rashidov. He explained that nearly 30 million people worldwide are engaged in creative industries, which represents approximately 3% of global GDP.

Mr. Oron emphasized the role of creators in the economy, declaring that it is key for institutions to support authors if they want to see a thriving future for creative industries in Bulgaria.

The Minister of Culture agreed, noting that he is aware that other countries push culture to third or fourth place in terms of economic sector priorities. He highlighted that the development of culture is substantial not only for itself but also for society in general.

During the meeting with members of CEM, Mr. Oron commented, “I can’t accept that authors would not get their fair remuneration because some people are abusing the law”. He added that private companies should not finance their activities in exploiting creators in using their works without proper remuneration. “Creators should receive what they have earned after all,” said Mr. Oron. “At the moment, collective management societies in Bulgaria are in the position not to collect what they should and creators are not remunerated as they should. This is why they need the backing of the authorities.”

Ivan Dimitrov of Musicautor explained that Bulgaria is collecting approximately 8 times less than Croatia, for instance. The country is below the world average in collections per head of population.

The members of CEM agreed, specifying that an informational campaign including all industry stakeholders should be performed in order to create an understanding on the importance of copyright.