Open letter to the EU Commission
Cultural professionals from Europe are appealing to Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in an open letter. They want online platforms such as YouTube to give authors a fair share of their revenues. The appeal can be supported online.
The list of signatories is long and varied. They include Mark Andre, Helmut Lachenmann, Moritz Eggert, Siegfried Matthus, Enno Poppe, Enjott Schneider, Charlotte Seither and Ralf Weigand, among many others.
Composers and lyricists criticize online platforms that either do not pay authors at all or pay them significantly less than they deserve. They are appealing to the European Commission to "close legal loopholes that operators have been able to hide behind".
GESAC, the umbrella organization of European collecting societies, has launched an online petition that authors and other supporters can sign. GEMA welcomes the Europe-wide protest campaign and calls on the composers and lyricists it represents, as well as all other cultural and creative professionals, to support the appeal to the European Commission.
More info: www.makeinternetfair.eu
