Agreement on collective management of copyright great news for cultural and creative industries and digital single market

"I welcome the agreement reached with the Council on the collective management of copyright. This directive improves the functioning of collecting societies (for example SACEM in France, PRS for Music in the UK, GEMA in Germany) ensuring the active participation of creators in the governance of their activities. It also enhances the Digital Single Market by simplifying the online offer of music services throughout Europe," said French MEP Marielle Gallo, the European Parliament's Rapporteur on the text.

The text meets the two main political goals Marielle Gallo had set when starting negotiations: "On the one hand, protecting the interests of our artists and designers by ensuring them adequate remuneration, which is fundamental to safeguarding cultural diversity. On the other hand, allowing access to cultural content for all citizens across Europe by facilitating the licensing of copyrighted work, but also in setting in stone the principle of non- commercial licenses".

By simplifying pan-European licensing of musical works and reducing transaction costs for users such as Spotify, the directive on collective rights management contributes to the completion of the Digital Single Market and is fully in line with the conclusions of the European Council of 25 October 2013, which focused on the digital economy. "This directive offers new proof that copyright can easily adapt to the digital age," Marielle Gallo concluded.