The European Composer and Songwriter Alliance (ECSA) is an international non-profit organization established in 2008 and registered under Belgian law with an office in the European House for Culture, Flagey, Brussels.
ECSA is formed by the three main genre specific federations of composers in Europe: the Alliance of Popular Music Composers of Europe (APCOE), the European Composers Forum (ECF) and the Federation of Film and Audiovisual Composers of Europe (FFACE). It is composed by 36 organizations of composers and songwriters in 29 European countries and represents therefore over 12.000 European music creators. Its principal aim is to ensure effective protection of music authors at highest level before the European Institutions (Commission

European Commission

The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....

, Council

European Council

The European Council is an institution of the European Union. It comprises the heads of state or government of the EU member states, along with the President of the European Commission and the President of the European Council, currently Herman Van Rompuy...

, Parliament

European Parliament

The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

 and Economic and Social Committee) and before international institutions such as WIPO, Council of Europe

Council of Europe

The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...

, WTO and Unesco

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

.

Principal aims

ECSA believes in the cooperation with the European and international institutions in charge
of the drafting and implementation of European and international legislation concerning
music authors rights, in order to defend and promote music authors’ rights at national,
European and international levels.

Based on the following three principles -

1. Fair conditions of Intellectual property
   Intellectual property
   Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
   
    and the administration of Rights in European and global context;
2. Freedom of choice for creators in the administration of their rights;
3. Just, stable and transparent European legal framework for the benefit of all professional music composers and songwriters, and not hindering creative processes;

- this means:

1. joining the efforts of European music authors organizations and/or federations in order to ensure that the voice of music creators is duly taken into account both at the European and international level;
2. protecting and defending music creators’ rights both at the European and international level;
3. reinforcing the perception of the cultural and economic value of music in Europe and the world;
4. creating and inspiring European and international politicians and regulators to encourage the creation of new music of all kind;
5. actively supporting the principle and development of copyright (“droit d’auteur”) and defending the collective management of authors’ rights; substantially contributing to the work of the European Union and UNESCO on the “Statut de l’Artiste” and the “Déclaration sur la diversité culturelle;”
6. creating fair commercial conditions for all the music authors and composers and encouraging the adoption of “codes of conduct” in order to ensure the social and economic development of music creation in Europe.

Activities

Its activities to achieve these purpose are the following:

1. organizing meetings with EU and international decision-makers in order to promote and defend music composers’ and songwriters’ rights;
2. drafting legal documents to defend and promote authors’ rights both at the EU and international level;
3. liaising with other right holders and user representative organisations;
4. representing the Association during EU and international conferences which are relevant to the Association’s activities;
5. representing the Association during music and audiovisual festivals and other cultural events;
6. organizing events to promote the awareness of the importance and the value of music

of all kind both at the cultural and economic level and any other activity in order to achieve the purposes of the Association as decided by the Board of Directors.

These activities are being carried out by means of a strong cultural, economic, technological
and legal cooperation, with a spirit of international collaboration and mutual aid between the
Members of the Confederation.

Structure

The General Assembly of ECSA meets three or four times in a year, which meetings usually coincide with meetings of the pillars, and is called in by the Praesidium. The General Assembly consists of 4 representatives of each of the three pillars that form ECSA. One of the four Assemblies is the regular Annual General Assembly as defined in the Statutes while further Assemblies
are extraordinary General Assemblies. In addition to the members of the General Assembly it has become customary for any other member of a pillar who so desires to attend it as an observer.
Following issues are exclusively reserved to the responsibility of the General Assembly:

1. Approbation of the annual report
2. Examination and approbation of the annual budget and accounting
3. Discharge of administrators and if so, commissars
4. Modification of the statutes
5. Voluntary dissolution of the association

Committees

The General Assembly establishes also committees in order to address specific issues that can benefit from creators’ attention. One important concern to the creators’ community is the issue of coercive publishing.
To address this issue, ECSA established a Coercion Committee which is currently formed by following delegates:

• Örjan Strandberg (Chairman) - Scandinavia
• John Groves - Germany
• Lorenzo Ferrero
  Lorenzo Ferrero
  Lorenzo Ferrero is a contemporary Italian composer with a predilection for opera, a librettist, author, and book editor. He started composing at an early age and wrote over a hundred compositions thus far, including twelve operas, three ballets, and numerous orchestral, chamber music, solo...
  
   - Italy
• Chris Smith - UK
• Jean-Marie Moreau - France
• Luis Ivars - Spain
• Loek Dikker - Holland

Executive board

Executive Chairman: Alfons Karabuda (Chairman of the Alliance of Popular Composer Organization of Europe – APCOE)

Chairman: Klaus Ager

Klaus Ager

Klaus Ager is an Austrian composer and conductor.Ager studied at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. From 1975 to 1986 he directed the Österreichische Ensemble für Neue Musik . In 1977 he founded the ASPEKTE-FESTIVAL, which celebrated its thirtieth anniversary in 2006...

(Chairman of the European Composers Forum - ECF)

Chairman: Bernard Grimaldi (Vice-Chairman of the Federation of Film and Audiovisual Composers in Europe – FFACE)

Spokesperson: Patrick Rackow

Secretary General: Patrick Ager

External links

• ECSA Resolution on the management of authors' rights
• European Composer & Songwriter Alliance ECSA website
• European Composers' Forum ECF website
• Federation of Film and Audiovisual Composers of Europe FFACE website