On 16-17 December, Eddie Schwartz, Co-Chair of Music Composers North America (MCNA) and President of the Songwriters Association of Canada (SAC), was invited to speak at the “International Conference on Online Music” jointly organised by the International Federation of Musicians (FIM) and the Musicians Union of Japan (MUJ).
Held at the United Nations University Centre in Tokyo, Japan, the conference lined up speakers from all over the world who gathered to address challenges, opportunities and new business models affecting music creators in the online environment.
Speaking at a panel titled “Towards Fair and Sustainable Online Business Models: The Views of the Respective Stakeholders Involved”, Schwartz presented on the Fair Trade Music initiative which CISAC’s International Council of Music Creators (CIAM) has been promoting over the past two years. He was joined in the discussion by IFPI Director Lauri Rechardt; Japanese Digital Music Blogger and Music Journalist Jay Kogami; SMF (Sweden) President Jan Granvik, and AEPO-ARTIS General Secretary Xavier Blanc. Panelists shared their views on whether and how new online models in music can be finetuned to create a fair business environment for all right holders. FIM General Secretary Benoît Machuel moderated the discussion.
During their stay in Japan, Eddie Schwartz and CISAC Director of Creators’ Relations Silvina Munich met with Japan Federation of Authors and Composers Associations (FCA) Secretary General Koichi Seki, JASRAC President and CIAM ExCo member Shunichi Tokurathe, JASRAC Head of International Department Satoshi Watanabe, and JASRAC membership department. These meetings were an opportunity to discuss further collaboration and next steps toward the creation of an Asia-Pacific Alliance.
(Reproduced from a report at cisac.org)
