On 21 November 2017, the partners in the FAIR INTERNET Campaign with the support of AEPO-ARTIS member GVL held a German Media Briefing at the Renaissance Hotel in Brussels.

Entitled “Wird die Reform der Urheberrechtsrichtlinie eine gerechte Behandlung der deutschen Künstler in der Online-Welt gewährleisten?”, the event featured contributions from the German performer Miu (http://miu-music.de/), Florian Richter (Chairman of Dachorganisation der Musikschaffenden e.V.), Gerald Mertens (Managing Director of Deutsche Orchestervereinigung) and Tilo Gerlach (President of AEPO-ARTIS).

It provided an opportunity for the speakers to share their views on the current reform of the EU copyright directive and its impact on performers in Germany and the rest of the EU. Following the event, particpants enjoyed an exclusive live acoustic performance from Miu.

German actor Hans Werner Meyer, starring in over 120 film and TV productions in Germany, and the FAIR INTERNET Coalition, representing over 500,000 professional performers across Europe, formally delivered today the “Make the Internet Fair for Performers” petition to Axel Voss MEP, rapporteur on the review of the Copyright Directive in the European Parliament.

The petition, supported by more than 33,000 signatories, calls on the European Parliament to grant EU performers an unwaivable right to fair remuneration for the on-demand use of their work.

While handing the petition over to MEP Axel Voss, Hans Werner Meyer stated “I encourage the European Parliament to continue supporting the rights of all performers. Performers are at the heart of Europe’s cultural identity and they must be able to make a decent living from their work. The EU draft copyright directive is an opportunity to make it right, and I count on the European Parliament’s support“.

Axel Voss MEP accepted the petition and said: “We will discuss the remuneration right in the next shadow-meeting. Seen the high importance of this topic, I hope for a fruitful discussion that can lead us to a balanced approach”.

 

A FAIR INTERNET Coalition statement published following the handover of the petition is available here: FAIR INTERNET Coalition Statement