It is becoming more and more important for the European and international environment to be taken into account when considering the protection of performer’s rights. Pursuant to this idea SPEDIDAM and several European organisations managing performers’ rights created the Association of European Performers Organisations, (AEPO) in 1994.

In 2004, AEPO became AEPO-ARTIS, incorporating almost all the organisations managing performers’ rights in Europe, i.e. 28 organisations in 22 different countries. With its offices in Brussels, AEPO-ARTIS’ main objective is to make European and international institutions aware of the distinctive nature of performers’ rights and their management.

AEPO-ARTIS est particulièrement présente dans les débats européens et internationaux afin de rappeler l’importance des droits des artistes-interprètes et contribuer à leur mise en œuvre.

In particular, in July 2007, it published a study on the impact of European directives on performers’ rights in 10 European countries. This study, available in English on AEPO-ARTIS website, shows that the vast majority (95%) of the rights that are managed on behalf of performers concern two kinds of remuneration: equitable remuneration and remuneration for private copying.

On the basis on this finding, which also reflects the situation in France, AEPO-ARTIS wants these rights to remuneration to be reinforced, as well as improved guarantees for exclusive rights which are all too often assigned to the phonographic or audio-visual industry for no valuable consideration.

It is thus proposed, in particular as regards the right to make recordings publicly available online as part of an on-demand service, regardless of the form (downloading of individual songs, subscriptions, on-demand services comparable to rental services etc.), that in the event of a transfer of performer’s exclusive rights, to recognize a right to remuneration exercisable by collective management societies against users. AEPO-ARTIS has also actively supported remuneration for private copying. This type of remuneration has been criticised at European level when actually it grants the public more freedom whilst at the same time ensuring the right owners (authors, performers and producers) are provided with remuneration.

Furthermore, in France as well as in several other European countries, part of the remuneration collected is allocated to artistic creation, thus directly creating employment opportunities for performers.

For several years now, SPEDIDAM has been asking French lawmakers to amend French law to ensure that it complies with certain safeguards provided for in the relevant European directives. Thus, the equitable remuneration guaranteed by the European directive of 19 November 1992 codified the 12 December 2006 regarding radio broadcasting and the communication to the public of commercial phonograms has not been applied in France in several fields: television (since a judgement by the Supreme Court of November 2004), telephone on-hold music. Likewise, rental, public lending and distribution rights granted to performers in the same directive have not been transposed into French law, whilst in the meantime Internet rental services are on the increase. Unfortunately, French lawmakers and the authorities did not wish to update French law in favour of performers at the time of the adoption of the Act of 1 August 2006, and French law therefore does not comply with its European obligations on these points. Finally, discussions are currently being held in the European Commission concerning the operations of collective management societies within the Member states of the European Union, especially concerning the commercial exploitation of music on the Internet and concerning a possible extension of the duration of performers’ rights.

At the international level, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has been unable to follow up its Performances and Phonograms Treaty of 1996 in the audio field with a treaty which protects performers in the audio-visual field. In the audio-visual field, performers are coming under pressure from several countries – including the United States of America. These countries are only prepared to accept international performer protection in the audio-visual sector in the event that it comes with mechanisms for the transfer of performers’ rights to producers. The Diplomatic Conference held at the end of the year 2000 concerning the audio-visual sector did not lead to an agreement and at the beginning of 2010, there are no plans for new negotiations on this subject in the short or medium term.

In parallel, although a Diplomatic Conference was planned in 2005, and then in 2007, to review the protection of radio broadcasting organisations, the differences of opinion between Member States of the WIPO are such that it does not seem that it will be possible to organise this type of conference in the near future.