Nota de prensa de ICMP

ICMP condemns AEPI’s collective management practices

Berlin, 1 March 2017 – ICMP, the International Confederation of Music Publishers, is unhappy about Greece’s plans to introduce a Bill that exempts AEPI from a Europe-wide obligation of collective management entities to provide a fair and balanced representation of rightsholders in their decision making bodies.

ICMP therefore welcomes the decision of the Greek Public Prosecutor to start a preliminary examination of AEPI’s management to determine whether there is any evidence of criminal activity. ICMP is shocked and outraged by the nature and extent of the alleged transgressions of AEPI included in the findings of the auditing company Ernst & Young.

“We hope that this examination will force the Greek government to adopt the Bill in the form intended by the European Commission,” said ICMP Chair Andrew Jenkins. “This Bill must be urgently modified so that music publishers are granted proper representation at AEPI, while also ensuring that Greece complies with the EU Acquis.”

Having music publishers on its Board is in fact in AEPI’s best interest as, in addition to being rightsholders, they bring considerable business expertise and valuable know-how to the process of managing rights and organisations. If the Bill is voted in its current form, this would create the need to explore alternatives for the collective management in Greece.

In the interest of the global rightsholder community, the ICMP Board also calls on CISAC for appropriate action should any of the allegations be proven.

The Board of Directors of ICMP were meeting yesterday and today in Berlin to discuss practical and strategic issues of the Confederation.