ECSA actively defends the value of authors’ rights and the interests of music creators towards various public institutions and different stakeholders. The Alliance aims at creating a fair and sustainable framework for creators as well as ensuring an appropriate and proportionate remuneration for all music authors. ECSA is also active at international level and is a member of the
European Music Council (EMC) and the
International Music Council (IMC), and a partner of the International Council of Music Creators (CIAM). Furthermore, the Alliance monitored the work and discussions held at the
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), though its observer status was removed in 2021.
Artificial Intelligence Artificial Intelligence (AI)'s rapid developments and its impact on authors’ rights has become an increasingly urgent topic for ECSA. AI has therefore been put at centre stage of ECSA's advocacy efforts, with a particular focus on the
EU AI Act, which was formally adopted by the European Parliament on 13 March 2024, after a lengthy negotiation period. In this context, ECSA has repeatedly stressed the necessity to preserve fundamental rights, safeguard transparency, and enable authors and performers to exercise their rights. In various open letters and statements, the Alliance has advocated for legislation built upon informed consent, transparency, and fair remuneration for creators.
Music streaming Making music streaming sustainable for composers and songwriters is a key priority for ECSA. The Alliance and its member organizations have denounced the extremely low level of remuneration coming from music streaming platforms. ECSA calls on policymakers and stakeholders to remedy the fundamental flaws and market failures of the music streaming market for music creators, cultural diversity and European citizens alike. In July 2023, ECSA published its vision on music streaming, which includes six major recommendations to fix streaming and make it sustainable for music creators and artists. In the document, ECSA calls on policy makers and all stakeholders in the music industry to assess the functioning of the streaming market and actively promote a fairer and transparent ecosystem, one that values and fairly compensates creators and artists for their crucial contributions.
Contractual practices ECSA advocates for fairer contracts between music authors and their contractual counterparts. In this regard, ECSA stands firmly against so called buyout contracts as they are often a take-it-or-leave-it deal, where the music author sells all his or her rights of the musical work and correspondingly future royalties in connection to that work. In January 2025, ECSA published its Report on Audiovisual Composers' Contracts. Drawing on consultations with its members, the report outlines and denounces various harmful and persistent contractual challenges faced by European audiovisual composers, such as buyout contracts and work made for hire provisions, pseudo-publishing, and the waiving of moral rights. The report also provides seven key recommendations to tackle these practices.
The Creators Conference The Creators Conference provides a high-level platform for discussion and exchange of ideas on the various challenges facing creators in the music sector, as well as the creative and cultural industries in general. The first conference was held in 2012 and that year, ECSA and the Creators Conference were presented the Visit Brussels Award at International Congress 2012. The 2025 edition of the Creators Conference was held on 25 March 2025 at the European Parliament in Brussels.
ECSA Manifesto In October 2024, ECSA published its Manifesto, outlining the abovementioned advocacy priorities. With the Manifesto, the Alliance seeks to effectively champion the needs and priorities of music authors, helping to shape policies that support the growth and sustainability of the whole music sector. == Cultural Activities ==