And, no, I’m not going to start paraphrasing the Mel Gibson movie!

Just to be clear, by composers I am referring to all of us engaged in writing music of whatever genre or aspiration.

Understandably, as a ‘Chat’, these observations are going to be broad brush rather than chapter and verse, but it is a question worth asking today and, as the music landscape for us continues to change, no doubt on many future occasions.

Let’s take it as read that we want gigs – commissions, performances, covers, synchs – opportunities to develop our creative impulses and to hone our talents.  What I really intend to address here is what we want out of the legislators and regulators whose discussions and decisions give shape to the terrain we have to negotiate, be it commercial, cultural, educational or political.

Here are my wants for us -

We want fairness:  through our many different professional activities, we work across all manner of networks, infrastructures, and sets of relationships where there are diverse and sometimes diverging interests to recognise and reward.  In this context we want to ensure that we get a fair hearing, fair opportunity and a fair deal for what we contribute.

We want transparency:  it will always be the case, that we rely on others to expedite the legitimate use of our work – through licensing, publishing, recording and performance – and we are entitled to be able to get a clear picture of where, when and how our music has been used and accounted for.

We want good service:  whoever represents us and our music, we want to be consulted, to have our views represented, to receive accurate and timely reporting and to be included in decision-making which affects us.

We want choice:  we are copyright owners and we want to be able to choose where, when and to whom we assign our copyrights and on what terms.

Why is this relevant?  Well, putting on one side the fact of owning something you have created and the entitlements that should come along with that, you only have to look at the debates going on in Westminster and Brussels to understand that decisions are being taken which may support or threaten the fairness, transparency, service and choice which we want.

For several weeks now the Lords have been debating amendments to the Digital Economy Bill.  BASCA contributed to the thinking on this Bill through its submission via UK Music and we support legal and constitutional measures to combat illegal file-sharing.  Do look at the BASCA website for an update on the progress of the Bill.

Across La Manche, DG’s (Directorates-Generals) for Competition, Internal Markets and Information Society are all looking at different aspects of how the intellectual property community functions.  This includes collecting societies and the assignment of rights.  BASCA is very much in touch with how the Commission’s scrutiny is evolving and will be submitting the composer’s viewpoint together with its European composer organisation partners through ECSA, the European Composer and Songwriter Alliance, which now has a permanent office in Brussels.

BASCA is here to listen to its members, to know what you want and to fight for it.  

In pugilistic mood,

That’s it for now . . .

Sarah Rodgers
Chairman