Consume French! And above all, listen to French. Sacem has launched a major operation to encourage radio stations and other broadcasters to favor French artists. The coronavirus crisis has been particularly violent for artists who have seen most of their income disappear. Not only those related to the concerts, but also their copyright…
Symbolized by the rally hashtag#SceneFrancaise, this call is already supported by several radio stations and artists. All of the initiatives are brought together on the scenefrancaise.fr website, which also has its Facebook and Instagram pages. Sacem will soon launch a study to measure the impact of the crisis on music creatorsand the situation of musical creation in France. In the meantime, Jean-Noël Tronc,CEO of Sacem, says his concern to 20 Minutes about the future of the sector.
Why did you launch this “French Scene” call?
The initial idea, and the observation, are simple. Currently, everything that can be done for the French scene is important. The deconfinement is unfortunately still far away for the performing arts. It was the first to enter containment at the end of February, and will probably be the last sector to come out of it with cancellations announced until 2021. We call for collective responsibility on the radio and media so that they broadcast more music produced in France. This is essential so that artists and authors can continue to live from their profession. Our approach is part of what several radio stations like Radio France, Skyrock or Fun Radio are already doing, with similar commitments.
Are you calling, in a way, to "consume French"?
Yes. However, this initiative is not linked to the French-language song quotas for radio stations, which are a measure of cultural diversity which is otherwise essential. The movement to which we are calling does not change anything for broadcasters, and does not cost them anything, like quotas, for that matter. Whether they move from the French or international repertoire, the amount paid for copyright is the same, it is the beneficiaries of these rights that change. If we broadcast more French productions, even without words or songs sung in English, as often in Electro, we can transfer more rights to French creation since the rights are distributed according to what is broadcast.
You are preparing a global study on the impact of the crisis on the sector. What results do you expect?
The future is very bleak. A double blade strikes the world of music and culture in general. With confinement, a whole part of the artists' income has disappeared. Not just those related to the performing arts. There was also the disappearance of order premiums, the end of filming for dubbing authors, the end of income linked to the sale of sheet music, etc. And all the copyrights linked to the distribution of music in public places (restaurants, shops, nightclubs, etc.)
You anticipate long-term consequences elsewhere.
Indeed. For our members, The loss will especially hit their revenues in 2021. There is indeed a time lag between the distribution of a work and the time when copyright is paid. We estimate, for 2021, the total losses in copyright in the order of 20 to 25%. Depending on the type of use of their works, for example if they live mainly on concerts, it will be much worse for many. The consequences are going to be long and terrible. We risk a destruction of creation in France, and a considerable impoverishment of our cultural diversity. France is a country of culture, it is today its model and its attractiveness which are threatened.
How do you judge the support measures for artists announced by the government?
The measures announced by the state are emergency measures. It's very good, but the essential remains to be done. The recovery plan that will be announced soon must be a real Marshall Plan that integrates the cultural sector in a massive way. Otherwise, the breakage will be irreversible. For the cultural industries, the loss, on the confinement period alone, is estimated by France Créative, with the benchmark study carried out by the independent firm E & Y, at 10 billion euros… We are talking about a sector which brings together 1.3 million jobs and especially from sectors that have driven growth and attractiveness, especially tourism, from France.
Does the crisis have consequences for the functioning of SACEM?
We have launched an economy plan on all of our expenses, with recourse to partial unemployment for our employees, delayed investments, frozen hirings ... We are in tune with the situation of the authors, of which Sacem is the common home.
Series
"The Eddy", the jazz series by Damien Chazelle has made room for Sopico's rap
Culture
Coronavirus: "I told myself that I could do better than clapping at the windows every night," says artist Kongo
- Concert
- Media
- Confinement
- Coronavirus
- Radio
- Sacem
- Culture
- Music