05.07.2012
Clash on liberalizations. Performers: "Italian Government liberalizes neighbouring rights, the bureaucrats shelve everything”.
Milan, Rome, July 5th, 2012 – Cinema and music performers are bewildered. Neighbouring rights’ market is in danger of deadlock.
A parliamentary report, presented by Senator Simona Vicari (PDL), denounces that the liberalization of performers rights’ marker is still stuck at the starting blocks.
Three months after the entry into force of the liberalization’s law - which opened to competition the performing rights’ market – the decree that must established the minimum requirements that each new intermediary should have to operate in the market, has not yet issued. Not only, some officials propose interpretations of the rules in stark contrast to the path 'pro-liberalization' promoted by the Government.
"The liberalizations are likely to be stopped. The new operators are struggling to carve out a space in the market. Without the decree the entire market is traveling in low gear.We all have taken the responsibility to change things to modernize the market, involving performers and making them more aware about the administration of their compensations”, said Gianluigi Chiodaroli, Chairman of ITSRIGHT.
"For thirty years, our rights have been managed by a monopoly without transparency that has been extinct for failure to achieve its statutory purpose, namely to collect and distribute remunerations to performers (they've accumulated 130 millions of euros, of whose fate we know nothing yet). After three years of battles we finally got the clarity, by law, that there is no legal monopoly on the administration of private rights. We are confident that the Government will complete its way and will issue shortly the Decree, as required by law, to allow performers to control the effective management of their compensations”, added Cinzia Mascoli, Chairman of ARTISTI 7607, Association with over 1200 performers and actors (in the Board appear among others, Elio Germano, Claudio Santamaria, Neri Marcoré).
Cinema and music performers are waiting now that the Government issues the Decree to ensure new competitive development of neighbouring rights’ market.
With the Decree Law nr. 1/2012, confirmed by a large parliamentary majority, the Italian Government intended to align the Italian performers rights’ market to the models promoted by the EU Directive's proposal.