GEMA at MIDEM 2010
Munich/Cannes. MIDEM 2010 began this Monday in the southern French city of Cannes. The trade fair will once again act as a meeting point for the international world of music and media. GEMA and the German Music Publishers' Association (DMV) invited people to the opening of the joint stand on the first day of the event.
Bernd Neumann, Minister of State and the German Federal Government's spokesman for culture and media, Hans-Joachim Otto, member of the Bundestag and Parliamentary State Secretary for the Ministry of Business and Technology, and Steffen Kampeter, member of the Bundestag and Parliamentary State Secretary for the Ministry of Finance, took up the invitation and travelled to Cannes as representatives of the German Federal Government. Dagmar Sikorski, President of the DMV, and Dr Harald Heker, CEO of GEMA, welcomed guests from the spheres of politics, culture, media and business with the help of Hans-Joachim Otto and Steffen Kampeter.
Hans-Joachim Otto, member of the Bundestag and Parliamentary State Secretary for the Ministry of Business and Technology, reported on activities in his ministry that are designed to effectively implement copyright protection laws: "As part of the business dialogue on combating Internet piracy initiated by the Ministry of Business and Technology, we are currently exploring models of voluntary cooperation to protect copyright and shore up the 'new media' alongside copyright holders and distributors."
"Get closer to the global music in business" – this year's slogan for MIDEM applies equally to GEMA's activities. Cultural diversity is a key concern for Germany's copyright association. In his welcome address, Dr Heker publicly unveiled the latest partnership involving a total of eight European authors' associations with the aim of harmonizing administration rights in Europe. "In association with seven of our fellow organisations, we are calling for a uniform EU guideline that gives smaller copyright collecting societies in particular the legal security that is urgently required to safeguard cultural diversity in Europe”, said Dr Heker. “MIDEM in Cannes provides the perfect framework for positioning our partnership's goal internationally. We are looking to motivate the EU Commission to take up and drive forward the project to harmonize administration rights."
After the speeches, GEMA and the DMV followed up with their now traditional lunch in the restaurant Plage Ondine. Dagmar Sikorski, President of the DMV, and Dr Harald Heker, CEO of GEMA, together welcomed 150 guests from the spheres of politics, culture, media and business. They included Prof Dieter Gorny (CEO of the German Music Industry Association), Dr Gernot Graninger (CEO of AKM Austria), Walter Holzbauer (Managing Director of Wintrup Musikverlag), Ellis Rich (Chairman of the Supervisory Board of PRS), Ursula Sedlaczek (CEO of AUME Austria), Wilhelm Späth (Germany's Consul General in Marseille) and Andreas Wegelin (designated General Director of SUISA).
GEMA represents the intellectual property rights of more than 60,000 members in Germany (composers, lyricists and music publishers) as well as over one million rights holders around the world. It is one of the world's biggest authors' societies for musical works.
Photos to this press release
Press contact:
Bettina Müller, Press Officer and Head of Communication & PR,
E-mail bmueller@gema.de, P +49 89 48003426
Gaby Schilcher, Press and PR Officer,
E-mail gschilcher@gema.de, P +49 89 48003428