STAKEHOLDERS’ MEETING – IMPLEMENTATION REPORT OF THE CREATIVE EUROPE PROGRAMME 2021-2027
Date 13th April 2023,
Below is the presentation delivered by Karla Rogožar on behalf of IMPALA at the European Parliament’s stakeholder meeting on 13 April 2023 on the Implementation Report of the Creative Europe Programme 2021-2027.
(Read our presentation below or here)
Stakeholders’ meeting on 13 April – Implementation Report of the Creative Europe Programme 2021-2027
Presentation by Karla Rogožar on behalf of IMPALA, the European association of independent music companies
Thank you very much for the invitation.
I’m here on behalf of IMPALA, the European association of independent music companies, representing close to 6,000 music SMEs who together account for 80% of music releases and investment in new music in Europe.
Europe’s music industry is the second biggest employer in the cultural and creative sector, accounting for 1.2m jobs. But it was also the second most impacted by the Covid pandemic. And the current cost-of-living crisis is weighing hard on our sector and primarily its artists, authors, freelancers and small businesses.
Our industry has shown time and again that it’s innovative and resilient, so it will adapt and pull through as it’s done before and continue to create and produce music for all to enjoy. But if we want European music in all its diversity to thrive, we need more strategic, structured and music-specific support from the EU, through tailor made policies and programmes.
We are here to speak about Creative Europe, so I’ll focus on that.
The music sector and the European Parliament – which we thank you again for – campaigned for an increased budget for Creative Europe and a sector specific approach for music.
When Creative Europe was adopted in December 2020, Rapporteur MEP Massimiliano Smeriglio said: “We succeeded in convincing EU ministers to recognise the music sector, which was hit particularly hard by the pandemic and whose specific challenges have until now not been properly addressed”.
Creative Europe 2021-2027 saw its budget increase substantially, opening up opportunities for stronger and more integrated support for the music sector. So where are we now?
• More money is going to music generally under the different funding schemes of the Culture strand, as the European Commission announced recently. This is great news and the result of a high number of strong music projects being submitted, combined with an overall increase of the Creative Europe budget.
• But we are lacking the strategic and sector-specific support for music that the EU committed to when it adopted the new Creative Europe programme.
Only two music-specific calls have been published so far under this programme, which is now in its 3rd year, for a total budget of €5m. These calls are yet to produce their first results and the 2023 work programme does not include any music-specific calls. To put this in perspective, the European Parliament had allocated €7m for the 2018-2020 Music Moves Europe preparatory action.
We remain optimistic and hopeful, especially in light of recent declarations from Commissioner Gabriel who acknowledged, during her exchange with the CULT committee in December, the rather modest amounts allocated to music specific actions, the need for more regular contact with the sector, and the need to give more visibility and support to the sector going forward. More recently, Commissioner Gabriel confirmed that support to music was high on the Commission’s agenda for 2023, which again gives us hope.
Our main suggestions for the Creative Europe programme, are the following:
• To develop a real strategy for music, building on the experience and results of the Music Moves Europe preparatory action 2018-2020 and on a regular dialogue with the sector. The higher co-financing rates and simplified application processes under the preparatory action were particularly welcome and worth replicating going forward.
• To increase the funding available for music-specific projects under the current Creative Europe programme, as the EU committed to do.
• Let’s also start thinking about the next programme, starting in 2028. The dialogue with the music sector could help in this respect, and there’s a lot from the Music Moves Europe process and also the One Voice for European Music report from last year that we can and should build on.
We count on the European Parliament and European Commission to join forces for a strong Creative Europe programme with a more strategic focus on music.
Thank you again for having us today, and we look forward to continuing the discussion.
More about IMPALA
IMPALA was established in 2000 and now represents nearly 6000 independent music companies. 99% of Europe’s music companies are small, micro and medium businesses and self-releasing artists. Known as the independents, they are world leaders in terms of innovation and discovering new music and artists – they produce more than 80% of all new releases and account for 80% of the sector’s jobs. IMPALA’s mission is to grow the independent music sector sustainably, return more value to artists, promote diversity and entrepreneurship, improve political access, inspire change, and increase access to finance. IMPALA works on a range of key issues for its members, runs various award schemes and has a programme aimed at businesses who want to develop a strategic relationship with the independent sector – Friends of IMPALA.