fair music weblog

mica – music austria has started the forerunner project on local level and will develop the existing networks.

In today’s globalized and digitalised world, music could find a global audience and could produce revenues for its creators independent from set distribution channels and the commercial music business. The “Fair Music Campaign” wants to bridge the gap and offer a trusted label for both – artists and audiences – to match their needs: musical diversity, recognition and remuneration.

New technological developments have resulted in far reaching structural changes in the music sector, leading to opening up of new distribution channels and possibilities. This change also impacts on cultural outputs or products. The effects of technological improvements bring challenges: dealing with piracy, directing the payment-flow towards the creators and deliberations on who decides about the access for producers and consumers to music and culture.

People will pay for music they love knowing that its creators will get a fair share for their work.
The Fair Music Campaign will raise awareness and will position “Fair Music” as the global brand for musical diversity.

The project is aimed to create a new awareness for rewarding creativity and give Non-Western countries a chance to break through on the music market… This ensures diversification of musical repertoire and strengthens regional content production, which is important for new EU member states.

“Fair Music” is dealing with the difficulties and problems of European music creators.

The main activities during the project period are :

-    Develop a set of legal standards for cultural productions
-    Develop the certification, infrastructure and business model = Set-up of a certification agency
-    To install a sustainable innovative distribution scheme and remuneration model
-    To install a catalogue of certified fair music repertoire that takes into account the socio-economic content of cultural production.
-    Establish an active network of partners (organisations and individuals) from all over the world.

fair music ist deployed by an international consortium
members:
mica – music information center austria
IASJ – International Association Of Schools Of Jazz
Popbüro Region Stuttgart
ZTMD – Zveza Tolminskih Mladinskih Drustev
IMC – International Music Council

The winners of the 2008 fair music award have been presented in the course of a Haydn Jahr 2009 – event on September 3rd in Schloss Esterhàzy in Eisenstadt. The award winner is the label col legno, further laureates are the ensemble Klangforum Wien, the musician’s initiative JazzWerkstatt Wien and the British label Honest Jon’s Records.

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Im feierlichen Rahmen einer Veranstaltung des Haydn-Jahr 2009 in Schloss Esterházy in Eisenstadt wurden gestern die fair music-Auszeichnungen verliehen.
Die fair music Initiative des mica-music austria kämpft für mehr Fairness und Gerechtigkeit in der Musikwirtschaft. Ausgehend von der UNESCO-Konvention zum Schutz und zur Förderung kultureller Ausdrucksformen, und den vom Internationalen Musikrat formulierten Musikalischen Grundrechten, wurden die Kriterien für die Vergabe der Auszeichnung entwickelt: Künstlerische Freiheit, faire Bedingungen für die Kreativen, kulturelle Vielfalt, Service für den Kunden und Marktzugang für MusikerInnen aus Ländern des Südens. (more…)

The jury is about to award the best achievement for exemplary conduct in the music business.

The fair music Award 2008 and the fair music certificates will be handed out in a festive manner on the 2^nd of September 2008 in Eisenstadt/Austria.

At presentations and discussions of the fair music initiative people often ask what the criteria of a fair music label are and how a music producer or distributor can get this label. Peter Rantasa, director of mica - music austria and initiator of fair music: “I myself do not decide what is fair in music business and what not. The standards for fairness and justice in the music business have to be developed in a consensus building stakeholder process - and this takes time.”

These standards that products and distribution channels will have to meet in order to receive a fair music seal of approval, will be developed by the fair music initiative together with the International Music Council (IMC - an international NGO in formal associate relations with UNESCO) and music and cultural NGOs.

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Call For Entries: 2008 fair music Award

Purpose and Overview:

About the 2008 fair music Award: Recognition for best practice and special achievements about fairness in the music business (fair music prize trophy and certificates, the right to use the fair music seal, exposure to international press, promotion of the repertoires via the fair music website and public relation).

Who can be nominated? Labels, publishers, initiatives and services providing the audience access to music.

Process of nomination: fans, listeners, musicians and composers enter nominees representing a good example of fair business practices in serving cultural diversity. (more…)