Editorial by Jean-Claude Petit, composer,Chairman of the Board of Directors
For this 100th issue of Magsacem, some good news. First of all, at the beginning of this year, a new agreement was reached between SACD and Sacem, which unfortunately recently experienced some turbulence in their relationship, but which must now join forces for the good of our common struggle for authors' rights.
I welcome the friendly relations that Jacques Fansten, President of SACD, and I have had over the past few years, which has helped us sign this agreement.
The second positive news is that the Board of Directors, our General Management and our services have worked to simplify our procedures for becoming a member of Sacem. On the one hand, the online declaration of your works (for those who want this), including publishers, will become easier and clearer. Finally, a "free sharing" option of public performance rights (PPRs) within each of our categories, for songwriters, composers and publishers, (the latter already had this option), will become possible, with the shares expressed in percentages, and in dozens, for all. These reforms will be put to you at our General Meeting on 19 June and will come into force in 2019.
Developments that obey international rules and conventions, will in this way facilitate the international partnerships of our associates.
But the technological advances that accompany our work as creators are not without risks to our authors' rights and as the French mathematician and deputy Cédric Villani says: "The use of artificial intelligence (AI) is now everyone's business". In terms of musical creation, if the computer has become a regular aid for composers, the robot composer already raises the problem of to whom authorship of the work can be attributed.
To the designer of the robot? To the robots owner or the company that finances it? The designer of "flow machines", a composer himself, states: "I select works that I have not created, but I use them to build a database to design new ones". In no circumstances can Sacem disregard this problem and we must integrate these creations, like all the technological innovations of the 20th and 21st centuries, keeping in mind our duty to protect the profession of composer. The rise of AI in the creative process must respect authors' rights, which can only belong to a human being.
After two years as Chairman of the Board of Directors, I am pleased to note that the many transformations of our company, towards ever more services for members, simplification of procedures and transparency of our management, are being carried out quickly and efficiently, transforming the "new Sacem", which I announced at the beginning of my term of office, into an innovative company that knows how to respect both its history and its principles, while adapting its practices to the needs of our times. I welcome and wish good progress to our next President, who will be elected on 20 June, the day after our General Assembly, where I hope to see many of you again.
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Published June 19 2018