Representing Arts and Entertainment workers worldwide

Rome Opera crisis: IAEA issues a protest letter

Published on October 16, 2014 by iaea – Comments off
Filed under: General

OPEN LETTER TO THE BOARD OF THE ROME OPERA THEATRE, THE MUNICIPALITY OF ROME AND THE GOVERNMENT OF ITALY

The three International Federations representing workers in the Arts and Entertainment sector call upon the Board of the Rome Opera Theatre to reverse its decision to dismiss all orchestra musicians and choir members.

The International Federation of Musicians (FIM), the International Federation of Actors (FIA), UNI – Media, Entertainment & Arts (UNI MEI) and their member organisations in more than 120 countries were extremely shocked to learn about the decision of the Board of the Rome Opera to terminate the contracts of all the orchestra musicians and choir members of this institution, in a disgraceful act of cultural vandalism.

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Private copying – FIA, FIM and UNI-MEI contest the conclusions of the European mediator

Published on April 22, 2013 by iaea – Comments off
Filed under: Intellectual property

FIA, FIM and UNI-MEI have reacted very negatively to the recommendations put forward on the 31 January 2013 by Mr. António Vitorino, the mediator chosen by the European Commission regarding the private copying issue.

In this document, Mr. Vitorino unexpectedly reflects the discourse of manufacturers and importers of recording media who want to avoid paying the levy which is currently required of them, regardless of the fact that, for many years, these multinationals have made considerable profits from the sale of blank media as a result of the countless acts of consumers copying protected contents.

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First meeting of the IAEA programme of activities in India

Published on April 22, 2013 by iaea – Comments off
Filed under: Asia, Capacity building of trade unions

The IAEA alliance’s programme of activities for the audiovisual sector in India started on the 25 and 26 March 2013, with a seminar in Mumbai which brought together a dozen or so unions representing different sector professions.

Coordinated on site by Mr. Opender Chanana, the programme is backed by LO-TCO (Sweden), which is also an IAEA partner for capacity-building activities in Africa and Latin America.

Despite the personal commitment of their leaders, all volunteers, trade unions in the live performance and audiovisual sectors are not in a position to promote the process of social dialogue which the sector needs.

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Artists’ peaceful protest march harshly repressed in Yaoundé (Cameroon)

Published on November 19, 2012 by iaea – Comments off
Filed under: International

Anne-Marie Nzié

In agreement with right holders (performers, authors and composers), the Cameroonian Government recently decided the creation of a special deposit account allowing copyright users to pay royalties before the such royalties are transferred to the duly authorized collective management organisations.

Meanwhile, the Port of Douala, which had so far been refusing to proceed to any payment for the use of copyright and neighboring rights, suddenly decided to send those payments to the former management of the Cameroon Music Corporation, which is no longer legally authorized to collect these monies.

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Social partners issue joint opinion on EU Audiovisual Observatory

Published on September 23, 2012 by iaea – Comments off
Filed under: Europe

Social partners in the audiovisual sector issue a joint opinion highlighting the needs of the film and TV industry for reliable and updated statistics on economy and employment market.

At its meeting today the EU social partners in the European audiovisual sector adopted a joint opinion on the role of the European Audiovisual Observatory. Employers and unions call on the Observatory and its stakeholders including the European Commission, Member States to endeavour to add economic and employment statistics to the Observatory’s range of statistical and data aggregation activities.

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World Public Service Day

Published on June 22, 2012 by iaea – Comments off
Filed under: General

The value of public service broadcasting and public support for culture

On this important World Public Service Day, the International Arts and Entertainment Alliance (IAEA – the Global Union Federation for the Arts and Entertainment sector) reiterates the value of public support for cultural services and institutions, as well as for public service broadcasting, as a vital means to bring cultural content to the public.

Public investment in, and support for, cultural services and institutions fostering cultural traditions and allowing them to continue to flourish, develop and evolve in new directions through the creation of new works and performances.

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Iran – Stop the execution of Abdolreza Ghanbari

Published on March 17, 2012 by iaea – Comments off
Filed under: General

Abdolreza Ghanbari

Abdolreza Ghanbari, a 44-year-old lecturer of Payam e Nour University, was arrested at his home in Pakdasht on 4 January 2010. He was charged with Moharebeh (enmity towards God) for receiving unsolicited emails from an armed opposition group, to which he does not belong. While in detention at the notorious Evin Prison, Prof. Ghanbari was interrogated for 25 days in a row and forced to confess under duress to unproven charges. Nasrin Sotoudeh was his lawyer until he was himself condemned to a six year sentence in Evin prison for “propaganda against the regime” and “acting against national security”.

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URGENT CALL FOR SOLIDARITY

Published on October 12, 2011 by iaea – Comments off
Filed under: General

URGENT: SIGN THE PETITION IN SOLIDARITY WITH IRANIAN ACTRESS MARZIEH VAFAMEHR

Dear colleagues,

You may have recently read in the press about Marzieh Vafamehr.

Marzieh is an actress in her own country, Iran. She was sentenced to one year in jail and 90 lashes for playing in a feature film the role of an young actress living in Teheran whose show is banned by authorities and who, in order to continue to express herself artistically, is condemned to live an underground existence.

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European Directive extending performers’ rights adopted by European Council

Published on September 12, 2011 by iaea – Comments off
Filed under: Europe, Intellectual property

After several years of uncertainty and series of fresh developments, the European Directive extending the term of protection for performers’ rights in respect to sound recordings has finally just been adopted by the European Council on Monday 12 September 2011.

Against an international backdrop which is largely unfavourable to copyright issues, this initiative has, for several years, had to face often radical opposition from various lobbies, often underlain by arguments that were either inconsistent or simply in bad faith. FIM’s lobbying efforts also encountered resistance from the industry when it came to ensuring that the text really benefitted musicians and not just record producers.

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