The Europe for Culture – Culture for Europe joint declaration calls for culture to be placed more firmly at the heart of European policymaking, with specific commitments on artificial intelligence, intellectual property and fair remuneration.
European music publishers play an essential role in investing in songwriters and composers, developing diverse European repertoire and bringing that music to audiences across borders. The declaration recognises the cultural and creative sectors as drivers of Europe’s identity, democracy, innovation, economic growth and competitiveness. It also supports cultural diversity, fair remuneration, discoverability and the circulation of European works.
The declaration commits to a human-centric and rights-based approach to artificial intelligence. It explicitly recognises that intellectual property rights must be protected, that the impact of AI on creators and fair remuneration must be addressed, and that greater transparency is needed between human- and AI-generated content.
That political foundation must now be converted into concrete and enforceable actions, including:
- full transparency regarding the use of copyrighted works by AI systems
- prior authorisation and effective licensing
- fair remuneration for songwriters, composers and their publishing partners
- clear responsibility across the AI value chain
Music publishing representatives said they look forward to working with the European institutions and Member States to ensure the declaration and its principles deliver meaningful results for Europe’s music publishers and the songwriters and composers they represent.
