European Music Managers Alliance Launches
A pan-EU music manager’s body, the European Music Manager Alliance (EMMA), waslaunched in London earlier this week. Chaired by Stevie Wonder manager Keith Harris, it is aimed at giving artist reps a stronger voice in decisions that shape the global music industry.
EMMA brings together music manager organisations from the UK, France, Sweden, Netherlands, Poland, Norway and Finland with similar organisations in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa.
“One of the things that has concerned me and has concerned most of the managers here tonight is that many of the current conversations going on in the industry are lacking the manager’s voice,” said Harris. “If you look in recent weeks at the money coming in from Spotify and Facebook, and various new revenue streams – quantities of money that we’ve never seen before – the distribution is something that is up for debate. It’s great that the major labels have all agreed to distribute, but you’d think that there’d be an upfront conversation about exactly how that distribution is going to take place. One of the possible reasons why there hasn’t been is because people need to know who to talk to.
“For the future health of our business, and particularly with Brexit on the horizon, it is therefore vital that managers can maintain close contact and participate fully and openly in all commercial and policy discussions that impact on our clients. The creation of EMMA will make this possible.”
Designed in a similar format to the long-established International Music Managers Forum (MMF), EMMA will collectively represent over 800 managers across Europe, and another 600 worldwide. The organization’s initial focus will include three key areas: licensing and fair remuneration, public policy, and education research.
A detailed agenda will be unveiled at MIDEM 2018.
