By invitation of “Creative North Rhine-Westphalia” [1], Wolfgang Senges, managing director of the Cultural Commons Collecting Society (C3S), attends one of the world’s most important events of the creative industries. The South by Southwest Festival (SXSW) is rated as the leading international fair for the cultural industries.
As members of a delegation from the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the invited guests shall highlight the eminence of the state as an important location for the German media and creative economy. From March 8th until 14th, Wolfgang Senges will be at the festival in Austin, Texas. Those interested in a meeting during the duration of SXSW can make an appointment via e-mail (info@c3s.cc).
Senges will also represent the collecting society, which is currently in the process of foundation, at the “Interactive Dating Games” [3]. During the two rounds of this competition, an international investor chooses three outstanding start-up projects in North Rhine-Westphalia. Only those who manage to convince the investor of the quality of their business concept have a chance to gain the coveted capital.
Wolfgang Senges comments the invitation of the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia: “It is a great opportunity for the C3S to be able to present itself during SXSW and to make new contacts. The large number of inquiries, even from outside Europe, shows us clearly that many are interested in changes to be made, not only artists, but also businesses. The C3S is the first institution to hold out the prospect of possible changes in the licensing business of musical works.”
The announcement of the foundation of the C3S in August 2013 alone was enough for the GEMA to make their first ever positive statements about the topic of Creative Commons licenses. [4] But apart from the utilization of works under a Creative Commons license that can be freely chosen by the author, the C3S also plans the utilization according to the classical copyright law. The goal is to have a broader and more flexible range of options than other collecting societies, to the benefit of the authors.
The C3S will also be supported by the innovation program “Digital Media North Rhine-Westphalia” with a project for the integration of micropayment into a collecting society [3]. The project budget is 370.000 Euro, half of which are contributed by the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. This February, the C3S celebrated the inauguration of its newly renovated office on the premises of the historical train station in Düsseldorf-Gerresheim.
1. https://www.creative.nrw.de/news/artikel/nrws-kreativwirtschaft-zu-gast-beim-sxsw-festival-2014.html
2. https://www.sxsw-nrw.com
3. https://interactivedatinggame.com
4. https://www.c3s.cc/gema-alternative-sichert-sich-forderungsempfehlung-uber-200-000-euro/
5. https://www.c3s.cc/c3s-begrust-kursanderung-der-gema/
About C3S:
The C3S was started in 2010 and is an initiative for the foundation of a modern collecting society for music.
An increasing number of authors can not, or does not wish to, be represented by the GEMA. The C3S has been designed as a European Cooperative Society (not as an economic association), where all active members have an equal right to vote – not only those who enjoy a good income. By employing contemporary communication technology, the C3S strives to enable uncomplicated transaction processes with optimal fairness of distribution.
Other than the compulsory exclusive representation of the whole catalog of an artist’s work by the GEMA, the C3S will allow the representation of single works as well. Apart from the use of licenses according to the classical copyright law, the support of all Creative Commons licensing contracts will, for the first time, create marketing fairness for alternative licensing concepts. After the successful start in Germany, the area of operation shall be expanded, step by step, all over Europe.
Zdroj: FOEM
