RECORDED ARTISTS ACTORS PERFORMERS

Notification of the RAAP Annual General Meeting 2020

9th October 2020

Due to the exceptional circumstances of the Covid-19 crisis, the Board of RAAP decided that the 2020 RAAP AGM will take place remotely on Monday 16th November 2020 at 11a.m.

Registration to participate in the AGM is now open. Through the following link you can start to register - Registration Form. Registration will close on Thursday 29th October 2020 at 5p.m. For any queries regarding the registration process don’t hesitate to contact the office.

On the technical side, for the remote AGM, we will use two different tools to carry out successfully the purpose of this meeting:

• 1. A video conference tool to take part in the meeting.
• 2. For Registered members, an online voting system for the approval or rejection of the items on the Agenda.

A separate communication of the procedure and the steps to follow during the A.G.M./G.A. will be provided in due course to each member who has registered to participate.

All documents to be presented at the AGM are available on our website.

Memorandum for Members of RAAP

Please follow link below to view a memorandum summarising the recent judgment of the Court of Justice and its place in the proceedings taken by RAAP against PPI and the Irish State. The outcome represents a significant success for RAAP - the key finding being that when sound recordings are played on the radio or in bars, restaurants etc. in the European Union, all performers on those recordings are entitled to a share in the revenues generated.
Kind regards,

Major milestone for performers as European Court of Justice rule in favour to increase recorded earnings of performers

*Ruling to increase performer earnings from recordings by up to 30%
*Decision could release millions of Euro back to performers

8th September 2020: In a landmark ruling today, the European Court of Justice paved the way for performers to receive an equal share on income earned from recordings. The ruling will mean that record labels will be forced to pay performers an increased share of revenue collected from the broadcast and public performance of sound recordings.

"RAAP €315,000 Covid-19 Pandemic Payment."

@RAAP are delighted to inform you that we have put together a €315,000 fund to assist our members during the current Covid-19 pandemic, to be distributed in July 2020.

RAAP plan to make our first distribution for Irish airplay broadcast in 2019 no later than Friday July 24th. Members will be notified by email upon payment. Please note our minimum threshold to receive payment is €20. Funds below this amount will be held on account until further income is generated.

We would like to thank our members once again for their continued patience with us during the current legal proceedings against PPI in the High Court and the European Court of Justice. We are nearing the end of these and hope to have a favourable outcome for RAAP in the coming months.

RAAP joins forces with European Affiliates demanding that the European Commission set up a Solidarity fund for Performers

Message to members on legal proceedings with PPI

The board felt it was appropriate to give members an update on the legal proceedings between RAAP and PPI.

We took the case initially because PPI decided - unilaterally - to change the basis on which the performers’ share of the licence fees collected by PPI was to be calculated. Not only did PPI seek to substantially reduce the payment by this new method but it clawed-back what it claimed were “over-payments” for previous years, despite the fact that all of those payments were agreed and signed-off on each year as per an agreement in place since 2003.

As soon as RAAP had commenced the legal case, PPI cancelled its agreement with RAAP and stated its intention to engage PPL in the UK to calculate the payments due to every performer on the disputed basis. RAAP was forced to take a second set of proceedings to establish that under Irish law the royalties payable to performers must be the subject of agreement and equally must be paid to RAAP, who can make the distribution according to its own rules. Performers are entitled to choose the collecting society that will represent them and PPI is not free to hand out important aspects of the management of performers’ Irish rights to a UK society dominated by the same three music majors that control PPI.
Read full document

RAAP ANNOUNCEMENT

We are delighted to announce that RAAP’s application for an interlocutory injunction to prevent PPI (in conjunction with PPL) from unilaterally determining equitable remuneration due to performers for public performance and broadcasting in Ireland, and directing the distribution of the monies in 2017, culminated in a settlement.

The interlocutory application was an interim measure designed to maintain the status quo until the underlying disputes between RAAP and PPI can be fully heard by the court. It was agreed that PPI will make a provisional payment to RAAP, which RAAP will distribute according to its rules, although a little later than normal.

RAAP will continue to manage performer rights in Ireland as fully as ever. This is an important development for performers and vindicates the actions taken by RAAP to ensure that performers’ rights continue to be managed in Ireland by the performers’ own organisation, for the benefit of performers.

"Musicians, wherever they work, deserve a fair treatment when they travel by air with their instruments!"
Sign the petition at www.fim-musicians.org

FAIR INTERNET Letter to RAAP Members

Dear Member
Despite the fact that digital technology has fundamentally changed the way that music, films, television series, advertising and other works are produced and distributed, most of the professional creative content on the Internet would still not exist without us, the performers. Our work is by and large the most popular content on the Internet. It is a major driver of new business models, technological innovation and consumer behaviour... Read More...

Together we can make a difference.

Please go to https://www.fair-internet.eu/ now and sign the petition.

PERFORMERS UNITE TO CAMPAIGN FOR A FAIR INTERNET

Today, four international organisations representing more than 500,000 performers in Europe joined forces to launch a campaign for the fair treatment of all performers in the digital environment.

The 'Fair Internet for Performers Campaign' brings together AEPO-ARTIS, EuroFIA, FIM and IAO, who represent musicians, singers, actors and dancers, all united in their call to the European legislator to 'make the Internet a fair environment for performers' Read More...

To register your support for this campaign, please go to
https://www.fair-internet.eu/