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Palestine Music Expo celebrates debut success Underlining the universal appeal of live music, Palestine Music Expo (PMX) enjoyed a successful debut in April, with delegates from around the world taking part in seminars and workshops in the occupied territories. “When people hear about Palestine, they immediately think about apartheid, occupation, dead people, and prisoners; they don’t think about culture or music. So this is us trying to connect the local music scene with the worldwide music industry,” explains PMX organiser Rami Younis. Industry sessions across the 4-7 April schedule included discussion on everything from how to get booked at music festivals to advising artists on how to get paid for their music.
Among the international execs who made their way to Ramallah for the event were Beckie Sugden (X-ray Touring), Rob Hallett (Robomagic), Isla Angus (ATC Live), Malcolm Haynes (Glastonbury Festival), Scott Cohen (The Orchard), artist manager Steven Budd, and Cooking Vinyl label boss Martin Goldschmidt, who is one of the founders of PMX, alongside journalist Younis, rapper Mahmood Jrere and composer Abed Hathout. “We smashed it,” a jubilant Goldschmidt tells IQ. “It exceeded all expectations and the Palestinian acts who performed were simply world-class.” Indeed, one third of the acts that showcased at PMX have now been booked to appear at international music festivals,
while others have been picked up by international agents who will help develop their careers overseas. “It was a unique event and we had 32 industry people fly in from around the world – from the likes of Brazil, Zimbabwe, Canada, the United States, the UK, France and Switzerland – all of whom said it was the best industry event they’ve ever been to,” adds Goldschmidt.
“We now have a lovely problem of having a very successful event, while also wanting to keep it intimate. The great thing about PMX is that everyone got to know each other and initiate what will be lasting friendships and relationships, so we’re already looking forward to next year’s Palestine Music Expo, but we’re conscious that we don’t want it to grow too fast.”
Greek Police Intensify AEPI Fraud Probe
An influential coalition of Greek musicians is demanding the wholesale sacking of the local performing rights organisations management, following police raids on the society’s headquarters. Relations between Greek artists and AEPI, the embattled collection society purporting to represent their interests, have reached an all-time low as police step up their investigation and target the homes of AEPI management. In April, the homes of AEPI managing director, Petros Xanthopoulos, and his director-general son, Dimitrios, were searched by investigators as part of a probe into alleged financial mismanagement. That followed a raid on
AEPI’s HQ in February after an Ernst & Young audit revealed the collection society owes rights holders €42million in unpaid royalties, despite shareholders allegedly paying themselves salaries of up to €52,000 a month. As the scandal grows, more than 450 members of METRON (the Greek Association of Composers and Lyricists) resigned en masse in protest at the association’s handling of the crisis. In an open letter, former METRON president and CEO, Foivos Delivorias (who also resigned), suggested that METRON board members had attended secret meetings with the governing Greek Syriza party in which they agreed to
concessions that are “not in [METRON’s] interests”. Syriza’s response to the allegations against AEPI has been to sponsor legislation that would temporarily place the Greek ministry of culture in control of the society to “bring order to the process of collection and distribution of royalties, ensuring transparency and accountability [for] creators and licensees.” However, Yiannis Glezos, a former member of AEPI who is now president of rival collection society AUTODIA, says any deal is unacceptable without the dismissal of AEPI’s current board of directors. “We have an historic responsibility to solve a major problem that has plagued our country and
culture for 80 years,” Glezos stated. “In this struggle, we have all European legislation, and creators and the organisations who represent them, on our side.” Meanwhile, CISAC, the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers, of which AEPI is a member, has called for the society to, “introduce urgent reforms to comply with CISAC’s global best practices and professional rules.” While it has stopped short of expressing an opinion on the dismissal of AEPI’s board, CISAC says it is “evaluating new measures to address the findings of a recent government audit of the Greek society. These could include sanctions, such as expulsion from CISAC membership.”
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IQ Magazine May 2017