Europe To Get Live Music Forum

European music industry organisations are joining forces to create an umbrella forum that will increase their lobbying strength in Brussels.

Christof Huber of Yourope, the European festivals’ organisation, chaired a January 15th meeting at Holland’s Eurosonic-Noorderslag weekend that showed there’s widespread support for the idea, including backing from the U.K.’s agents’ and concert promoters’ associations, Network Europe, the International Events Association and the International Music Managers’ Forum.

A working group taken from members of those associations will recommend how to proceed with the initiative before a second meeting is held March 10th, when London’s International Live Music Conference begins.

Huber said the new umbrella organisation will lobby the European Union on such issues as noise regulations, withholding tax, the harmonisation of PRS rates and lowering the VAT on CD sales.

“We can’t solve all of the world’s problems at once, so we’ll be concentrating on a few specific issues in the beginning,” he explained.

Jean-Francois Michel from the European Music Office – which represents all of the continent’s music business interests at the EU headquarters in Brussels – will help coordinate the new umbrella organisation.