Buy-out: « Disney + includes a clause in its contracts prohibiting the hiring of authors who are members of Sacem or Gema ».
A study commissioned by the European Parliament assesses the buy-out phenomenon in the music and audiovisual industries across the EU, and highlights the exclusionary practices of authors who refuse the buy-out.
Researcher Franck Macrez, Director of CEIPI (University of Strasbourg), captivated the audience this Tuesday at the presentation of his study on buy-out, commissioned by the Legal Affairs Committee. One of his most striking statements related to Disney+’s boycott of authors who are members of certain collecting societies: « In France and Germany, in particular, collecting societies are very protective. But we learned in the course of our study that Disney+, which is headquartered in London, has clauses in its contracts stipulating that it is forbidden to hire authors who are members of Sacem or Gema. So we have strong negotiating power on the part of the collecting societies, then circumvention via individual contracts that take away that negotiating power. » This statement, taken up in more detail in the body of the report written by Franck Macrez, Stéphanie Le Cam…