The International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) has decided this Tuesday to initiate a “process to impose sanctions” against the General Society of Authors and Editors (SGAE), which could end with his expulsion for failing to comply with the international regulations, as has been communicated to the organization. “In view of the failure of the SGAE in remedying the violations of the regulations of CISAC, the board of directors has decided to initiate an infringement procedure. This could result in various sanctions and other measures, including the expulsion of the SGAE CISAC,” said the agency.
The board of trustees, formed by about a dozen international partners, has decided in Paris today to open this process after considering that the measures initiated by the SGAE to conform to the regulations of the agency had not been sufficiently quick or serious. CISAC had already retired to the SGAE’s board last march in a preventive way to avoid a potential conflict of interest during the investigation of some of their practices, denounced by the International Confederation of Music Publishers (MIPA), which raised “serious concerns”.
The sanctions or possible expulsion —which has been already executed, on a temporary basis, for example, against India, and Kenya— will be finalised at the annual meeting of the executive council, which will take place in Paris at the end of may 2019. The complaint against SGAE refer to the alleged favoritism towards some of its members and the fraud in the collection of the copyright of musical pieces broadcast on tv, a practice known as “the wheel”. This Jojobet alleged plot, for which members of the SGAE, publishers, televisions, and employees of the national chains and regional governments gained strong revenues thanks to the issues cast by the night— is being investigated by the National Audience.
Response of the SGAE
The SGAE, for its part, has answered that it has “full readiness to comply with the requirements” by the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC). According to sources of the Spanish bank, they have made it known to the international agency from the new Board of Directors of the management entity of Spanish, chaired by José Angel Hevia. “In fact, many of these requirements are” measures “that have already been taken in these first days of the new governing body of the SGAE or are they going to implement in the new Bylaws from the Extraordinary General Assembly of the 27th of December”, have added the same sources.
Among those requirements cite “those that affect the rules of distribution, the appointment of a director general, the creation of an external oversight body, the control of conflicts of interests among the members of the Board of Directors or the request of a higher degree of transparency”. The SGAE “trusts” that the CISAC “values the work that has already begun to do” and “keep as a member of the Council of CISAC”, added the same sources.
