European Music Office welcomes Commission's support

Brussels, 10/02/2005 (Agence Europe) - The European Music Office (EMO) welcomes the European Commission's further support for its activities in the context of Culture 2000. The Commission has renewed its support in a new series of pilot projects that will be carried out from early 2005 till end 2006 by professional organisations in the music sector. In 2003-2004, the Commission had already given its support for a series of projects to facilitate the mobility of artists and their works. The new pilot projects for 2005-2006 will be geared to:

• Exchange of information: The “Music Export Handbook”, a directory created in 2004, will be updated regularly and new ones will be produced over time for professionals in the music world.
• International promotion: The development of a New York office will have the mission to collect data and analyse the American music market (for example, managing a database on American professionals who can help Europeans wishing to work in the United States).
• Shows and concerts: The European Exchange Talent Programme (ETEP) will encourage and support the organisation of concerts, tours and festivals of European artists abroad through information broadcast by radio and other media. In 2004, the programme had allowed 35 groups to perform in 13 countries and 86 live shows were organised, attended by nearly 1.5 million people.
• Platform of cooperation: will allow cultural cooperation to be enhanced with EU institutions and EU Member States, especially new Member States.

EMO is a non-profit international association bringing together professional organisations, associations and federations from the music sector within the European Union for the promotion of the sector's interests by placing emphasis on the diversity of variety that exists in Europe. As far as “Culture 2007” is concerned, which replaces the current “Culture 2000” programme, EMO states it agrees with the Commission's aims (free movement of artists and works, intercultural dialogue), but that it would nonetheless like the new programme to focus on specific problems in the sector by moving away from support that, it considers, is rather too general.