26 European music organisations back MEPs Rafowicz & Kuhnke's AgoraEU draft report

26 organisations from across the European music sector welcome the draft report by MEP Rafowicz and MEP Kuhnke, and its recognition of music as a dedicated strand within AgoraEU.

The proposed Culture - Music strand is a significant step forward and responds to a long-running ask from the sector for targeted support that reflects music’s economic, cultural and social weight as well as its specific structure and challenges.

Key Priorities Addressed

The draft report identifies several critical priorities:

• Sustainability & Independence: Strengthening the sector’s competitiveness against market concentration and dominant digital platforms.
• Human Creativity & Fair Pay: Safeguarding human creators in the age of AI disruption, while improving working conditions, social protection, and fair remuneration for artists.
• Growth & Access: Tackling barriers to cross-border circulation, increasing access to finance, and establishing a European Music Observatory to provide vital, data-driven insights.

While the sector warmly welcomes the proposal to earmark 15% of the allocated cultural financial budget specifically for music, this allocation must be viewed as a financial floor, not a ceiling for European music to truly grow, circulate, and compete internationally. 

A dedicated music strand

The case for dedicated music action is clear. While music is one of Europe’s most visible cultural forms, it depends on a fragile ecosystem of independent artists, NGOs, and SMEs facing limited cross border reach, market concentration, opaque streaming, and AI disruption.

A dedicated music action is a necessary response to these market failures and policy gaps. To ensure this initiative succeeds, the sector urges EU institutions to keep structured dialogue with industry professionals at the heart of the new strand. Maintaining this momentum during upcoming negotiations will ensure the EU secures the robust funding, practical tools, and long-term support needed to guarantee a sustainable future for European music.

Read the full statement here.

Signatories

AEPO-ARTIS
Association Européenne des Conservatoires, Académies de Musique et Musikhochschulen
ECSA - European Composer and Songwriter Alliance
EJN Europe Jazz Network
European Music Exporters Exchange
European Music Managers Alliance
European Association for Music in Schools
European Chamber Music Teachers Association
European Choral Association
European Folk Network
European Music Council (EMC)
European Music School Union
Federation of Music Conferences
GESAC
IMPALA – Independent Music Companies Association
IMPF, the global trade body for independent music publishers 
International Artist Organisation (IAO)
International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres
International Federation of Musicians
Jeunesses Musicales International
LiveDMA
Liveurope - The live music platform for new European talent
Music Cities Network
Music Tech Europe
REMA
YOUROPE e.V. - The European Festival Association