Alliance for the Development of Creative Forces in Bulgaria

The coalition comes in response to the damages the creative sector has witnessed over the years due to the lack of any vision for the future of the creative industries and the inability of the state to create an environment for professional growth of artists. According to Viktor Bozhinov, Chairman of the Board of FILMAUTOR, a key point in this is the tolerance of piracy. He also highlighted that the purpose of this alliance is not seeking financial support, but rather an implementation of well-focused and purpose-oriented state policy that reflects the rights and interests of all participants in this process: "We are creating music, movies in spite of the imbalances in relations between all participants in the creative environment”.

At the press conference on 3 February, the alliance presented short video featuring a number of prominent artists, who expressed their position, supported the alliance and emphasized the need for urgent measures in order for them to be able to continue working in Bulgaria.

In order to provide better understanding of the current situation in Bulgaria, Maria Palaurova – Managing Director of FILMAUTOR, also presented data, according to which Bulgaria collects the lowest amount of royalties for music and movies – lower than those in countries like Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and others: "Royalties for authors in the audiovisual sector in 2020 represent 0.0010% of Bulgaria's GDP, which means that Bulgaria spends 0.09 euros per capita for the whole year. The situation is similar in the music industry – 0.007% is collected as a percentage of GDP in Bulgaria, and as an absolute amount it is 0.65 euros per capita in 2020”, explained Maria Palaurova. 

FILMAUTOR presented the results of a survey, conducted in 2021 with Gallup International among authors of films and series from the last 5 years, according to which only 12% of authors receive subsequent remuneration, different from the lump sum received with the signing of the production contract. 89% of authors whose films are available on the Internet do not receive remuneration for them. As for the remunerations from television broadcasting, they are mainly from the public television (BNT – Bulgarian National Television) – 76%, or from abroad – 17%. 95% from the authors believe that collective management is more efficient for protection of their rights.

Maria Palaurova noted that, according to ARTS, these indicators could be quite different if the relationships in the cultural and creative industries were given the opportunity to develop by activating and implementing the mechanisms of copyright. The transposition of the two directives from 2019 could help and unlock these new opportunities.

Download and read the full press release below.