Connecting the live music industry
European Music Sector Backs Dedicated EU Funding Proposal
June9
A coalition of 26 organisations representing the European music sector has welcomed a draft report from Members of the European Parliament Emma Rafowicz and Alice Kuhnke, supporting the creation of a dedicated music strand within the proposed AgoraEU programme.
The organisations said the proposed "Culture – Music" strand represents a significant step towards providing targeted support for the European music sector, recognising its economic, cultural and social contribution as well as the specific challenges faced by the industry.
The draft report highlights several priorities for the sector, including strengthening sustainability, competitiveness and independence across the music ecosystem. It also supports the establishment of a European Music Observatory and addresses issues such as market concentration, digital platforms, artificial intelligence, artist remuneration, social protection, diversity, inclusion, access to finance and cross-border circulation.
For the live music sector, the proposal is particularly relevant as it acknowledges challenges linked to market concentration, barriers to touring across borders, access to funding, and the need to support independent operators throughout the music value chain.
The organisations also welcomed the report’s proposal to earmark 15% of the budget allocated to the Culture, Creative Europe, Music and MEDIA strands for music-related initiatives. While describing the proposal as an important milestone, they said the allocation should be viewed as a starting point rather than a cap if Europe’s music sector is to remain competitive internationally.
According to the signatories, Europe’s music industry is largely built around independent artists and small and medium-sized organisations that face growing pressures from market consolidation, streaming economics, AI-driven disruption, fragmented markets and administrative barriers.
The groups also stressed the importance of structured dialogue between policymakers and the sector. They called for the European Music Observatory and future data initiatives to play a central role in informing policy decisions, programme design and funding priorities under AgoraEU.
In addition, the organisations backed a proposal to use fines collected under EU digital legislation as an additional source of funding for AgoraEU. They argued that redirecting such revenues could provide new resources for cultural programmes without increasing contributions from EU member states, while helping address challenges linked to platform dominance, artificial intelligence and digital market imbalances.
The signatories said AgoraEU has the potential to support a stronger and more sustainable future for European music and called on EU institutions to ensure that the proposed music strand receives adequate funding, sector engagement and practical support measures during upcoming negotiations.
Among the organisations supporting the proposal are the European Music Managers Alliance, the International Artist Organisation (IAO), LiveDMA, Liveurope, Music Tech Europe, the European Music Exporters Exchange, IMPALA and YOUROPE – The European Festival Association.
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