Brief History
CISAC is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation. Its activities are strictly independent of any political or religious affiliation.
Initially, CISAC had 18 members from 18 countries, mainly representing the dramatic arts. These members have established CISAC in 1926 in France, where it still has its worldwide headquarters today.
Inspired by the ideas of universal peace and co-operation, that had arisen after World War I, the founders’ goal was to unite authors and composers from around the world. They intended to co-ordinate the work of their societies, to improve national and international copyright law, to foster the diffusion of creative works and, in general, to attend to all common problems of creation in its widest sense.
CISAC initially consisted of five separate federations (for dramatic performing rights, public performing rights, mechanical rights, literary rights and film rights). In 1966, CISAC united the five federations to form the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers, laying the foundations of CISAC’s current structure.
Today, CISAC’s statutory bodies consist of the General Assembly, the Board of Directors, the International Councils of Creators, the Regional Committees, the Legal and Technical Committees and the CIS Supervisory Board.
CISAC’s Presidency
In June 2013, the General Assembly elected the famous French composer and artist Jean-Michel Jarre as President of CISAC. Four vice-presidents were also elected : the Beninese creator and singer Angélique Kidjo, the Senegalese sculptor Ousmane Sow, the Indian poet, scriptwriter and lyricist Javed Akhtar and the Argentinean film director Marcelo Piñeyro,
These artists form a creative quintet covering five continents, embodying all artistic disciplines (music, cinema, visual arts, theatre and literature). Through CISAC, they are the spokespeople for more than three million creators around the world.
As ambassadors of the global community of artists and creators, they welcome the fact that the importance of cultural exception is taken into account. Cultural exception has permitted the emergence of a multiplicity of works and genres in all artistic disciplines worldwide.