TBILISI, Georgia (CelebrityAccess) — Intellectual Property Owners’ Association (IPOA), a new collective rights management organization (CMO) covering performers in the former Soviet state of Georgia, announced its official launch.
Accredited by Georgia’s National Intellectual Property Center SAKPATENTI, IPOA will oversee the collection of royalties on behalf of Georgian recording artists and composers while establishing and maintaining relationships with other royalty collection societies around the world.
“Georgian artists wanted to reap the benefits of European approaches to accountability and transparency, combined with American expertise in rights management, all while maintaining their unique artistic spirit and vision,” explains Stefan Schulz, veteran label and music innovation executive and head of international relations for IPOA. “The world needs to know more about Georgia’s distinctive, breathtaking music, and its artists deserve to be rewarded for their contributions.”
The IPOA will succeed the Georgia Collection Society, which was created following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s but the organization drew criticism for high costs and inefficiencies.
According to the IPOA, the organization will function differently than the GCA.
“Our expenses are capped by law,” stated Giorgi Nikolaishvilli, IPOA’s General Director, “and our commitment to service is high, in part because we are artist-founded.”
As part of the new approach, the IPOA will utilize a single technology platform that will allow users to monitor and track usage, manage rights and accounting, eliminating the need for multiple vendors and streamlining the entire process.
Artists can access detailed reports on their royalties through their account on the IPOA website and business playing licensed music will be able to ensure that the proper fees are paid for the use of copyrighted music.
“It turned out that we can live in a different way and have more time for our art, by establishing a better business foundation for artists here,” noted Georgian composer and music professor Kakha Tsabadze stated. “Now that this foundation is built, Georgian artists are discovering they can finance their own ideas with the proceeds of their creativity. It’s truly inspiring.”
