There are now national cinemas, books and dance centers in France, but not music! Roch-Olivier Maistre, Master Advisor at the Court of Auditors, delivered his report on the project for the creation of a "joint house of music" in late November, to quote the French Minister of Culture Françoise Nyssen , who wanted to relaunch this project upon his arrival Rue de Valois. Raise, because since Marcel Landowski, there have been several attempts that have all failed. In particular, we remember Nicolas Sarkozy's desire to create a national music center.
Why each time have these projects been abandoned ?? The musical landscape has the particularity of having totally different sectors: on the one hand the so-called learned music and on the other the so-called current music. Beyond the aesthetic question, they are two antagonistic economic models, with, on the one hand, subsidized music and, on the other hand, the cultural industry.
How to reconcile these two worlds ?? Roch-Olivier Maistre does not want to create a national music agency, which would diminish the prerogatives of the state in this area - enough to reassure the music subsidized. On the contrary, he even proposes to embody the musical policy of the state with a unique face. Not easy to find the personality that can federate the different sectors ...
With regard to the missions of the National Music Center, the report recommends different axes: observatory of the sector, support for international diffusion, place of training and, above all, economic support. It is this center that would manage the tax credits that benefit both publicly funded structures and private companies, and it is probably necessary to review the award criteria.
For the representatives of learned music, the fear is that this center is ultimately an extension of the already existing National Center of Varieties. We can also regret that the report does not point the excesses of the tax on variety shows, partly responsible for the phenomenon of concentration, with a market dominated by a few groups (Fimalac, Vivendi ...). This National Music Center must go far beyond that: it will be all the more important that it will bring together different entities, such as Burex, responsible for the export of music.
Roch-Olivier Maistre is right ?: this is the opportunity or never to concretize such a project. Because, today, the scholarly and current music faces the same challenge: the digital, with the question of the remuneration of the music on line. It remains to be seen how this center can be financed. The taxation of the digital sphere is a relevant track, especially since there is little to expect from the Ministry of Culture who knows no budget increase.
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