Launched today by the DfES and DCMS at Abbey Road Studios, the Government's music manifesto sets out a route map for the future of music education in Britain. The music manifesto is a shared set of priorities for music education for the next three to five years which will act as a focus for joint activity by all interested parties.

British Music Rights was set up by the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters, the Music Publishers Association, the Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society and the Performing Right Society to promote the interests of UK composers, songwriters and music publishers.

We have contributed and signed up to the music manifesto on behalf of the creator community and are delighted that the manifesto recognises the diversity of creative roles within the industry including composers, songwriters and music publishers. We are also pleased that the manifesto states clearly that: "We will identify new opportunities for young people to create, record and promote their own music, complemented by effective copyright education and support for live performance". It is this aim that we have pledged to work towards and we will be running two initiatives in the near future which will help deliver this.

The first of these is a seminar which we are hosting jointly with DfES and DCMS on 15th July. The seminar aims to bring together government, industry, creators and educators to examine the importance of copyright in the curriculum and to brainstorm possible models for delivering it. We will also be running an educational initiative in schools in the autumn as part of the European Copyright Music Alliance (EMCA).

Henri Yoxall, General Manager of British Music Rights said: "We welcome the launch of the music manifesto today and the public commitment that Government is making to the value of creativity in Britain. The manifesto will help to unite all those with an interest in music education and ensure that we have a common goal.

Today's children are the future and we all have a responsibility to ensure that children have an awareness and respect for all aspects of music - not just as the makers of music but also as lifelong listeners."

Contact: British Music Rights
Telephone: 020 7306 4446
Email: britishmusic@bmr.org

Notes

1. British Music Rights was established to promote greater awareness of the interests and concerns of British music composers, songwriters and publishers to UK and EU policymakers and the wider public. The primary focus is to communicate an understanding of the rights and rewards for creativity in the music business; the value of those rights to UK ply; the impact of new technologies upon music creators and publishers and the resulting policy and legislative implications.

2. Our member organisations are the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters, the Music Publishers Association, the Performing Right Society and the Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society.

3. British Music Rights is a Friend of a pan-European initiative entitled the European Music Copyright Alliance (EMCA - www.emcaweb.net). This group will be launching an educational campaign to raise awareness of copyright and the value of creativity. The campaign will be launched in October 2004 in Brussels and will then roll out in schools across Europe.

4. British Music Rights is a member of the Music Business Forum (MBF) which is a cross- industry initiative created to liaise on key issues. The MBF is an informal grouping of organisations from across the music industry covering the interests of composers, artists, orchestral and session musicians, songwriters, producers, music publishers, managers, record companies, the collecting societies which administer rights in music and sound recordings and the record retailers

5. British Music Rights is also a member of the Alliance Against Counterfeiting and Piracy which is a unique coalition of trade and enforcement organisations representing music, film, video, software etc. The Alliance have joined together to form this pressure group to pursue common goals in an improved legislative framework to fight the effects of counterfeiting and piracy. For further information please visit the Alliance website at: www.aacp.org.uk