"Unfortunately we have not been able to renew our licensing agreement with Siae", communicated a Meta spokesman.
"The protection of the copyrights of composers and artists is a priority for us and for this reason, starting today we will start the procedure to remove songs from the Siae repertoire in our music library. We believe it is a value for the entire music industry to allow people to share and connect on our platforms using the music they love. We have licensing agreements in over 150 countries around the world, we will continue to work to reach an agreement with SIAE that satisfies all parties."
''Meta's unilateral decision leaves Italian authors and publishers baffled''.
Siae explains it in a note.
''SIAE is asked to accept a unilateral proposal from Meta regardless of any transparent and shared assessment of the effective value of the repertoire.
This position, together with Meta's refusal to share relevant information for the purposes of a fair agreement, is evidently in contrast with the principles enshrined in the Copyright Directive for which authors and publishers from all over Europe have strongly fought". .
''This decision is striking - continues Siae -, considering the negotiations in progress, and in any case the full willingness of Siae to sign the license for the correct use of the protected contents under transparent conditions.
This openness is demonstrated by the fact that Siae has continued to seek an agreement with Meta in good faith, despite the platform lacking a license as of January 1, 2023. Siae will not accept impositions from a subject that exploits its position of strength to obtain savings to the detriment of the Italian creative industry.
Mogol's answer
"These platforms earn billions and are reluctant to pay anything. Authors live thanks to copyright and ours is a just battle that we do in defense of authors".
Thus the president of Siae Mogol, on the sidelines of the presentation of the album Hidden Masterpieces, responds to the decision of the social giant Meta to remove the songs of the Siae repertoire from the music library due to the non-renewal of the license agreement with Siae.
"It is a sacred battle - Mogol reiterates -, which we have also brought to Parliament, but for 7-8 months everything has stopped with the implementing decrees: if the situation does not unblock itself, it is a battle that we have lost".
"The same threat from Meta - underlines Mario Lavezzi - was also made by Google some time ago: then the