The Sound of Music Policy
Reports
Published 2025
Developing Music Export in Europe: Part II
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This report presents an updated and expanded analysis of the European Music Export Strategy (EMES), outlining its structure, strategic objectives, and the key stakeholders shaping music export development across Europe. Building on the first volume, it offers a deeper look at how EMES can be used as a practical framework for mapping national ecosystems, identifying gaps, and guiding coordinated action. Designed for policymakers, MEOs and sector leaders, it provides a clear foundation for strengthening Europe’s music export capacity.
Published 2025
Developing Music Export in Europe: Estonia
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This report offers a detailed look at how Estonia develops its music export capacity, forming part of EMEE’s series of European country profiles. Building on earlier studies that mapped 29 Music Export Organisations and introduced the European Music Export Strategy, it provides practical insights into Estonia’s ecosystem, policies, and key actors. Designed primarily for MEOs seeking comparative understanding and best-practice knowledge, it also serves anyone interested in how music export evolves across Europe.
Published 2025
Bulgarian Music Ecosystem and The Music Rights Economy
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This report aims to provide a fresh view of the Bulgarian music ecosystem with a focus on the music rights industry – those earning most of their revenue from exploiting copyright or neighbouring rights, including artists, creators, producers (owners of master rights), distributors, Collective Management Organisations (CMOs), and music publishers. This report evokes the ecosystem concept to describe the complex and interconnected nature of the music sector. It’s useful to better make sense of the diverse actors, their multi-layered motivations, interactions, and environment in context. Such context-sensitive analysis can help identify the necessary leverage points for effective policy making and collective action. ​
Published 2025
Synch market report: Denmark
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This report examines the practices, challenges, and opportunities within Denmark’s evolving music synchronisation (synch) sector. It is based on interviews conducted with industry professionals working in synch, including music supervisors, synch agents, media composers, music publishers, and label owners, among others, as well as reports and data on the Danish music economy and audiovisual media sectors. Despite a well-developed national music industry and strong film, TV, and gaming production, the professionalisation of synch and music supervision has only gained traction over the last fifteen years. The report’s findings reveal a market grappling with a variety of challenges, most notably the tension between legacy, informal and poorly streamlined licensing practices and newer, more cost-effective options like music libraries, as well as the looming impact on AI-generated music. Nevertheless, there are those who also see new opportunities in the market and continue to put in the work to raise awareness on the value of music as well as the specifics of licensing among client sectors.
Published 2024
Synch market report: Estonia
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Overall, the Estonian sync market is experiencing steady growth, evolving in tandem with the music publishing industry. An increasing number of music companies, including labels and managers, are progressively exploring and embracing sync opportunities, both domestically and internationally. Nevertheless, owing to Estonia‘s relatively small market size, film production studios and advertising agencies often operate with limited budgets for music, resulting in frequent reliance on music libraries. Furthermore, due to the sync market being relatively new, there is no established structure of music supervisors, making it difficult to know who to reach out to and who is in charge of music selection and clearance. Likewise, the level of knowledge on music synchronisation, copyright and licensing is still relatively low, however, it is improving due to increasing opportunities to gain formal education and informal training about the music business, and several campaigns related to raising awareness on copyright and intellectual property in general.
Published 2024
Music city profile: Aarhus
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This report is part of a trio of music policy profiles of three cities: Aarhus, Berlin and Ghent. They are written as additional case studies for a music policy analysis for the city of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia and a UNESCO City of Music from 2022.
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The profiles are based on document analysis, including music or more broadly cultural strategies and various reports, and interviews with music sector representatives and city officials. The profiles describe broadly how the city as a political and administrative organisation interacts with the music life in the city, whether through policies and regulations, subsidies and other support, as urban planners and real estate managers or facilitators of local, regional, national or international collaboration. It is clear, however, that a comprehensive review of all the ways that these cities interact with their music life would easily fill a book in each case.
Published 2024
Music city profile: Berlin
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This report is part of a trio of music policy profiles of three cities: Aarhus, Berlin and Ghent. They are written as additional case studies for a music policy analysis for the city of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia and a UNESCO City of Music from 2022.
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The profiles are based on document analysis, including music or more broadly cultural strategies and various reports, and interviews with music sector representatives and city officials. The profiles describe broadly how the city as a political and administrative organisation interacts with the music life in the city, whether through policies and regulations, subsidies and other support, as urban planners and real estate managers or facilitators of local, regional, national or international collaboration. It is clear, however, that a comprehensive review of all the ways that these cities interact with their music life would easily fill a book in each case.
Published 2024
Music city profile: Ghent
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This report is part of a trio of music policy profiles of three cities: Aarhus, Berlin and Ghent. They are written as additional case studies for a music policy analysis for the city of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia and a UNESCO City of Music from 2022.
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The profiles are based on document analysis, including music or more broadly cultural strategies and various reports, and interviews with music sector representatives and city officials. The profiles describe broadly how the city as a political and administrative organisation interacts with the music life in the city, whether through policies and regulations, subsidies and other support, as urban planners and real estate managers or facilitators of local, regional, national or international collaboration. It is clear, however, that a comprehensive review of all the ways that these cities interact with their music life would easily fill a book in each case.
Published 2020
A European music export strategy: final report
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The study defines the background, the scope, and proposes a set of measures for a European music export strategy. Following the analysis of the main characteristics of the music sector in the European Union, this report takes stock of the main obstacles, challenges and opportunities faced by European music when crossing borders and shows that Anglo-American repertoire appears to be more successful in this context than music from the rest of Europe. The study subsequently describes the strengths and challenges of European music export strategies, based on the results of a survey circulated to national and regional organisations specialised in the export of music. The study then focuses in particular on four key international territories (United States, Canada, South Africa and China). Building on this stocktaking exercise, a “European music export strategy” is described, through a set of objectives, target groups and measures, including innovative funding schemes and policy approaches, reflecting the need to include music sector stakeholders and policymakers both at national and European level. A proposal for the articulation and the implementation of the European music export strategy is formulated, with key expected results in terms of market structuration, policy developments, data collection and cross-border circulation of European music.
Published 2023
Implementing steps to develop and promote European Music Export
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The importance of the music sector for Europe both on an economic level (employing more people than film and generating more than 25bn EUR revenue annually – Source: Ernst & Young, Creating Growth. Measuring cultural and creative markets in the EU, December 2014, based on 2013 figures), and on a social level, as a crucial pillar of Europe’s cultural diversity) is no longer in doubt. Based on this observation and following a dialogue with the European music sector (AB music group), the Music Moves Europe initiative was launched with a preparatory action, set up within the Creative Europe programme framework to better prepare and inform the 2021–2027 programme with regards to the needs of the music sector. As such, Music Moves Europe launched several calls for pilot projects and tenders for studies over three years, including the study on the European Music Export Strategy (EMES) published in 2019. The main objectives of EMES included making recommendations on tools that would benefit the music sector and boost the capacity of European Music to cross borders, both within Europe and internationally. The study on the European Music Export Strategy was led by Le Bureau Export and MICA, with the participation from KEA European Affairs and with steering from EMEE – the European Music Exporters Exchange.
Published 2023
Developing music export in Europe I
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Despite the alleged democratisation of digital technologies that allow music to be heard instantly everywhere at once, the challenge of developing a loyal audience abroad increases with the distance from one’s home territory. Developing music export capacity in Europe is a prominent topic in the music policy sphere, including the Music Moves Europe initiative, but what does it mean in practice and who is doing it in Europe?
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The EMEE report, “Music Export Development in Europe” (Volume 1), authored by Virgo Sillamaa, provides a comprehensive analysis of 29 European music export organisations. It explores their organisational structures, financing models, and their role in supporting artists and music entrepreneurs in establishing international careers and businesses. The report also outlines the European Music Export Strategy, using its 6-step development path as a framework to organise the diverse range of export development activities into a cohesive whole.
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Published 2023
Tallinna muusikapoliiitika analüüs
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2022. aastal pälvis Tallinn UNESCO muusikalinna tiitli ning selle tulemusena liitus ülemaailmse võrgustikuga, kuhu kuulub rohkem kui 50 muusikalinna. Tallinna eesmärgid ja plaanitavad tegevused on täpsemalt avatud dokumendis „Muusikalinn Tallinna tegevuskava 2022–2025”. Valdkonna soovil oli tarvis selle tiitliga seoses kaardistada täpsemalt Tallinna linna toimimismehhanismid ja nende lõikumine muusikavaldkonnaga. Samuti oli mitme teemaprogrammi elluviimise planeerimiseks tarvis valdkonnas tegutsejate vajadusi täpsemalt kaardistada ning täiendavalt analüüsida, kuidas Muusikalinn Tallinn nendega võiks seostuda.
Tallinna muusikapoliitika analüüs koosneb kahest osast. Esimeses osas on antud ülevaade sellest, kuidas Tallinn läbi mitme valdkonna poliitikate linna muusikaeluga seostub, sealhulgas ürituste korraldaja, kultuuriasutuste pidaja, kultuuriprojektide toetaja, linnaruumi kujundaja ja kinnisvara haldaja kui ka koostööpartnerina. Analüüsi teine osa annab ülevaate valdkonnas tegutsejate vajaduste kaardistuse tulemustest, sealhulgas kontserdielu, uue loomingu, muusikaettevõtete konkurentsivõime ja muusikatehnoloogia teemade lõikes. Teise osa lõpus on analüüsitud ka muusikalinna kui koostööplatvormi kujundamist ja juhtimist.
Published 2022
Eesti ühiskonna kulutused muusikale 2018-2020
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Muusikamajanduse mõistmiseks andmepiltide kaudu on tarvis kahte vaadet – nõudluse vaade ehk kui palju ühiskond kulutab muusika kuulamisele ja kasutamisele ning pakkumise vaade ehk kui palju Eesti muusikasektor loob väärtust ja teenib tulu muusika loomise, levitamise, müügi ning muusikaga seonduvate teenuste pakkumisega. Käesolev aruanne kajastab nõudluse vaadet ning vastab küsimusele: millised on Eesti ühiskonna kulutused muusikale. Vaatluse all on aastad 2018, 2019 ja 2020 ning seega peegeldub tervikpildis ka esimene COVIDi kriisist mõjutatud aasta.