SESSION OVERVIEW & DETAILS
1. PANEL: Professional Artists’ Status: Local Realities in a Global Perspective
• Format: Moderated round-table preceded by a remote presentation from ARIPO’s Amadu Bah.
• Overview: This panel will examine the real-world challenges facing artists in Poland and across other regions, and how CMOs are addressing these issues through their social mandates. It will compare how different systems respond to the complexities of performers’ professional lives, while also highlighting the social and cultural initiatives CMOs undertake to foster a more sustainable and supportive creative ecosystem.
• Panel Moderator
Gregor Štibernik – AIPA
Gregor Stibernik is the Director of AIPA, the Slovenian collective management organisation representing authors, performers, and producers of audiovisual works. With extensive experience in copyright law, cultural policy, and collective rights management, he has been a driving force behind national and regional efforts to strengthen the rights of audiovisual creators in the last 20 years.
Gregor is actively involved in umbrella associations such as SCAPR and GAVA, and regularly participates in regional and international forums and working groups. He is deeply committed to fostering cooperation among collecting societies in the Western Balkans, across Europe, and globally.
Gregor is a Board member of SCAPR and is the Convenor of the SCAPR Cooperation and Development Working Group.
• Round-table Panelists:
Aaron Casey – RAAP
Involved in the business of music since 2006, Aaron has both a practical and academic interest in the global music industry. He holds a Bachelor of Business in Business and Management Studies from TUS, an MA in Music Business Management from the University of Westminster, a PGCert in Learning and Teaching in Further and Higher Education from the University of Sussex and is also a Teaching Fellow with Advance HE.
As International Operations Manager at Recorded Artists Actors Performers (RAAP) Aaron collects royalties on behalf of performers from outside of Ireland. He is a part of the Business and Operations Working Group, the Audiovisual Forum and Mentorship subgroup within SCAPR. Aaron is also part of the Streaming Working Group with IMARA.
Aaron has previously held roles at IMRO, the Irish Music Rights Organisation collecting on behalf of authors and music publishers, was Head of Music Business at BIMM University Dublin and operated as an independent music rights and royalties consultant across a range of clients.
Christophe Van Vaerenbergh – PLAYRIGHT
Christophe Van Vaerenbergh has been the managing director of PlayRight since 2010. PlayRight is the sole CMO (collective management organisation) for performing artists in Belgium, representing more than 22.000 directly affiliated musicians and actors. Prior to joining PlayRight, Christophe was the managing director of the Belgian Standards Bureau between 2006 and 2010. From 2000 until 2006 he was an advisor to several Belgian ministers on topics related to ICT, privacy, and intellectual property issues. He is a lawyer by training, specialized in IT law and copyright law, and currently lives in Ghent.
Ryszard Wojciul – STOART
Ryszard Wojciul is a musician, composer, journalist and music producer. A veteran of the vibrant Polish rock scene of the 1980s, he played with most prominent Polish bands, before going on to lead his own musical projects. His artistic work has always gone hand in hand with a deep-rooted dedication to the music community. Since 2016, he has served as Vice-Chairman of the Polish Musicians’ Union, where he has been setting the organisation’s strategic course. He now applies this hands-on experience at STOART, working to enhance the organisation’s operational structures and secure more meaningful outcomes for performers throughout Poland.
