The International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) has elected Dean Ormston, CEO of APRA AMCOS, as its new Chair. Ormston has served as CEO of APRA AMCOS since 2018, representing over 124,000 songwriters, composers, and publishers in Australia and New Zealand. As the creative economy enters a new era shaped by AI and global digitalisation, the opportunity to secure a fair and thriving future for creators has never been greater.
Ormston expressed his hope to work with the new Board and the entire CISAC community to champion creators’ rights, further develop services, and empower societies and their members to lead in this rapidly changing global market. Urban Pappi, Director General of German visual arts society VG Bild-Kunst, was elected as Vice-Chair for the first time, while Jennifer Brown, CEO of Canada’s SOCAN, was re-elected for a second term as Vice-Chair.
At CISAC’s General Assembly, three new societies were announced: KODA (Denmark), SGAE (Spain), and DACS (UK). CISAC Director General Gadi Oron welcomed the board appointments, stating that they are a strong and forward-looking board, bringing together valuable experience and broad geographic and sectoral diversity.
Dean Ormston succeeds Marcelo Castello Branco, CEO of Brazilian society UBC, who completed six years of service as Board Chair. He expressed gratitude to his fellow Board members and the entire community, emphasizing the importance of creators as the fundamental reason for their existence and ability to thrive in the future.
The appointments come during a busy lobbying period for CISAC, as the use of Generative AI in the music industry rapidly accelerates. CISAC President and Abba co-founder Björn Ulvaeus recently met with UK officials to urge them to safeguard creators’ rights during a high-profile public consultation on AI and copyright. Ulvaeus also led a delegation of music industry creators to Brussels, calling on the EU to safeguard creators’ rights.
