Extrait d’une interview parue dans “Billboard” le 29 janvier 2013, par Aymeric Pichevin.
“Jean Noel Tronc is CEO of France’s authors, composers and publishers collections society SACEM — a job he’s only held since June 2012. Coming from the IT and television sectors, Tronc has had a steep learning curve but already under his stewardship has initiated shifts in how SACEM operates. Here, Tronc discusses his ongoing hardnosed negotiations with YouTube, balancing the “tremendous power” of digital concerns and the undervaluing of the music market.
Billboard.biz: SACEM is currently in hardnosed negotiations with YouTube after your deal expired in 2012 [on Jan. 19, Youtube stopped monetizing music videos from SACEM’s repertoire] – where do the discussions stand?
Jean Noel Tronc: I want to make a deal. Negotiations are still ongoing. I was actually talking with them right before this interview. SACEM revenue from streaming services altogether might represent only €10 million, which is not that much compared with our €803 million collections for 2012. But we believe streaming will have amazing growth in the future. SACEM has always had a very proactive strategy towards digital.
What’s the problem with YouTube?
I can’t speak on the negotiation itself. We certainly want to improve our former deal. It takes time, but we are negotiating fairly. After YouTube stopped monetizing our repertoire, we could have withdrawn our catalog from YouTube, but we did not. We are part of the solution, not part of the problem!”
Comments by Jean-Noël Tronc