WASHINGTON & PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In its annual meeting today, held in Washington DC, CISAC (the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers) has officially elected electronic music pioneer Jean Michel Jarre to serve as its new president. Jarre will succeed the late Robin Gibb, who passed away in May 2012, and Hervé Di Rosa, French visual artist and painter who served as CISAC’s acting president for the past year. The organization also expanded its Vice President role to four positions, enabling more territories and repertoire to be represented. These positions will go to Javed Akhtar, one of the most successful multi-platform creators from India; Angélique Kidjo, a Grammy Award-winning artist and activist from the West African nation of the Republic of Benin; Marcelo Piñeyro, an Academy Award-winning producer and director of Spanish-language films; and Ousmane Sow, a revered sculptor from the African city of Dakar in Senegal.

The appointments were announced today by the CISAC’s General Assembly following the organization’s fourth biennial World Creators Summit, the leading international and cross-industry forum addressing the future of copyright and creators’ interests.

The new President and Vice Presidents will act as the voice of the authors’ community worldwide, defending and championing the interests of CISAC, its 231 member societies and the 3 million creators it represents.

“We are thrilled to welcome Jean Michel Jarre and our new four Vice Presidents as we continue striving to create a world where creators can practice their art without fear of being short-changed,” said Kenth Muldin, Chairman of the CISAC Board of Directors. “As creators themselves, all five new appointees are well aware of the issues faced by the creative community, making them ideal candidates to carry on the legacy of our previous President Robin Gibb, who fought tirelessly for creators’ rights throughout his life. We look forward to working with them to continue the work of making his vision a reality.”

“When I first started making music, I never thought my path would lead me to become the head of an organization with such an important mission, and it is a true honor to accept the responsibility of the CISAC Presidency,” said Jarre. “Creators’ rights are up for debate all over the world, and it is our duty to ensure that they are able to maintain their control of and right to be compensated for their own art. I am excited to begin this journey with the rest of the CISAC Board, our new Vice Presidents, and all of our talented members.”

“Jean Michel Jarre is already demonstrating his strong leadership for the international community of creators, and I know he, Javed Akhtar, Angélique Kidjo, Marcelo Piñeyro, and Ousmane Sow will serve us all very well to ensure the voice of the artist is heard in the debate around the policies that most affect our lives. I look forward to working with them closely,” said Hervé Di Rosa. Di Rosa will now serve as the chair of CISAC’s International Council of Creators of Graphic, Plastic and Photographic Arts, CIAGP.

For biographical information and photos, go to: www.jaybirdcom.com/cisac-president.

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About CISAC www.cisac.org

CISAC – the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers – is the leading worldwide network of collective management organisations and a unique international NGO uniting 231 authors’ societies and guilds in 121 countries, thus representing more than 3 million creators and publishers from all creative genres (music, film, visual arts, and literary). In 2011, worldwide royalties collected by CISAC members on behalf of creators reached $10.3 billion (€7.6 billion).

Founded in 1926, CISAC is a non-governmental, not-for-profit organisation with worldwide headquarters in France and regional offices in Chile, Hungary, Singapore, and Burkina Faso. CISAC aims to increase both the protection and the promotion of creators’ rights worldwide. CISAC enables collective management organisations to seamlessly represent creators across the globe and ensure that royalties flow to authors for the use of their works anywhere in the world. To this end, CISAC provides the highest business, legal, and IT standards to protect creators’ rights and to support the development of the international network of collective management societies.