Jean Michel Jarre elected as CISAC president

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.