Why Freemuse?
Music exists in all known human societies. This shows that music is something that is part and parcel of human nature. Music has many forms and manifestations. It is an expression of the ideas, traditions and emotions of individuals and of peoples. It is used to transmit knowledge from generation to generation. It expresses hopes and aspirations, joys and sorrows, people’s core cultural identity. Imagine the world without music. Or imagine a world where we are told what to play, what to sing and even what we may listen to in the privacy of our own homes. That world already exists. In more countries that you might imagine, musicians and composers are under threat. And that threat is growing.
In countries like Sudan, Afghanistan and China, violations of musician’s rights to freedom of expression are commonplace. In the USA and Algeria, lobbying groups have succeeded in keeping popular music off the concert stage, and out of the media and retail. In former Yugoslavia, Turkey and other places musicians are pawns in political dramas, and the possibility of free expression has been aversely affected.
In spite of all the blatant cases of censorship of music over the years there has been little attention to it. During the fight against apartheid in South Africa authors, journalists and actors who were jailed got international support. Jailed musicians didn’t get much such support. Very little news about these musicians reached the media. Freemuse was formed in 1998 as a remedy for this situation. Freemuse was formed to act as a watchdog in cases of music censorship around the world. Freemuse was formed to build and disseminate knowledge about the mechanisms at work when music is censored.
How Freemuse?
The activities of Freemuse are based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, especially on the rights to freedom of expression and to participate in cultural life. All music makers should have the right to freely express themselves as long as they do not violate the rights of others as laid down in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Everybody should have the right to participate in musical activities as performers, listeners or in other capacities.
As can be seen from the content of this booklet Freemuse has accomplished quite a lot in the past 10 years. The hub has been the Freemuse secretariat with the Freemuse website freemuse.org where a wealth of information about cases of music censorship has been posted. On the website you can find reports from all over the world, video and audio clips, readymade radio programs and much more. When Freemuse acts in response to acute cases of music censorship, the news is generally quickly spread through the website and by other means. Some cases are more sensitive than others and have to be handled with “silent diplomacy” while acute. But when it’s over the information can be found on the website.
A lot of new knowledge about music censorship has been created at the many conferences and seminars organized by Freemuse. This new knowledge disseminated in printed reports and by other means has contributed substantially to a better understanding of the workings of music censorship in past and present cases.
The Freemuse reports on the state of music censorship in specific countries have put the spotlight on the plight of certain musicians and music audiences in these countries. These reports as well as the conference reports are often accompanied by a CD or DVD with samples of forbidden music, interviews, etc.
The many facets of how to Freemuse is illustrated by the testimonies in this booklet from individuals who in some way or another have been embraced by Freemuse. The long list of Freemuse activities at the end of the booklet also shows the manifold approaches of Freemuse. The encounters of musicians, journalists, researchers, politicians, censors and others in Freemuse activities over the years have built an extensive network of people with a vast knowledge of music censorship. Although Freemuse is formally a membership organisation with a charter, Executive Committee and other bodies, it is this widespread network connecting people around the globe that is the essence of Freemuse.
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