Israel's Finance Ministry to assist musicians through corona
The Finance minister has ordered the establishment of a joint team of ministry officials and Culture and Sport Ministry representatives to discuss aid for the Israeli music industry.
By ABIGAIL ADLERFinance Minister Israel Katz met with a number of artists on Wednesday to discuss aid to the Israeli music industry, which has been hit hard by coronavirus, according to a ministry press release Sunday. At the meeting, Katz announced plans to establish a joint team, made up of his own staff members and artist representatives.The team will look into different issues related to artists' incomes. Attorney Inbar Nacht, chair of the Nacht Family Foundation and owner of the MEI law firm is representing the artists. Among those at the meeting were singers Kobi Oz, Marina Maximilian-Blumin, Micha Shitrit, Omri Glickman and Ishay Ribo; producer Nitzan Zeira; and Nachman Rosenberg, CEO of the Nacht Family Foundation.The minister ordered the establishment of the working team to include government representatives from the Budget Department, Minister's Office and Culture and Sport Ministry. The artists' representatives will present the issues, and the government representatives will collaborate accordingly. Together, they will review compensation for private copyright, and build a strategic assistance package for the 2021 budget.The meeting took place following the Nacht Foundation's contacts with Culture Minister Hili Tropper, whose office is currently working to establish special supportive regulation, designed to replace the compensation for recordings made under the Israeli Copyright Law."There are hundreds of thousands of individuals involved in the Israeli music industry, a sector that has been severely affected by the corona crisis,” Rosenberg said.“We hope to find a sympathetic ear within the government that will hear the plight of those who are beaten down and broken by severe economic distress," he said. "Even in times of crisis, Israeli music is not a luxury, but a national asset that needs protection and cultivation." Since the outbreak of the corona crisis, the Family Foundation of Inbar and Marius Nacht has taken the initiative to support the world of arts and culture. Specifically, they are helping the struggling Israeli music industry with a series of projects, the most recent being the recording of Tzav HaSha'a (Call to Action), in which 80 artists and more than 700 music industry professionals were involved in the production of an album featuring fresh performances of classic Israeli songs.