The Belgian music and entertainment industry has launched the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA).
With a goal to better defend the Belgian entertainment industry, the organization is a joint initiative of the IFPI Belgium, the Belgian Video Federation (BVF) and the Belgian Luxembourg Interactive Software Association (BLISA). BEA claims to represent 90% of the Belgian entertainment industry, and currently counts more than 50 members.
In March, the new association plans to submit an “entertainment memo” to the Belgian government to highlight the concerns of local entertainment businesses, and demand measures of support from politicians.
The association, unveiled Feb. 14, was inaugurated with the signatures of IFPI Belgium director Olivier Maeterlinck; EMI Music Belgium managing director Erwin Goegebeur; Henk Hoogenboom, director of games distributor Take Two and video distributor Frank Swaelens.
Meanwhile, the music industry bucked the trend and posted 12.1% growth in units compared to 2006, according to new results published by BEA.
The market — with total revenue of €182.2 million ($266.6 million) — appears to have stabilized for the first time since 2000, according to a BEA spokesman.
Twenty-five of the Top 100 albums were produced by domestic talent, compared with 16 albums in 2006.
