Israeli Recording Artists want Government Funding

The film industry in Israel has always depended on the government to provide funding for financing productions. Now, the same kind of support is sought by the recording artists in the country. The legislation that has been proposed has been dubbed as Israel’s Music Law, much like the Israeli Film Law. This law would create government budgets aimed at stabilizing and preserving the music industry in Israel. Artists, such as Shai Tsabari, Shuli Rand, Kobi Oz, Nitzan Zeira, Micha Sheetrit and Miri Mesika, are supporting the effort and they are being assisted by attorney Inbar Nacht. The lawyer has a foundation by the name of Inbar and Marius Nacht Family that has been dedicated to taking this initiative forward in the last year.

Inbar Nacht’s husband is Marius Nacht, who is the co-founder of Check Point Software. He is regarded as one of the founders of the cybersecurity industry in Israel. Oz stated that similar to film, theater and the culinary arts, Israeli music also deserves to have its place in the world. All artists belonging to the other industries are able to succeed outside the country and Israeli music artists deserve the same. Oz said that if you can listen to music from Brazil, it does not mean that the musician in question, such as Matt Caspi, cannot be known in other countries.

A New Cinema Law had been passed by the government in 2000, which aimed at obtaining more funding for local cinema. This has played an important role in pushing Israeli movies onto global screens. Nachman Rosenberg, the chief executive of the Inbar and Marius Nacht Family Foundation, said that the film law had helped jumpstart the film industry in Israel. The CEO said that this is why TV shows, such as ‘Fauda’ are being streamed by Netflix and Israeli music could also follow the same route. There are a number of cultural initiatives that are funded by the Nacht Foundation. 

This includes the 62 classic Israeli tracks that were remastered and 80 leading artists in Israel performed them. During the coronavirus lockdowns, it employed more than 1,000 staffers from the music industry. In dealing with music projects during the COVID-19 pandemic, Nacht became aware of the challenges that the music industry in Israel is facing, which includes what some people call the government’s lack of commitment for helping preserve music in Israel. Rosenberg said that music is necessary for Israeli culture. The local music industry needs to be redefined and reorganized going forward in order to preserve it.

Oz said that the lack of regulation was part of the major problems in Israel. The music of Israeli artists is used for free by most organizations, from television channels to schools. Fighting them is not that easy for solo artists. Oz said that musicians want to make money with their songs, but Israel does not have enough audience like the US. Along with other artists, Oz met with Chili Tropper, the Culture Minister, who said he would help in pushing the bill forward.