Dear Acting Minister of Justice, Mr. Blerim Sallahu,
Dear Prosecutor of the Republic of Kosovo, Mr. Ardian Mehmeti,
Dear Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, Mr. Bislim Bislimi,
Dear Chairperson of the Kosova Music Rights Society, Ms. Kaltrina Mehmeti,
Distinguished artists, composers, producers, publishers, friends of culture and art, and representatives of our institutions,
Someone sews a dress, another creates a sculpture, another paints a painting. These can be touched — and are protected.
Someone composes a song, records a sonata, performs a concert. These are mostly heard.
Can something that is heard be protected? We associate hearing with the soul — after all, the çifteli (traditional Albanian instrument) was, until the 1990s, always given as a gift, never sold.
So why shouldn’t what we hear be protected as well?
The path toward the institutionalization of music in our country was paved by our first composer, Lorenc Antoni, in the early 20th century, through his first scholarly writings on our folklore and his research work. Then came the first music school in Prizren, followed by the first generations of composers. And later, countless instrumentalists, vocalists, lyricists, authors, singers — from traditional folklore to classical music; from rock, pop, hip-hop, and metal, to electronic and alternative genres; from our traditional men’s chambers to the grand stages of festivals; from small town studios to more than 43 major music-focused events.
Every initiative of ours, like today’s, stands upon the shoulders of spiritual mountains that have been built and continue to make Kosovo a hyper-musical country. For this reason, we owe a debt to this creativity and to its creators.
Today, we mark a step that goes beyond music. Because at the core of this initiative to create the Kosova Music Rights Society (KMRS) and the work ahead lies a bigger idea: the right to own the fruit of our labor — that authors, too, may benefit from the public good. This is not merely a legal issue, but also a moral, cultural, and philosophical one. A society that recognizes and protects creativity is one that believes in itself, in its present, and in its future. Likewise, it is a society that not only loves its artists but respects them as well.
In music, we have inversion and retrograde; in institutions, we have MCYS and KMRS. The same melody, but now in legal harmony — an institutional anagram that speaks of our evolution.
Kosova Music Rights Society (KMRS) is now more than an organization of trust between creators and the state, and between the public and art. With this step, Kosovo enters a new chapter in the collective management of copyright, becoming part of global institutional traditions and the European network of cooperation with organizations such as France’s SACEM (Society of Authors, Composers, and Music Publishers), and potentially with all others worldwide. This partnership attests to the seriousness of this initiative and to our openness toward international standards.
The Government of the Republic of Kosovo has been and will remain an unwavering partner in developing the music industry in all its forms — from composition and performance to production, distribution, and legal protection of creative works. With the new Law on Culture, the Law on Copyright and Related Rights, and other reforms being undertaken, we are building the foundations of a system that safeguards and elevates creators while stimulating the creative economy.
Let us support this joint effort that unites the voice of creators, the strength of institutions, and the conscience of the public. Let us turn Kosovo into a laboratory of the cultural future, where every sound, every verse, and every artistic idea finds space to be heard and protected.
Congratulations to the founders of KMRS, to the representatives of MCYS, to international partners, and to all the creators who bring spirit and joy to our country every day.
Thank you.
