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JMJ received a special award at the Second IFPI Platinum Awards in Brussels.
At the second IFPI Platinum Europe Awards Dinner in Brussels on July 9 (year?) Jean Michel Jarre received a Special Platinum Europe Award in recognition of his Exceptional Contribution to the European Music Industry. The award was presented by Jacques Santer, President of the European Commission and Nana Mouskouri, herself a holder of the award and MEP. Jean Michel Jarre agreed to act as European industry Artist Spokesman for the subsequent 2 years.
By the time of this award Jarre had sold over 55 million albums globally, 32 million throughout Europe, from his beginnings as a composer for ballets and movies. The release of Oxygene in 1976 led to the creation of an innovative and ground breaking musical genre in its own right, reinforced by 12 million sales around the world. Jean Michel worked to create legendary stage shows and performed his works in spectacular venues around the world - La Defense in Paris, the Houston Downtown, Moscow and became the first Western artist to perform in the Peopleíss Republic of China in 1981.
IFPI Chairman David Fine said: "Jean Michel Jarre is a worthy recipient of the Special Platinum Award and has agreed to act as a spokesman for the Music Industry in Europe. As one of Europe's most successful and innovative musicians, he is perfect for that role. He will be of enormous value in showing Europe's politicians that, on our priority issues of piracy and copyright protection in the information society, artists and the record industry are fighting for the common goal."
Jean Michel Jarre said: "This is a huge honour for me. Music has a very important role to play in the cultural and economic life of Europe. I am very happyto promote that role at a political and public level. This is an exciting time to be a recording artist in Europe - music is breaking down language and cultural barriers, and the information society is creating great new opportunities to reach our consumers. It's a time when certain absolute priorities must be made clear - such as the need for an environment which properly rewards the creativity of all those who work in the music industry. In the age of the Internet as now, Europe's music culture will thrive only with strong copyright laws. I am very happy to use my voice on behalf of the music industry, to deliver that message."
The Platinum Europe Awards Dinner honoured more than 100 artists who had sold 1 million or more copies of an album in Europe in the previous 2 years. The list of qualifiers, from 14 countries, showed varied consumer taste for a diverse mix of linguistic, cultural and stylistic content.
Prior to the Awards, President Santer said: "TThe Platinum Europe Award honours not only musical talent but also the outstanding musical taste of a generation of young people in Europe. Platinum Europe is a powerful expression of European Identity by our young people. And it is an expression that I believe politicians and governments should heed."
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