Page 239 - Weiss, Jernej, ur./ed. 2026 Skladateljska društva nekoč in danes.../Composers’ Societies Past and Present...

Yugoslav-Soviet Union relations from the 1950s to 1970s …
right fees due to the large number of translations of Russian authors. For
51
this reason, he highlighted that further negotiations were ongoing. The
“Yugoslav-Soviet Copyright Protection Agreement” was signed at the end
of October 1974. On behalf of the SAKOJ, the agreement was signed by Ko-
stić as the General Secretary. It was highlighted that this agreement holds
great significance for enriching and expanding the cooperation be-
tween SAKOJ and the Soviet Composers’ Union, which will particu-
larly impact the mutual introduction of our and Soviet audiences to the
musical creations in both countries. 52
The Yugoslav-Soviet agreement:

will also regulate the issue of compensation for the performance of
works by our composers in the USSR and Soviet works in Yugoslavia.
Until now, this matter had not been legally regulated, so all public per-
formances and recordings for vinyl records, radio, and television were
carried out without any compensation. 53

Conclusion
Based on our research, it could be concluded that the SAKOJ/UKS adopted
a strategic and interest-given relation to the Soviet Union. With respective
members, presidents, and secretaries, and other board members, profiled
cooperation with the Soviet Union was proposed by exchange of delegates
for guest composers and music writers, as well as through performance
and promotion of Yugoslav and Soviet repertoire. The higher instance that
finally decided and ratified the proposals for Yugoslav-Soviet relations in
music was the Federal Commission for the Cultural Relations with Foreign
Affairs, to which, again, members of the SAKOJ and other composers’ as-
sociations at the republican level were delegated. Deeper cooperation with
the USSR involved the adoption of agreements on composers’ copyrights
and the activities of the Institute for Copyright Mediation (ZAMP). These
became highly significant issues in the 1960s and 1970s, sparking a complex
struggle between representatives of high-art and popular music practices.
In the end, we need to cite director Želimir Žilnik, famous as a critical
voice in communist Yugoslavia, but also an artist who understood cultural
fields in Yugoslavia very well:
51 Ibid.
52 Anon., “Jugoslovensko sovjetski ugovor o zaštiti autorskih prava,” Borba, 23 Octo-
ber, 1974, 9.
53 Ibid.

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