This text is the English translation of the original French manifesto, Manifeste Panodyssey 2026 : Quand la musique retrouve ses mots, translated by Claudia Moscovici, a novelist, art critic, and luminous voice in contemporary literature. Her writing moves between cultures, histories, and inner worlds with rare sensitivity, carrying emotion and meaning with elegance and depth. Through her words, this manifesto finds not just another language, but another breath.

For music that is read as much as heard

Music is not only a flow.

Music is not only an algorithm.

Music is not only a string of notes.

Music is, first of all, a text.

A purpose.

A thought conveyed through words, before being expressed thorough sound.

And yet, for quite some time now, words have been relegated to second place.

With words being effaced by the noise

Of the booming modern sound amplified by technology

Music lost much of its cultural depth.

Streaming platforms sharpened our listening, but impoverished our understanding.

Record companies have promoted artists, but far too rarely poets.

Management companies protect copyrights, but don’t place enough value

Upon texts, lyrics and their silences.

Even publishers themselves have occasionally forgotten that the world has changed

And that it’s time, once again, to think about words.

Wordsmiths have become invisible,

Their texts dissolved in the current of sound

As music lost part of its memory.

This imbalance is a historical blunder.

Words aren’t less important than notes.

This conviction is forged through experience.

I didn’t come upon this truth just yesterday. I have been a music executive for over 25 years. In 2006, I started

Qobuz to promote a different way of listening: discerning, qualitative and respectful of musical pieces. I recorded hundreds of artists in the studio and sold millions of albums during the transitional period from CD’s (and printed booklets) to the digital revolution.

As producer and publisher at Bee Jazz, I always gave top priority to album covers, booklets and texts. To what envelops sound and endows it with meaning.

With Panodyssey, I carried this fight to the literary front. I wanted to give authors back their power; place texts at the center of creativity again, and combat the exploitation of creative content that is so prevalent on American writing platforms.

Today, these two artistic trajectories, language and music, converge as Panodyssey implements its broader vision.

Panodyssey expands into music

Panodyssey is not just another literary platform. It’s an online creative space that fosters thoughtfulness, tranquility and attention. A place devoted to promoting the creative and cultural diversity of Europe in facilitating online encounters and exchanges among writers, artists, musicians and the public. Panodyssey is a way of life. It offers a different approach to the creative world than American platforms and social networks, including those focused on writing, which all too often are devoid of meaning. We reclaim the right to write.

In opening a creative space focused on lyrics, Panodyssey establishes a new set of guiding principles:

Written songs are a type of literature.

The songwriter is an author in their own right.

Words deserve their own space, their own reading, their own recognition.

This new domain, dedicated in its entirety to the history of musical texts, is not a mere editorial supplement. It is an indispensable building block of the foundation of Panodyssey.

Panodyssey emerged in response to the injustices and omissions of the (at times) ruthless music industry. Today, our mission acquires renewed significance: committed, valuable, perhaps surprising for some, yet absolutely necessary. The time is ripe, and the time is now, for such a transformation in the artistic world. Because sometimes one must allow the passage of time for ideas to congeal and for wounds to heal in order to rebound stronger, and with renewed energy, toward new cultural experiences at the intersection of word and sound.

If you want to induce the younger generation to read, then speak to them about their music, their songs and their artists. Listen to them sing their lyrics, particularly if you don’t appreciate their words, their notes, or their stars. Try to understand them on their own terms. Then they will follow you more readily to read, converse and perhaps even write about what is essential to forging their identities and character. Alexandre Leforestier -founder of Bee Jazz, founder of Qobuz, cofounder of Panodyssey

Panodyssey gives renewed significance to lyrics.

On our platform, words are no longer peripheral, or mere karaoke. Lyrics are viewed as works of art that convey important meanings. They can be published, accompanied by music, seen and discussed. Their copyright is protected, so they can safely travel around the world on our platform, as its international participants share, comment and engage with them.

Words recount their origin.

They reveal the intended meaning behind the music.

They become a living legacy.

We offer a new musical experience

We believe in a fundamental truth that has long been ignored by the music industry: We can no longer disassociate listening from reading.

Music fans want to understand what they’re hearing.

The new generations want meaning, not only sound.

Artists what to reclaim control of their works.

Panodyssey situates itself at the intersection of music streaming and literary platforms. Not to replace one with the other. But to enhance them both. To expand the musical experience and the cultural depth of creative works.

We protect authors in the age of AI

At a time when Artificial Intelligence massively appropriates texts and music catalogues, we believe that copyright remains nonnegotiable. Authors must remain the masters of their own words. Panodyssey will develop and deploy the tools for:

Protecting the lyrics of songs,

Guaranteeing the transparency of their use,

Tracing the lineage of creative works,

Valuing human creativity.

Tomorrow’s music can’t be built upon the erasure of yesterday’s artists, from Bach to the Beatles. Let’s not forget them. Let’s listen to them meaningfully.

Panodyssey calls upon writers and institutions

We invite all French and European wordsmiths to bring their words to life on our platform. We also call upon

Cultural institutions

Collective Management Organizations

Private and public record companies

To rethink the role of words in the ecosystem of music

This cultural manifesto proposes a new European strategy.

It offers a way of preserving the economic wellbeing of the cultural sphere and of reinforcing our human capacities that are increasingly at risk of being cannibalized by AI, which devours quality texts without asking author permission. Europe cannot allow:

Its music

Its texts

Its cultural heritage,

To be absorbed by platforms and AI that don’t share either our values or our vision of creativity. Panodyssey aims to become a central actor in reclaiming this cultural space. Our goal will be achieved through collaborations, acquisitions and structural investments in the European music sector.

Music deserves better than just streaming.

We reject a music without memory.

We reject a culture without authors.

We reject a future where words are mere accessories.

Words are music.

Music is language.

It’s time to reunite them once again.

Panodyssey commits.

This text is the English translation of the original French manifesto, Manifeste Panodyssey 2026 : Quand la musique retrouve ses mots, translated by Claudia Moscovici, Romanian-American novelist and art critic.

Our sincere thanks to the EFE News Agency for their creativity, support, trust, and loyalty. Published in 2026 as part of CREA Trust AI × Panodyssey. We also wish to highlight the artistic contribution of their creative team.