News

Press release- PRS for Music, STIM and GEMA combine to create brand new, cost efficient and one-stop service across Europe on behalf of over 250,000 songwriters

European Commission grants clearance for the establishment of a ground breaking licensing and processing hub.

It will enable partner societies, digital service providers (DSPs) and rightsholders to benefit from unparalleled economies of scale, the most modern systems available and state of the art processes based on years of combined experience in collective management, servicing and shaping the digital market from the outset.

In a ground breaking move, PRS for Music (UK), STIM (Sweden) and GEMA (Germany) have today been given clearance by the European Commission to set up a pan-European online music rights licensing and processing hub.

This will transform pan-European music licensing by enabling ease of access for digital music services to music rights as well as provide faster and more accurate payments of royalties to writers and their music publishers.
It is the first combined offering of its kind and marks a major step forward for co-operation between collecting societies.  The hub is fully in line with the transparency aims of the Collective Rights Management Directive.

The new joint venture will become the first multi-repertoire hub to provide integrated ‘back office’ data processing services as well as ‘front office’ online licensing services.

The decision to approve the hub has been warmly welcomed by the joint venture partners and follows years of investment. The benefits of the new joint venture include:

• Faster and more accurate invoicing and royalty payments at a time when the usage data from online services is growing from billions to trillions annually
• Simplified licensing negotiations for digital music services operating across Europe, reducing barriers for innovative new online services
• Trusted service from organisations representing significant European repertoire with years of combined experience of back office processing and music licensing
• Reduced processing costs based on unparalleled economies of scale
• Full transparency for all rightsholders, with confidence inspired by collective ownership
• A major contribution to online cultural diversity as the new hub will bring multi-territory licensing within reach of smaller repertoires

The joint venture will also resolve issues related to split-copyright licensing by integrating back office processing and matching services with front office licensing services.  This will result in ensuring that its systems will record copyrighted works accurately, reducing the possibility of licensees receiving incorrect invoices and eliminating hold ups and disputes.

In addition, administration costs will be highly competitive, as the hub’s economies of scale will be passed directly to rightsholders in what is a not-for-profit venture.

Robert Ashcroft, Chief Executive, PRS for Music said: “This is a very significant day for online music licensing as our new joint venture is uniquely positioned to deal with the rapidly transforming online music market. What this clearance means is that we are now able to work even more effectively on behalf of songwriters, composers and their music publishers, while at the same time helping to develop the Digital Single Market across Europe.”

Karsten Dyhrberg Nielsen CEO STIM added: “Today’s Competition Clearance announcement is testament to the incredible work that has gone into the design of this new offering, which will provide a seamless service for both music rightsholders and pan-European digital service providers.  It’s the result of years of productive collaboration between STIM, GEMA and PRS for Music to deliver a solution that will help the digital market grow.”

Dr Harald Heker, CEO GEMA said: “Our hub enables fluidity, agility and speed in the multi-territory market, facilitates the licensing process for digital service providers and improves the quality of rights administration for the benefit of rightsholders and users. The JV constitutes an important new chapter for the whole rights management industry and a huge step forward towards the development of an EU-wide Digital Single Market for music.”

Authors’ rights and collective management are often perceived as complex. GEMA is now opening the doors of its digital liaison offices in Berlin and Brussels. The political communication team is giving insights in their activities and events, providing information from an authors’ society’s perspective and blogging about current developments and debates.

So far available only in German language, the new website is addressing politicians, rightholders, partners and everyone else with an interest in the cultural and creative industries. Check it out!

Press Release of the Danish Ministry of Culture:

Trade associations, companies and rights holders have agreed upon an important code of conduct today. It will make it easier for users on the internet to find and use creative products. It will also create a better framework for companies to develop good services.

The declaration of intent is a specific result of the Danish Ministry of Culture’s Dialogue Forum and it is essential in a future collaborative way of solving the challenges of digitalisation as the companies and organisations behind it come from all corners of the internet’s value chain. Behind the declaration is thus among others ISPs, payment services, rights holders, search engines and trade associations.

The parties in the code have agreed upon the following principles:

• to contribute to make the Internet a safe and legitimate platform for consumers and businesses
• to emphasise that copyright is an important foundation stone for growth and innovation
• to collaborate to reduce financial crime, based on copyright infringement
• to collaborate in promoting the spread of legal products
• to contribute to efficient processes that can help to limit copyright infringement and crime associated therewith

Moreover a number of working groups are established, which will map out existing voluntary measures as well as look at the possibilities of launching new initiatives in different areas.

The minister for culture Marianne Jelved says: “The Dialogue Forum is a fine example of how we in Denmark are able to coorporate in finding good solutions to difficult challenges.

The Internet should be a safe and legal place to roam. We must bring together all good powers around this. I am therefore pleased with having some of the country’s most important players agree on this code of conduct, which shows that we work together in shouldering the task. I am also satisfied with having the work continue in the established working groups, which I look forward to follow.

About Dialogue Forum: Dialogue Forum is one of eight initiatives in the Copyright Package, which was published by the government 20 June 2012. In the Dialogue Forum, companies, trade associations and authorities have during autumn 2014 and spring 2015 discussed how to limit the supply of illegal services with creative content through voluntary measures by, among other things, emphasizing the many legal services or by helping each other curb the illegal services.

London- PRS for Music Chief Executive, Robert Ashcroft delivered a compelling speech at the AGM on 18 May at the British Library Conference Centre to PRS board members, members, staff, industry leaders and media.

Robert Ashcroft highlighted the unprecedented changes across the music market and value gap between some technology platforms and what is paid to music creators. He said, “This is our battle. You must be protected by strong copyright law and our government must support us with the European Commission in our demands that the boundaries of Safe Harbour be re-drawn to ensure that any service that aggregates, disseminates or curates copyright works is fully licensed in a free market.”

Click here to read the full speech