Works & repertoire

Workdocumentation & use

• What does registration status 1 and 2 mean? What consequences does this status have for me?

  Electronic work declarations are immediately ingested into our documentation system. Work versions with a work version number are generated. The ingested work versions either obtain

  • registration status 1 (documentation ready for distribution)
  • or registration status 2 (manual processing required).

  
  Due to the high volume of more than 3.2m work declarations per annum, work versions with registration status 2 are merely processed on a usage basis. This means that only if there is a licensed usage, work versions with registration status 2 are processed manually and changed to registration status 1.
  
  Your advantage using the electronic work declaration: Your registered claims are available in the online database within 1 to 2 work days (enhanced repertoire search).
  
  Registration status 1:
  
  If you register the work, all GEMA members involved in the work obtain a confirmation of receipt. We also subsequently dispatch detailed work confirmations to all GEMA members involved in the work for ingested work versions.
  
  Registration status 2:
  
  If you register the work, you obtain a confirmation of receipt. We subsequently dispatch provisional work confirmations (less detailed) exclusively to GEMA members we could clearly determine based on the details in your notification. We e-mail such work notifications on a daily basis. Work notifications by post are only dispatched once a week.

• What can I do if my work has been edited without my consent?

  According to § 23 of the Copyright Act, the following applies: Adaptations or other alterations to a work may only be published or exploited with the consent of the author. If your work has been adapted without your consent, you can take the following steps:

  1. Secure evidence

  Save all evidence of the adaptation (audio/video files, screenshots, links, contracts, emails). Note the date, location, and nature of the use.

  2. Consult a lawyer specializing in media law
  We recommend contacting a lawyer specializing in media law. This person can 

  • assess your specific legal situation, 
  • draft a warning letter or cease-and-desist order, 
  • and, if necessary, initiate legal proceedings on your behalf.

  3. Check the GEMA repertoire

  If you are a GEMA member, check your GEMA repertoire to see if an adaptation of your work has already been documented. If you believe that an unauthorized adaptation has been registered with us as an adaptation, please contact Member Services at: +49 (0)30 5899 9005 or via the GEMA online portal. 

  Please feel free to briefly indicate whether you are a GEMA member and what type of work (e.g., song, instrumental piece, text) is involved. We will then explain the appropriate next step in more detail.

• What can I do if my work is used publicly without my consent?

  First, check in the ‘My Royalties’ service to see whether the use of your work has already been recorded and settled. If the use is not listed there, please submit a claim via the ‘Claims’ service on the GEMA online portal. Through your representation agreement with GEMA, you have transferred the management of the rights of use for your works to us. You are therefore generally unable to prohibit individual instances of use, provided they are lawfully licensed within the scope of the GEMA repertoire.

  Following your complaint, we will check whether the music user has duly registered the use and, if necessary, initiate the settlement process.

• What happens to the used works where it has not been possible to allocate them to their creators?

  Used works which cannot be allocated to any music creators, are documented by us
  in detail and saved onto so-called inquiry lists. The online service Identify usages helps
  you to search specifically for such musical works and audiovisual productions (e.g.
  films, series or commercials).
  
  Maybe your works are affected? Just check it out! We are grateful if you support us to
  allocate undistributed but used works to their creators. By using the service Identify
  usages you can also directly register a work or point out the correct work to us if it has
  already been registered.

• Why do I see several work versions of my work?

  Several versions of a work arise for three reasons: Firstly, they document different versions in terms of content, such as mixes, adaptations or arrangements of the same work. Secondly, the GEMA system automatically generates an additional version of a work if, in parallel with the existing registration, further registrations are received from other authors or publishers that have not yet been reconciled with the original registration. Thirdly, a temporary version of a work is created when you submit a change to a work via the GEMA online portal: this interim version is deleted once the changes have been checked and accepted by GEMA’s music documentation department, and the original version of the work is overwritten.

• How does GEMA know where and how often my works were used?

  There are various ways and means to find out. Organisers of live events are, for example, obliged to submit a playlist (setlist) after the event. In the broadcasting sector (TV and radio), the channels or broadcasting companies are obliged to provide us broadcast reports.
  
  Depending on the type of music use, we get hold of the data:
  
  Organisers of live events are obliged to submit a playlist after the event. Music users can do this simply by using the Online Portal under the service My setlists. There are, of course, deadlines for submission that apply to event organisers so that you get your money in time.
  
  Good to know: If you perform your own works, you can submit your setlist, instead of your event organiser.

  • Another means of support regarding the detection of your works is the soundfile which you can upload via the Online Portal.
  • Channels or broadcasting companies (TV and radio) are obliged to submit broadcast reports to us.
  • With our discotheque monitoring of selected discos all over Germany, we also identify which works are played, and how often.
  • Based on contracts with online platforms such as YouTube, we can license online uses in the categories Mixed Online Platforms (GOP). These platforms provide the usage reports for the works to us.
  • We receive data from abroad via the respective collective management organisations of each country, our so-called sister societies.
  • Finally, the producers report music uses to us in the mechanical reproduction sector.