This is how we distribute in the category music in church
Collective singing, solemn organ tones, stirring instrumental music
Religion and music have always been closely linked. Church music is one of the roots of Western music, and churches themselves are homes to a vibrant and diverse musical culture. At GEMA, our aim is to make sure those who create the musical works used do not come away empty-handed.
Find out here where the income comes from and how and when we distribute the royalties.
Music in church – a simple explanation
In the church music category (KI), we distribute income for music uses in liturgical settings – for example church services, masses, prayers, baptisms and funerals.
To ensure that we are distributing income as fairly as possible, random samples are used extensively for this. Distributions are linked to individuals – that is to say, the more frequently a member’s name appears in a sample, the higher the respective distribution amount.
Church music at a glance
We use sub-categories KK (Catholic Church), EK (Protestant Church) and NAK (New Apostolic Church) for distributions of income from liturgical events held by each respective church.
Income here is derived primarily from blanket agreements with the above religious associations and from individual licensed music uses not covered by these agreements. In the latter cases, tariff WR-G applies. Income from non-liturgical events in churches such as concerts and festivals is not included, and is instead distributed in live categories U and E.
Given the high number of liturgical uses on the one hand and the comparatively low income on the other, there is no provision for individual usage reports of musical compositions sung, performed or played back. Uses are monitored primarily by means of random samples from the churches, the actual church congregations sampled also being chosen at random.
Additionally, works of above-average length can also be considered individually if the work in question is not already included in the sample.
We distribute income in the church music categories collectively to creators and publishers whose names appear in the samples and individual notifications. For each use of a work, what are known as shares are credited to the entitled parties. The value of a share is based on the sum total of all the shares and the distributable amount for the respective sub-category.
Details about the sampling procedure and the determination of shares
The principles of the sampling procedure
a sample must represent at least five percent
church congregations are selected at random
sampling must take place at least once every four years
it must be organised and conducted by the churches themselves
Determining the shares
for each use of a work in the usage reports (samples and individual notifications), two shares are credited to creators and one share to publishers
shares from the sample are multiplied by a factor that depends on the size of the respective sample (e.g. a ten percent sample = factor of ten)
Shares derived from individual notifications of use of works longer than ten or 20 minutes are multiplied by a factor of three or six minutes respectively.
Important dates and deadlines for you
Annual distribution cycle:
On 1 June of each year, we distribute income from the previous year.
Registration period for works:
Please register your works no later than the time of release. We recommend doing so directly via our Online Portal, using the work declaration service.
Claim period:
Because of the random nature of the sampling procedure, we are not able to consider claims relating to individual uses.