Basic funding
The terms and conditions apply to funding year 2026.
Would you like to apply for funding directly?
Would you like to apply for funding directly?
The Next Round of Basic Funding opens on 5 October!
If you have registered your own works with GEMA within the past two years and published them on platforms such as YouTube or Spotify, you can apply for basic funding until 18 October.
A total of 400 works will each receive funding of EUR 2,000. The selection will be made by an independent jury.
Full details of the eligibility criteria can be found here. Applications can only be submitted via the GEMA Onlineportal.
Conditions for funding
All full and associate members of GEMA who fulfil the requirements (see below) are eligible for funding.
This subsidy relates exclusively to works. Each member may apply for funding for one work per funding round. Funding can only be awarded once per applicant member and financial year.
This also applies if multiple applicants apply in respect of the same work. We therefore recommend that other parties with an interest in the work be notified in advance when planning to file an application.
An application for a subsidy can be filed if the following conditions are met:
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The work must have been registered within the past two years, the deadline being the start of the respective funding round.
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The work must be published on commercial online platforms, e.g. YouTube or Spotify. Exclusive publication on a private website is not sufficient.
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Works created by an AI are excluded from this subsidy.
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The applicant must have a share in the work of at least 10 %.
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There may be no more than ten parties with an interest in the work.
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The member making the application must have generated revenue in the GOP, MOD D and/or MOD S categories during the financial year prior to the filing of the application.
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In the GOP and MOD categories, the revenue for the work received in total by all interested parties must not have exceeded €1,000 during the financial year prior to the filing of the application.
1st round of basic funding: 4 - 17 May 2026
2nd round of basic funding: 5 - 18 October 2026
2nd funding round: from 03.11.2025 (closed)
As soon as the funds available for the funding round are exhausted, no further applications can be approved.
Applications for a basic subsidy may only be submitted via the Onlineportal. Our eligibility requirements are as follows.
The subsidy amount of €2,000 will be allocated among all GEMA members with an interest in the work on a pro rata basis that corresponds to their respective share (sharepicture) in the work, as defined in the GEMA work registration valid at the start of the funding round. The payment is made to the respective member’s account, which means that the funding amount may be offset against any existing negative balances, assignments or similar obligations.
The funding amount is paid out to the member account for all applicants after the applications have been reviewed.
Subsidies will be awarded by an independent jury consisting of nine full members and three deputy members. Applications will be processed in order of receipt. Once the funds designated for a given funding round have been exhausted, no further applications can be approved.
If you would like to find out more about the jury, please take a look at: Meet the Jury.
We have taken note of the request that publishers would like to be automatically informed about the details of the allocated funding amounts.
Unfortunately we cannot implement this automatic notification for the next payment date of the basic funding. Publishers who require a breakdown of the allocated funding amount by work can request this at any time by email.
Please send a short message including your main account number or participant number to kulturfoerderung-online@gema.de. Thank you for your understanding.