un:hurd music

What membership includes Smart playlist pitching 120 credits per year / 10 credits per month Professional 90-day release plan Automated ads tool Exclusive partner offers Real-time social and...

Embassy of Music

The studio, acquired by Konrad von Löhneysen (founder and CEO of Embassy of Music / Embassy One) and jointly run with GEMA in Berlin has been available to rent since the beginning of 2023. The...

Audoo Partners with GEMA for World-First Music Impact Study

Music technology company Audoo partnered with GEMA, the German performing rights society, on its Music Impact Study as part of the PROs multi-faceted research quantifying the commercial value of...

GEMAplus

Which insurance solutions does GEMA offer its members? Based on our experience, insurances were structured for exactly those areas that are of importance to music creators. Depending on the...

Partner offers

An overview of our partner offers Are you looking for suitable online tools and opportunities to support you and your career? Would you like ticket discounts for trade fairs or would you like to...

By when do I have to report my music use?

There is no fixed period for this in general*, but we do recommend: The earlier, the better! This way, you can clarify any unresolved issues and are on the safe side. What’s important is that you...

MOD distribution

Get help – quickly! If you need us, our help centre offers answers to your questions – it is quick and easy to use and accessible to you 24/7 – and there are no waiting times. Go to the help centre...

CISAC, publishers and recording industry come together to upgrade harmonised music cue sheets

2025-11-06 14:12 The cross-sector project to harmonise cue sheets for the use of music in audiovisual (AV) productions has been upgraded to include recording metadata for the first time. This is an...

Why pay GEMA

It is more than a hundred years old. Creators have long fought for it. Because without copyright, they would not have a basis for their livelihood. Anyone could perform their works in public, play...

background music

Home Music users background music What costs does GEMA charge for background music? Yes, because we do not only manage the rights of German music creators. We also represent the rights of foreign...

Music users

When you license your music, you make a valuable contribution to music creators getting their fair share for their artistic contributions. This is how it works: Creators assign their exploitation...

Music International

In Germany, GEMA issues licences and distributions in accordance with its own rules. In other countries, this is carried out by our sister organisations in accordance with their own respective...

Using music on the internet

The licence fees go directly to the music creators Everything about how to register music on the internet Those who compose songs, write lyrics or publish music want to get fair pay. Just like...

Music on sound recordings

Music videos Distribution to the specialist trade or via special distribution channels (tariffs VR-BT-H 3/VR-BT-H 5) Link Synchronisation rights Use of the GEMA repertoire to create a film work...

Music creators

Which rights do I assign to GEMA with the Deed of Assignment? You assign to us as a trustee all rights in your works you are currently entitled to and those accruing, devolving, redevolving to you...

Buy a licence for music in videos

If you combine music with another medium such as a video, you require the consent of the rightsholders. In most cases, these are the authors who created the work and the music publishers. This is...

Live and reproduction

Previous Next Infosheets distributions (financial year 2024) Categories DK and DK VR Link Categories U, UD and M Link Categories E, ED, EM and BM Link Music in Church Link Entertainment Music...

I have received an invoice for live music. The music played at the event was, however, from sound recordings and streaming services. What can I do?

According to our information, live music was performed at the events in question. You had already received a licence or licences from us on the basis of the tariffs for live music. Since you had...

Your journey as a member

Whether you are a creator (composer/lyricist) or a music publisher: You want to earn money with your work and for this, you might want to check out our live calculator to make sure a GEMA...

Radio, TV and film

TV and Film Financial Year 2023 Link It has been three years since GEMA began to make its distributions in the broadcasting rights distribution categories for uses by public service broadcasters...

Which partner offers do GEMA members benefit from?

We offer our members exclusive partner offers that support the everyday life as well as the career of music creators: from discounts for online tools to support operational activities, ticket...

Music creators shape the future: GEMA General Assembly brings around 1,000 creative minds to Munich

Artificial intelligence, streaming, and copyright: the music industry is facing major challenges. Technological innovations and social changes are increasingly putting musicians’ creative work to...

Help topics for music users

Help topics for music users Change customer details Change address Change bank details Change e-mail address Change name Change venue Company name change Contracts & offers Contracts Offers...

Categories Film Screening

Distribution in the Film Screening categories (T, TD, TD VR) In distribution category T, we distribute mostly licence revenue from the use of music in cinema films and cinema commercials. As a...

Significantly higher royalties for music creators: GEMA cuts online commission from 10 to just 7 percent

GEMA is sending a powerful message: in 2027, the association aims to reduce its online commission on all on-demand music distribution from 10 to 7 percent – a drop of 30 percent compared to the...

Musical works (enhanced access)

cannot be combined with search criteria from line 2 ("AND") Search criteria line 2: CAE/IPI, author/publisher, performer , status and publisher. When searching with the publisher IP number, the...

Online Services

Our Online Portal: Many instruments combined in harmony Register now Moved to the Online Portal Registration of sub-publishing agreements Please register your sub-publishing agreements before you...

What do I have to consider if I upload videos with music on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook or Instagram?

For fee-based live streams on Facebook/Instagram, you must acquire a licence for linear streaming (tariff VR-OD 10, II.2.b.2 licence package music on demand streaming) from us. You can notify us of...

I want to use music on TikTok. What do I need to consider?

In its “Music Terms of Service ”, TikTok differentiates between non-commercial and commercial videos. Non-commercial TikTok videos are created by natural persons, are exclusively for personal...

Company events

R Background music via the radio Tariff for background music in shop premises, offices or workshops (R) Link The most important GEMA tariffs for companies fs Background music via television Tariff...

How GEMA distributes your money

Licensing income We license exploitation rights. And we distribute the collected revenues. More on royalties We are a collective management organisation and thus ensure that our member receive...

How can I report music uses?

a) Event Concert Theatre performance Festival Party/celebration/dance/balls Disco Carnival Processions/street parades Mass Self-made copies Film presentation/slide show etc. Sports event Spoken...

License music

Rooms & timetable

2pm: Personal discussions of the associate members including the by-election of delegates in separate meetings of the professional categories 8.30am to 9.30am: breakfast as part of the info...

Study: Music streaming in Germany

Music streaming in Germany 5. Billion-Euro-market Music streaming is a billion-Euro-market. More than 2 billion Euros are expected to be generated by the involved market players in Germany in 2022....

GEMA joins Friends and Supporters of IMPF

GEMA joins the ‘Friends and Supporters’ network of the Independent Music Publishers International Forum (IMPF). The forum represents the interests of independent music publishers worldwide. false...

Do I have to report GEMA free music?

Yes, you also have to report to us if you use music in the public domain, or GEMA free music. It is only on the basis of your notification that we can check your played titles. In the case of...

I want to upload replayed songs (covers) online, for example on YouTube, Instagram or my website. Do I need a licence?

If you offer music for streaming or downloading on your website, our tariff VR-OD 10 (II.2.b.2 licensing package Music on Demand Streaming resp. II.2.b.2 licensing package Music on Demand Download)...

Use music

Music notification

Musik anmelden

Your voice gets heard This is how you can help shape GEMA Zum Login Home About GEMA Musik anmelden Area for creators GEMAplus – the bonus programme Go to GEMAplus Zum Login By when do I have to...

How can I add details to sound recordings for my work?

Information can only be added to sound recordings by GEMA members who are direct participants in the works, and/or by their legal successors or authorised representatives. The easiest way to add...

Which form do I use for my music notification?

You cannot submit notifications relating to most GEMA tariffs for events and background music; instead, you can do this via the price calculator in our Online Portal. It’s really simple and you...

November-December

Get help – quickly! If you need us, our help centre offers answers to your questions – it is quick and easy to use and accessible to you 24/7 – and there are no waiting times. Go to the help centre...

Which categories are paid out? Which belong to performing rights, broadcasting rights and mechanical rights?

These categories belong to the performing rights: International income distribution (sister organisations) A AR Concerts of serious music of all types (E) Serious music direct accounting (ED)...

Information events

Timetable The membership party, during which the Fred Jay Award will be presented, takes place on 14 May 2024 from 7.00 pm in the bcc Berlin Congress Center, Alexanderstraße 11 in Berlin. If you...

What are royalties in the music business?

If your works are used, you, the creator or publisher, will receive payments; they are also known as royalties. In order to receive such royalties, you assign the exploitation rights for your...

Details of our online services

My portal access permissions Go to the portal permissions My portal permissions Go to my portal permissions Sound file upload Go to the upload Keep an eye on your finances. The service My financial...

Are there any restrictions for making a claim?

In our Online Portal, you can easily submit a claim if your works have been allocated to the wrong category, assigned incorrect shares, or distributed with an inaccurate rating. The same applies...

GEMA free music

Despite a challenging market, GEMA posts excellent results for 2025

2026-03-30 12:04 Higher payouts, lower costs: GEMA closed the 2025 financial year with an excellent set of results. The total distributable amount came to EUR 1.15 billion (2024: EUR 1.13 billion),...

When does music become royalty-free?

70 years after the death of a creator the music becomes royalty-free or enters the “public domain” (another expression used). Until then, copyright lies with the heirs. Even if the musical work is...

About the online portal

This is how we protect your data Access your data at any time Whether it’s about changing your bank details, e-mail address or tax details: The Online Portal is the place where you can manage your...

What does it cost to use music in public?

It depends how the music is used, whether live, in the background, on sound recordings or on the internet.Whether many or few people are listening. In order to take this into consideration, there...

Do I need an authorisation for third parties to access the online portal?

Yes, you do. Only an authorisation entitles another person (spouse/life partner, manager, tax adviser, employee of a publisher, or others) to use the online portal for you. General powers of...

I want to upload music content, for example background music, to my homepage. What do I need to consider?

If you upload music onto your own website, our tariff VR-OD 10 for online uses on a small scale is applicable. You can register the use [SJ1] under this tariff in our Online Portal. As a general...

Cultural Subsidy for the Online Sector

Virtuos Artikel Link Zoom Close Overline Heading Example Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; Donec velit neque, auctor sit amet aliquam vel,...

Category M

Nowadays music is played in many public places – ranging from bars, cafés and restaurants to hair salons, supermarkets and retail shops. Even in waiting rooms, there is often background music...

About GEMA

*As of May 2024. All numbers are rounded. The origin of copyright For music creators and music users: Previous Next We tune and harmonise different interests As an association, GEMA represents the...

Church

Music is a central element in church services and during prayers because it moves “from heart to heart” – this at least was Beethoven’s wish for his Missa Solemnis. Music creates communion and is...