How do I register an arrangement and what do I need to consider?

If you want to arrange a work without knowing, it is important to know whether the work is still protected under copyright law or already in the public domain, i.e. no longer protected. In Germany, copyright protection lasts until 70 years after the death of the author or creator. If several authors have co-created a work, copyright protection usually only expires once 70 years have passed since the death of the last author to die.

In the case of copyright-protected works, you must acquire an arrangement authorisation from the rightsholders before you arrange the work. Rightsholders are creators (composers and lyricists). If the creators have a publisher or if the work is sub-published in Germany, please direct your query to the publisher, otherwise to the creators. Moreover, you do require an authorisation to arrange a work if the arrangers also expect to be included in the pay-outs.

If you wish to register the arrangement of a public domain work, please follow these steps:

1. Go to the menu on the left side and select Services, then open Work registration.
2. First, provide the original creator in the second tab, contributors, and tick the box "Free of copyright"

Don’t forget:
Should the name of the composer with free copyright not be known, please enter the number “39657154” in the IP name number field and click on “search”. Select “DP” and click on “apply”. Then, select the role composer (or lyricist, where applicable) and tick the box “Free of copyright”. Now, click on “apply”.

3. Add yourself and set your role to arranger (B).
4. Click on “add instrumentation of the arrangement” and select the respective instrumentation.
5. Use the third tab, Works, to provide the title of the original work.
6. Provide details to other fields, when required, and click on “apply”.  
7. Use the last tab, overview, to get a recap of the entered information and can submit the work registration.

If you wish to register the arrangement of a copyright-protected work, please follow these steps:  

1. Go to the menu on the left side and select Services, then open Work registration.
2. Use the second tab, contributors, to add the original creator/s first. If they are not included in our database, add them manually.
3. Add yourself and set your role to arranger (B).
4. Click on “add instrumentation of the arrangement” and select the respective instrumentation.
5. Use the third tab, Works, and enter the title of the arrangement and the GEMA work number of the original work (provided you know it).
6. Provide details to other fields, when required, and click on “apply”.
7. Use the last tab, overview, to get a recap of the entered information and can submit the work registration.

Don’t forget:
If you are the arranger of a copyright-protected work and register the work directly, you require an arrangement authorisation from the rightsholders. Please send it to werke@gema.de as soon as possible and indicate the registration number and/or work number.

Do you want to register the arrangement using a hardcopy? In that case, please complete the form  registration for a GEMA original work  and post it, together with the  arrangement authorisation to:

GEMA
PO Box 30 12 40
10722 Berlin

Proceed in the same steps if you are setting a poem or another text to music and have an authorisation for music settings or if you want to use a protected piece of music in your new work. For this purpose, please submit the permission to use.

Evidence for the use of third-party works:
As the applicant, you are required to appropriately identify works that were created using third-party works or third-party motifs and to cite the sources of the works used.

You will find the relevant forms on the page All about your works in the lower section.