SUISA

Yes. If the performer is also the composer, lyricist or arranger (author), and is a member of SUISA, he has assigned his rights to SUISA and SUISA collects the royalties on his behalf. Accordingly, he no longer holds those rights and cannot negotiate payment directly with the organiser.

Do I have to pay royalties when

• admission is free?
• the event was a non commercial event?
• the event made a loss?

Yes. The economic success of an event is the organiser’s affair. Royalties are fixed costs like beverages and lighting, and must be paid whether or not the event turns a profit.
Do I have to pay royalties for

• private events or
• club events not open to the general public?

For private events you do not need a licence and you do not have to pay royalties. However, the term «private» is restrictively defined by law: it applies only to a single individual who enjoys music with a small circle of close friends or relatives (Article 19(1) (a) of the Copyright Law). It follows that, even though they are not open to the general public, events organised by clubs, associations, companies, army units and the like are not private events.

In that case, you may be prosecuted. SUISA can also impose a 100% surcharge if the requisite information is not even provided after a reminder. If payment is refused repeatedly, SUISA may issue a music ban and prohibit you from using music publicly.

The musicians’ fees remunerate their performance. Their fee does not cover the authors’ creative work or the right to perform the authors’ works. The performer and the author are two legally separate persons even if they may be one and the same individual. Each of the performer and the author is entitled to remuneration: the author is entitled to a royalty and the performer to his fee.

Yes. You have to send SUISA a list for all the artists. SUISA has to collect royalties even for authors who are members of foreign collecting societies. If the author has not transferred his rights, you have to pay him individually. Royalties are not due for works which are not arranged and whose author has been dead for 70 years or longer.

SUISA requires a list of works performed to be filled in for each concert, even if the client believes that the repertoire only contains unprotected works. It is hardly possible for an organiser to check a complete programme for all the relevant points.

No. But you still have to provide SUISA a complete, detailed list of all the works. If the musicians only performed works in the public domain, naturally you will not be charged any royalties.

SUISA has concluded reciprocity agreements with over 100 foreign sister societies. By virtue of those agreements, it is also obliged to collect and pass on the royalties for foreign authors.

No. Rental royalties cannot be included in the price of videos and DVDs since the Copyright Law provides that only collective administration societies are entitled to collect rental fees (Article 13(3)). The higher price for rental cassettes is due to the exclusivity period during which films are not allowed to be broadcast on television.

Royalties vary depending on how music is used.  For example, royalties for concerts are higher than for retail outlets playing background music. This is due to the different values:  you go to a concert essentially only for the music, whereas when you are shopping, the music in the background is of secondary value. The royalties for the various types of music uses are set out in our tariffs. LINK

The tariffs of the five Swiss collective administration societies must comply with the equity principle enshrined in the Copyright Law. In setting its tariffs, SUISA takes the following criteria into consideration:

• the proceeds generated by the use of the music or, alternatively, the costs in connection with such use;
• the type and number of works used; and
• the breakdown between protected and non protected works.

As a rule, royalties do not exceed 10% of the proceeds (for example, ticket sales) or costs (for example, performers' fees).

The law requires all Swiss copyright societies to issue tariffs for their royalties. The tariffs are negotiated with representative user associations. The Federal Arbitration Commission, an equal representation body elected by the Federal Council, approves the tariffs which are then published in the Swiss official trade journal (Handelsblatt/Feuille Officielle Suisse du Commerce). This procedure is designed to ensure that the tariffs are not abusive.

All musical events which are not private affairs have to be declared. You do not need a licence to play music at an event attended by a small circle of close friends and relatives, such as a birthday party or a wedding. But as soon as you go beyond the limits of your private sphere, you have to declare the event and obtain a licence from SUISA.

The organiser has to apply for the licence. The organiser is the person responsible for the use of the music, e.g. the owner or operator of a club, a radio or television station, or the association organising an event.

Because they are employed to perform – they offer a service for which they receive a fee; they are not organising the event.

To perform protected music in public, you first need to apply to SUISA for authorisation. Application forms can be obtained from SUISA. The forms should be filed with SUISA at least 10 days before the concert. To calculate the royalties properly, SUISA needs to have a detailed list of the works to be performed and your income and expenditures statement.

Royalties are charged on the basis of Common Tariff Ka/Kb if the public is coming deliberately for the music. An exception to that rule is the concerted or concert-like intermezzo lasting less than one hour (or less than one hour in total where there are several performances on the same day). If the intermezzo is part of a dance and recreational event, Common Tariff Hb applies.

The decision to apply CT Ka/Kb or CT Hb cannot depend solely on the popularity of the performer since public taste evolves much too quickly.  SUISA has to base its rates on other criteria such as ticket price, location, advertising and other expenditure items.

No. Royalties for concerts are calculated as a percentage of concert revenues or costs in connection with music use. The financial situation of each event is thus equitably taken into account.

SUISA normally calculates royalties based on income. Royalties are calculated on costs in certain exceptional cases (tariff Ka only) such as:

• charity events where the profit goes to the needy;
• if the revenues cannot be established;
• if, from the outset, the client expects to have to cover all or a portion of the costs from his own funds.

Under the Copyright Law, private events are birthdays, weddings and similar parties which take place in a close circle of family and friends. Events organised by clubs or associations do not qualify as private events and are therefore subject to royalties.

If SUISA has a programme list, it can distribute royalties to the authors of the listed works. Where SUISA does not demand programme lists in order to avoid excessive costs, royalties are distributed on a «lump sum» basis. That means that SUISA will take into account the so-called «basic repertoire», hit parades and broadcasts.

Yes. Royalties are due whenever music is performed in public – whether or not admission is free and the musicians are paid.  The only exception is for private events such as birthdays or weddings.

If you don’t charge admission, the royalty is lower. Common Tariff H specifies the applicable rates.

Basically, only birthdays and weddings qualify as private events («private circle») since SUISA assumes that only relatives and close friends are invited. We assume that there are only loose ties between the guests at other events.

For concerts and comparable performances in the catering industry, royalties are charged in accordance with CT K (Common Tariff K).

Background music only has an accompanying, supplementary or secondary function. Background music is mainly used in stores, restaurants, waiting rooms, offices, etc. or when phone calls are on hold.

Royalties are charged based on the surface area exposed to the broadcast or performance, i.e. the area on which the broadcast or performance is audible or visible. For music on hold, royalties are based on the number of lines on the exchange.

Billag collects background music royalties on behalf of the collective administration societies at the same time as it collects the broadcasting reception licence fees. SUISA acts as the collection agent for undertakings that only play sound carriers or sound and video carriers and do not need to pay commercial reception licence fees to Billag. Undertakings which receive broadcasts in addition to playing sound and sound and video carriers pay the relevant royalties to Billag.

Unless otherwise stipulated in the licence, SUISA basically waives the need for programme listings.

Yes. To record musical works that are still under copyright you must first obtain the author's consent. In Switzerland and Liechtenstein, the legal protection period runs for 70 years after the author's death.

Nearly all authors in Switzerland and abroad have entrusted SUISA with the administration of their rights in Switzerland and in Liechtenstein. So SUISA can grant a recording licence on the author’s behalf against payment of the corresponding royalty, which it passes on. You must notify SUISA before you produce any recording, or before you have any recording produced.

More information

• Bei der Vertonung (Synchronisation) sind der Produzent eines Tonbildträgers und sein Auftraggeber dafür verantwortlich, die Erlaubnis der SUISA einzuholen. Sie haften solidarisch für die Urheberrechtsentschädigungen.
  
  
• Bei der Vorführung muss der Veranstalter der Vorführung die Erlaubnis einholen. Das gilt insbesondere auch für Tonbildträger, die Schweizer oder Liechtensteiner Firmen von ausländischen Partnern und Mutter- oder Schwestergesellschaften zur Verfügung gestellt werden.

Tarif VN und Tarif VI