All the answers to your questions on:
Payments from the SCPP
Telephone on-hold music
You are a producer based abroad and would naturally like to receive the rights generated by your work in France. Do you need to join the SCPP?
1) If you have a licensing or equivalent agreement with a French producer who is a member of the SCPP, to whom you have entrusted the management of your “performing rights” in France, you do not need to become a member of the SCPP, as you will receive the funds collected on your behalf by the SCPP via your licensee or equivalent partner.
2) If you have not entrusted the management of your rights to a French associate who is a member of the SCPP:
a – if the producers' rights management organisation of which you are a member in your own country has signed bilateral agreements with the SCPP (see the following question), you do not need to join the SCPP as your national management organisation collects your royalties from the SCPP and passes them on to you.
b – if the producers' rights management organisation of which your are a member in your own country has not signed bilateral agreements with the SCPP, you must first contact your national management organisation to find out whether agreements are currently being negotiated. If no agreement is being negotiated, it would be in your interest to join the SCPP, by contacting Ulrike Chasseguet-Hunning on 01 41 43 03 03 or by e-mail at
ulrike.huning@scpp.fr
Which foreign producers' rights management organisations has the SCPP signed bilateral agreements with?
At present, the SCPP has signed agreements with the following organisations:
- Sweden (IFPI Sweden)
- England (PPL)
- The Netherlands (SENA)
- Russia (RPA)
- Finland (GRAMEX)
- Germany (GVL)
However, numerous other agreements are being negotiated. Please check this list regularly.
Is it necessary to be a member of a professional organisation that manages the rights of music producers to receive your rights?
You do not need to join a professional organisation that manages the rights of music producers; in fact, the law of 3 July 1985 obliges any professional organisation to distribute royalties as part of legal licensing structures (private music copying and fair remuneration) to each producer who makes himself known to the professional organisation.
Why should I become a member of a professional organisation that manages the rights of music producers?
Since the introduction of the law of 3 July 1985, music producers have rights. Becoming a member of a professional organisation that manages the rights of music producers is the best way of benefiting from these rights.
Why should I become a member of the SCPP?
There are two professional organisations that manage the rights of music producers in France, the SCPP and the SPPF.
The advantages of the SCPP:
- The trust of 1000 members: For almost 20 years, increasing numbers of producers (both independents and large international companies) have been placing their trust in the SCPP. Today, a team of around 40 people manages the rights of 1000 members, i.e. 2 million sound recordings and 26,000 music video recordings.
- Constantly increasing sums for distribution
- Low management fees
- Ever shortening distribution times
- A very significant creative aid
- The financial revenue generated by the SCPP is redistributed to its members
The services on offer to members:
- An anti-piracy team and official agents specifically assigned to this task
- An information system comprising software designed and developed by internal teams to meet the specific needs of the SCPP and to manage millions of compositions
- Music databases that are accessible to everyone and contain the SCPP’s entire catalogue
- A 200 sq m stand at MIDEM for the use of members, enabling them to meet producers from around the world
- A monthly newsletter for members containing a letter from the Managing Director
- The SCPP’s website providing access to our catalogue, the main pieces of legislation and a members’ area: www.scpp.fr
What will it cost me to join?
It costs €150, which gives you a share in the capital of the SCPP. There is no annual fee.
Once I have joined the SCPP, what do I need to do?
Once you have joined, you must provide the SCPP with declarations of your sound recordings and sales in order for the SCPP to identify and calculate the payments you are entitled to.
I am a member of another professional organisation that manages the rights of music producers and would like to join the SCPP, is this possible?
You are free to decide to cease entrusting the management of your rights to the professional organisation that manages the rights of music producers that you are a member of and to join another one. The fact that there are two professional organisations managing the rights of music producers in France gives you the freedom to compare them and to choose the organisation that best matches your needs. However, there are rules for leaving each professional organisation that you should be aware of in advance. You cannot receive royalties from two organisations for the same royalty period.
Payments from the SCPP
I – Fair remuneration
How is the fair remuneration allocated?
The general principle is as follows: the fair remuneration is allocated by the SCPP and the SPPF using broadcasting statements supplied by users of the SPRE. These statements contain all the titles played by the broadcaster over a year, and the duration (air-time) (and/or the number) of broadcasts for each of them.
The extent of the fair remuneration allocated to each sound recording depends on the total broadcasting time for the entire year. Remuneration is allocated pro-rata to this air-time, in comparison to the total air-time for all the sound recordings played by a given broadcaster.
What statements does the SCPP use?
The remuneration collected from radio broadcasters:
This remuneration is allocated pro-rata to the air-time for sound recordings. The SCPP and the SPPF (since the two organisations have jointly allocated the fair remuneration since 1999) use:
- The radio broadcast statements, in particular from network heads and peripheral radio stations, to allocate the sums that they have paid.
- The weighted programme statement from various independent local radio stations polled by IPSOS to allocate 85 % of the sums received from these radio stations, the remaining 15% being allocated pro-rata to sales for the same year and the air-time for sound recordings.
- The radio broadcast statements from Radio France to allocate 75% of the fair remuneration, the remaining 25% being allocated pro-rata to sales for the same year and the air-time for sound recordings.
The remuneration collected from places playing music (shops, supermarkets, cafés, restaurants, etc.)
This remuneration is allocated as follows:
- 13% of the sums using statements from professional sound engineers,
- 55% using radio broadcast statements, and
- 32% pro-rata to sales and the air-time for sound recordings.
These percentages result from a study carried out by YACAST in 1999, on the sources of sound recordings in shops, on behalf of the SCPP, the SPPF and the ADAMI. (2652 venues surveyed).
The remuneration collected from discotheques
This remuneration is allocated using the results of electronic, automated readings carried out in 109 representative discotheques by MEDIA CONTROL on behalf of the SPRE and the SACEM.
Television broadcasters (music video recordings)
The SCPP and the SPPF are studying the possibility of improving their methods for allocating the fair remuneration collected from television broadcasters. The quality of the statements made available to beneficiaries has not yet enabled allocation pro-rata to broadcasts to be put in place. Whilst waiting for this, the SCPP allocates the remuneration collected pro-rata to sales and the air-time for sound recordings.
Do all sound recordings generate fair remuneration?
All sound recordings generate fair remuneration if they are broadcast by radio or transmitted in a public place and if they were published for the first time less than 51 years ago.
On the other hand, producers and artists do not benefit from any such remuneration if the sound recordings were not made in France, the European Union or a country that is a signatory to the Rome Convention (see the website on "Legislation") by a citizen of one of these countries.
French legislation pays specific attention to the so-called RECORDING LOCATION for a sound recording. This geographic criterion is not always satisfactory: it is difficult to determine the recording location for a sound recording, when choirs are recorded in London while the principal performers are recorded in Paris and the results are mixed in New York.
Therefore, depending on the declared recording location, the sound recording grants the right or otherwise to the collection of royalties. In addition, should the economic criterion be taken into account in such cases, the recording country would be the place where the majority of the costs for making the sound recording were incurred.
Nevertheless, where the recording costs have been incurred mainly in several European Union countries, the recording location that should be declared should be the European Union country where the majority of the “European costs” were incurred. In the same way, when of all the costs, the majority were not incurred in the European Union but in several counties that have ratified the Rome Convention, the declared recording country should be the one, among these countries, where the majority of the recording costs were incurred.
When is the fair remuneration paid to producers?
With the exception of the remuneration paid by Radio France, whose programme statements are very difficult to use, and which is paid in N+3, other remuneration is paid to producers in the year following collection. The SCPP has put in place a payment system that enables us to pay the fair remuneration as and when the beneficiaries are identified.
As a general rule, the SCPP pays out twice a year: in June and November.
Does the fair remuneration and remuneration for private copying that a producer receives from the SCPP need to be paid by the producer to his artists in the form of royalties?
No, artists receive this remuneration directly from their own professional organisations, the ADAMI and the SPEDIDAM. The SPRE collects the fair remuneration and 50% of the sums received are paid to these two organisations. The SORECOP collects the funds for private music copying, 50% of this is allocated to composers/songwriters (SDRM), 25% to artists’ organisations and 25% to producers.
On the other hand, if you make use of certain sound recordings within the framework of a licence agreement, it is likely that you will pay back part to the licensor, depending on the terms of your agreement with the latter.
You say that the remuneration collected from local independent radio stations with a network head are allocated using polls of certain local radio broadcasters carried out by IPSOS. Which radio stations are these?
- SUD RADIO (Toulouse)
- VIBRATION (Orléans)
- CONTACT FM (Lille)
- SCOOP (Lyon)
- WIT FM (Bordeaux)
- TOP Music (Strasbourg)
- ADO FM (Paris)
- KISS FM (Cannes)
- VITAMINE (Toulon)
- Radio NANTES (Nantes)
- ALOUETTE FM (Nantes)
- VOLTAGE FM (Paris)
- OUI FM (Paris)
- MARITIMA (Martigues)
II – Private music copying
How is remuneration for private music copying allocated?
Since 2001, 93% of the remuneration collected on behalf of producers has been allocated pro-rata to sales and the air-time for sound recordings, the remaining 7% is allocated pro-rata to the duration of sound recording broadcasts by radio stations.
Since 2001, the SORECOP has been collecting the payments for recordable CDs. The source of copies made on CD-Rs by consumers is actually digital: these are CDs bought in stores.
The SCPP and the SPPF believe that the sale of one sound recording media generates one copy of all the sound recordings appearing on the media. The SCPP also believes that sound recordings are copied in an equal proportion to those sold or broadcast.
For the allocation of funds pro-rata to broadcasts (7%), the SCPP uses the broadcast statements already used for allocation of the "fair remuneration" to create a panel of broadcasters, by giving each of them a coefficient.
This coefficient is calculated using the results of the SOFRES study and in particular the share of each radio station in the source of copies made by private individuals.
In application of French legislation, only those sound recordings recorded within the European Union and in EFTA countries (Switzerland, Iceland, Norway) are included in this allocation.
Do all sound recordings grant the right to remuneration for "Private music copying?”
Only sound recordings recorded in the European Union grant the right to remuneration in application of French legislation and the Treaty of Rome, if they were published for the first time less than 51 years ago. French legislation actually pays particular attention to the RECORDING LOCATION for a sound recording.
This geographic criterion is not always satisfactory: it is difficult to determine the recording location for a sound recording, when choirs are recorded in London while the principal performers are recorded in Paris and the results are mixed in New York. Therefore, depending on the declared recording location, the sound recording grants the right or otherwise to the collection of the CPS.
In addition, should the economic criterion be taken into account in such cases, the recording country would be the place where the majority of the costs for making the sound recording were incurred. Nevertheless, where the recording costs have been incurred mainly in several European Union countries, the recording location that should be declared should be the European Union country where the majority of the “European costs” were incurred.
In the same way, when of all the costs, the majority were not incurred in the European Union but in several counties that have ratified the Rome Convention (even though this contains no provisions relating to private copying, this information is important for allocating the Fair remuneration) , the declared recording country should be the one, among these countries, where the majority of the recording costs were incurred.
When is the private music copying remuneration paid?
An initial payment, pro-rata to sales and the air-time for sound recordings, is made every year at the end of June, this is a provisional payment of sums received for the previous year. A second payment is made in November, this is the final payment of sums received for the year N-2.
Payments "for broadcasting" are made 5 years after the period for which the remuneration has been received, since, before proceeding with this operation, the greatest number of broadcasts should have been identified.
III – Private audio-visual copying
How are payments made for private audio-visual copying?
Collection is carried out by COPIE France, and allocated by PROCIREP, which represents the association of audio-visual producers.
This remuneration is not very high for record producers (approximately €230,000 a year). It is allocated pro-rata to the music video recording broadcasting rights of French television stations. Only the royalties collected for music video recording broadcasts recorded in Europe and terrestrial television broadcasts are included, since:
- legislation and the treaty of Rome stipulate that only music video recordings recorded in France and within the European Union grant the right to remuneration,
- surveys carried out by Media Control on behalf of COPIE France indicate that only music video recordings broadcast on terrestrial television stations are copied in a significant quantity. Cable channels are very rarely copied.
Remuneration for private audio-visual copying is paid every year at the end of November.
IV – Broadcasting royalties for music video recordings
How are broadcasting royalties for music video recordings paid?
These royalties are paid at the same time as they are invoiced to television channels. The SCPP applies two tariffs:
- one for broadcasting (depending on the potential television audience and the number of monthly music video recording broadcasts made by general television channels),
- the other for music channels, pro-rata to turnover, with a minimum monthly figure depending on their potential audiences.
Royalties are therefore paid:
1 – for the first tariff, on broadcasting,
2 – for the second tariff, pro-rata to the number of broadcasts of each music video recording during the year.
When are these payments made?
- Every month, for channels invoiced on broadcasting
- Every year, for music channels
For example: A broadcast made by TF1 in January is declared to the SCPP on 20 February and invoiced on 28 February. The producer of the music video recording receives his credit notification enabling him to invoice the SCPP at the beginning of March. Whether the SCPP has been paid by TF1 or not, the producer will be paid on 10 April.
V – Sound recording royalties
These royalties are those collected from companies:
- which reproduce sound recordings for telephone on-hold music, music in public places or interactive terminals,
- which transmit extracts of sound recordings to the public on their websites, telephone on-hold systems, as part of events, etc.
How are sound recording royalties paid?
The SCPP pays these royalties at the same time as the fair remuneration.
Do all sound recordings falling into the category of “sound recording royalties” grant a right to remuneration?
Yes, there are no “non payables” as there are for the fair remuneration. Therefore recordings made in the USA. For example, are paid for.
In addition, unlike the fair remuneration and private music copying, these royalties are due to producers and artists. On receipt, the producer must, depending on the terms of his exclusivity agreement with the artist, pay the latter his share of this remuneration.
(link to the SCPA website)