SUMMARY:
I. General questions
II. Distribution
III. Anti-piracy
I. General questions
1) Is SCPP the rights management company for the record majors?
Indeed, the SCPP manages the rights of the three majors, Universal Music France, Sony Music France and Warner Music France, as well as those of over 3,000 independent producers. The majority of independent producers are affiliated to the SCPP.
2) What is the difference between the SCPP and SACEM?
Both organizations are CMOs, collective management organizations. They each ensure rights in the music industry. SACEM manages the rights of publishers, authors, and composers and the SCPP manages the rights of music producers. After having collected the fees from broadcasters or users of music or music videos, they do not pay them back to the very rights holders.
It is common for a single user to pay remuneration to SACEM (for copyright, composer, publisher) and to the SCPP (for the producer's rights).
For example: A company that uses commercial music as its call waiting music must pay both SACEM and the SCPA, which is mandated by the SCPP.
3) Why is it necessary to join a collective management company?
By joining the SCPP, you will receive the rights that your music generates when it is broadcast or used, for all collectively managed uses, some of which require a mandate.
4) My music is played but I have never joined the SCPP (or the SPPF). Is the remuneration retroactive?
Yes. The SCPP will be able to redistribute to you the fees it has collected retroactively up to five years prior to you joining the SCPP.
5) How much will it cost me to join the SCPP?
€150 which represents a share of the registered capital of the SCPP. This amount will be refunded to you when you cease to be a member.
6) What are the conditions for joining?
All conditions and procedures are mentioned in the Membership section of the site.
7) What is a CMO?
Collective management organizations (CMOs) are responsible for managing copyright and related rights: collection (from users) and distribution (to members: authors, artists, and producers).
Their decisive role, particularly in the field of music, was embodied in Law no. 85-660 of July 3, 1985 on copyright and the rights of performers, producers of sound recordings and video recordings, and audiovisual communication companies.
CMOs act as a kind of service provider between members and users. About thirty CMOs operate within frameworks specified by the French Intellectual Property Code and generate different types of rights collected:
· public performance, playback in public places
· sound recording or multimedia playback
· fair remuneration
· private copying
Authors', performers', and producers' societies intervene directly with their members, to whom they pay back all the economic rights they can claim: representation, reproduction, fair remuneration and private copying.
8) What are related rights?
The holders of related rights designated by the French Intellectual Property Code (CPI) are:
performers,
sound recording producers,
video recording producers (to which producers of audiovisual works should be assimilated),
audiovisual communication companies.
Economic rights
The following are subject to the performer's and producer's written authorization:
the fixation of the performer's performance,
its reproduction
and communication to the public,
as well as any separate use of the sound and image of the performance when it has been fixed for both for the sound and the image.
Sound recording producers' rights
A sound recording producer, whether a natural or legal person, is the person who has the initiative and responsibility for the first fixation of a sound sequence. The authorization of the sound recording producer is required before any reproduction or making it available to the public through the sale, exchange, or rental, or communication of their sound recording to the public, subject to legal licenses (remuneration for private copying, fair remuneration for radio broadcast and certain direct communications in public places).
Video recording producers' rights
A video recording producer, whether a natural or legal person, is the person who has the initiative and responsibility for the first fixation of a sequence of images with or without sound. The video recording producer's authorization is required before any reproduction or making it available to the public through the sale, exchange, or rental, or communication of their video recording to the public. The music video producer (video clips) is a producer of video recordings.
II. Distribution
1) What should I declare on the SCPP site?
You only have to declare the sound recordings (titles) and video recordings (video clips):
- of which you are the producer (owner of the masters) and of which you have not entrusted the related rights management to a third party,
Or
- of which the producer directly or indirectly mandated you to make the declarations on their behalf.
We remind you that the sale of sound recordings, as well as the information contained in your declarations, are likely to be audited. This audit is conducted by Cabinet EY before each final distribution.
2) What is a commercial reference? Is it mandatory?
The commercial reference of the sound recording media must be provided. It is the best way to link sound recordings to the sales of the media that contain them and to radio broadcasting records.
These references are alphanumeric which means they can contain both letters and numbers.
An error in these fields may cause you to lose the remuneration you would normally be entitled to.
In addition, when you make sales declarations, the references declared in your catalog must be written in exactly the same way as on the royalty statements sent by your distributors.
If in doubt, you can ask your distributors to confirm the commercial references used.
3) If I am also a performer of my sound recordings, do I have to declare my stage name and/or my marital status?
You must declare your artist/group name as it appears on the physical media jackets or platforms. This information is very important because it makes it possible to identify your titles when they are played.
You can also add the names of other performers but this is not mandatory.
4) What is the difference between a UPC code and an EAN code?
A UPC code (Universal Product Code) consists of a 12-character sequence and is the most widely used identification code in the United States. The EAN code (European Article Numbering) is made up of a series of 13 characters. This is the most widely used coding in the world.
5) What is a compilation (as defined by the SCPP)?
According to the SCPP's and SPPF's common definition, a compilation is a medium on which sound recordings belonging
to different producers are published. Each producer manages his/her own sound recordings.
This media must be declared with the compilation code "C" so that the sales, as declared by the publisher, are taken into account for all producers involved.
- You want to declare a "Best Of" album for an artist. You are the Producer (owner) of all the recordings and will therefore declare all of the titles: This is not a compilation.
- You want to declare a “Multi-performer" album. You are the Producer of some titles and the licensee for others, but you are entitled to manage the related rights for all of the titles on the album: This is not a compilation.
- You want to declare a “Multi-performer" album. You are the producer of some titles and the licensee for others, but you are not mandated to manage the related rights for all of the titles on the album: this is a compilation.
6) When will the next distribution be calculated?
The distributions are calculated as follows:
• March year N: Final distributions (on sales) of the Private Audio Copying and Fair Compensation of year n-2. This is the first phase of calculating Units of Account.
• June year N: Calculation of provisional distribution (on sales) of the Private Audio Copying and Fair Compensation of year n-1.
By a decision of the SCPP's Board of Directors on December 10, 2008: “Provisional distributions for a year of entitlement (advance on final distributions) shall only be paid to members who have received a final distribution in one of the two previous years."
• October year N: Final allocation of the amounts of Private Audio Copying on Sales of the N-2 year and Fair Compensation on sales of the year n-2.
7) How do I get an ISRC code?
The SCPP is designated the national agency for assigning ISRC codes and the time limit for assigning an ISRC code is 48 hrs. You must make your requests via our website https://www.scpp.fr/SiteIsrc
8) My title is broadcast, how do I collect the fees for these broadcasts?
The SCPP works closely with the SPRE on automatic recognition and identification of broadcasts. This work has been entrusted to the Spanish company BMAT.
Please contact BMAT (BMAT links to be displayed)
The essential elements for automatic recognition and identification of broadcasts are:
1) BMAT's integration of your databases (acoustic fingerprints and metadata) in order to be able to recognize your music when it is broadcast.
2) Comprehensive reporting of the ISRC codes of your recordings to the SCPP: The ISRC code, combined with the metadata and acoustic fingerprints of the sound recordings, is an essential identifier that will ensure the recognition of sound recordings that are broadcast.
If titles from your catalog are then identified, you will be able to receive remuneration.
9) Do I have to declare my DVDs to the SCPP?
No, the SCPP does not take DVDs into account when calculating distribution.
10) I sell my CDs at concerts, can I declare them?
You can declare the sales of your CDs at concerts only if you can justify the quantities sold. Be careful, however, only copies sold will be declared (do not declare quantities made).
11) Can I declare streaming?
No, the SCPP does not take streaming into account when calculating distribution.
12) I do not have access to all the modules on the site, why?
Access to websites is determined by your company's "internet manager". It is usually the legal representative. He can assign you roles and allow access to the site's various features in the "manage my employees" section.
13) I am a co-producer with one or more companies, what is the best way to declare my sound recordings?
You must check the "related rights" clause in your co-production contract to verify which co-producers must make the declaration of the relevant sound recordings (titles). In the event that the contract stipulates a direct repayment of related rights by a management company, then a sharing of remuneration is possible. However, if the co-producer to whom we have to pay his share is not a member of the SCPP, we will have to create a "beneficiary account".
To request a "beneficiary account" be opened, you must send us the following (by mail or email):
- A copy of your contract in which it is explicitly stipulated that the payment of a portion of the remunerations must be directly made through the SCPP
- Your licensee's RIB (bank details)
Depending on your co-producer's legal status:
- Company: a KBIS extract (company identification) that is less than 3 months old from your licensee
- Association: A copy of the association declaration statement and its bylaws
- Individual: A copy of their identification card (CNI or Passport)
14) What is the difference between a musical work and a sound recording?
A musical work is a melody, a harmony or any combination of these two elements, with or without words. A sound recording is a fixation of a performance of this work.
III. Combating piracy
1. Can I call on the Anti-Piracy Unit if I am not a member of the SCPP?
No, only members of the SCPP can use the services of the Anti-Piracy Unit. However, if you are not an SCPP member but have a license agreement with an SCPP member, you can still benefit from the services of the SCPP's Anti-Piracy Unit.
2. There is a lot of talk about DRMs, but also technical protection measures. What is the difference between the two?
Technological Protection Measures (TPMs) are a set of technical devices designed to limit the unauthorized use of works and objects protected by literary and artistic property laws, including musical and cinematographic works.
TPMs can be classified into 3 categories:
- access control systems (eg: set-top boxes),
- copy protection systems integrated in digital media such as DVD or certain CDs known as "Copy Control"
- DRMs (Digital Rights Management) which are rights management systems for online digital content
DRMs are therefore a subset of TPMs.
3. Why was DRM invented?
Without any protection system, a digital file can be reproduced infinitely without any loss of quality. This is one of the reasons why internet piracy has grown tremendously. However, this piracy jeopardizes the financing of cultural industries which is contrary to the public's interest and society in general.
It is therefore in society's interest to combat piracy.
There are two main ways of combating piracy:
- legal proceedings against online pirates or software publishers intended to facilitate piracy
- technical measures which can prevent acts of piracy
It seems evident that it is better for society to prevent acts of piracy by technical means rather than punishing acts of piracy that have already been committed through court rulings. DRMs could have been limited to technical anti-copying measures, but then they would not be DRMs, but simple copy protection systems.
Indeed, DRMs make it possible to define a very wide variety of rules for using a digital file. They thus make it possible to create innovative commercial offers for the consumer.
The main purpose of DRMs is therefore to reconcile the interests of creators and the interests of consumers through technology, enabling them to benefit from technological advances without the latter seriously harming the interests of creators.
4. What types of uses do DRMs allow?
DRMs allow:
- defining a period of use for a file
- extending the expiration date of a file
- only viewing the file (and not its reproduction). In fact the DRM does not prevent reproduction, but a file that is reproduced without authorization is then no longer searchable which is equivalent to preventing reproduction
- authorizing a variable number of copies to be made to a certain number of devices supposedly belonging to the consumer's private sphere, such as personal music players, recordable CDs or DVDs, computer hard drives
- authorizing or not adaptations of the files: modification of the reading speed, incorporation into a new work, remixing, etc…
- facilitating the payment of rights holders through online sales platforms.
These features allow you to:
- fully or partially view the content of a file for promotional purposes for a limited time period
- have the public access the works at a very low price in the case of rental packages or subscriptions with unlimited downloads
- have the public definitively buy rented files at a discounted price depending on the rental period
- recover the use of rented files after the end of its subscription by reactivating it
- define a broad scope for the consumer's private sphere, so that the consumer benefits from an exception for private copying without allowing private piracy This scope is intended to evolve with the general level of communications devices, especially in terms of computers and personal music players.
- ensure exact payment of all rights holders concerned for the use of the file
- allow digital broadcasting of radio and television programs without them being transformed into unauthorized distribution of content
5. It is well known that DRMs do not pose security or privacy issues. However, they restrict my ability to copy. In this respect, some people feel that they infringe upon individual liberties, including the freedom to copy works as much as they wish. What exactly is the situation?
Harming others has never been an individual liberty. The exception for private copying is a tolerance which is well accepted by rights holders as long as it is done for private use from a lawful source and the recording media is subject to remuneration.
The act of private copying thus gives added value to the product or file being purchased which is represented by the remuneration paid on the recording media. A consumer's private copying needs can be largely met by a number of copies per device type, which are determined by the DRMs. Beyond this number, copies can no longer be justified by private copying needs. They fall under counterfeiting which is not part of individual freedoms and it is fortunate that DRMs can prevent consumers from becoming counterfeiters.
6. Some young artists want to use the internet to make themselves known and do not want to set up DRMs on their content. Will they be able to continue to do so?
The use of DRMs is by no means mandatory. As long as young artists have full rights to their recordings, they may continue not using DRMs.
7. In the same vein, can "Creative Commons" licenses continue to be used if DRMs become more widespread?
Legal P2P player software or P2P exchange software, while capable of specifically processing files protected by a DRM, do not prevent in any way from reading or transmitting content that is voluntarily unprotected by its rights holders, and in particular Creative Commons licenses. The use and distribution of these will not be hindered in any way by the use of DRMs.
