Cultural Subsidy for the Online Sector has been launched
As a collecting society, our remit extends to providing support for works and activities of cultural significance. From this year, a dedicated Cultural Subsidy for the Online Sector exists to further this aim. It is funded primarily through deductions from our collections in the music on demand (MOD D, MOD S) and social media (GOP) categories, along with other amounts that cannot be distributed (interest, for example), and is specifically targeted to benefit music creators whose online rights are managed by GEMA. This move sees us charting the course for the future and consistently promoting diversity and variety in the online repertoire represented by GEMA.
The Cultural Subsidy for the Online Sector entails a twofold approach:
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a revenue-based subsidy known as the Cultural Supplement for the Online Sector
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the Cultural Fund for the Online Sector, a targeted individual subsidy for concrete works and projects
Cultural Supplement for the Online Sector
With the distribution dated 1 December 2024, all members who received revenue in the music on demand (MOD D, MOD S) and social media (GOP) categories during the 2023 financial year will receive a supplement for the first time. The revenue is weighted according to various criteria:
1. We are especially keen to promote the coming generation of talent. In the interest of providing targeted support for young creators at the start of their career, their revenue is weighted double. All members who are under 30 years of age, and have been GEMA members for under five years, benefit from this.
Please note that this “newcomer factor” is capped at €5,000, and that the respective member’s total revenue in the music on demand (MOD) and social media (GOP) categories must not exceed €10,000 for the year in question.
2. Each member who is entitled to a subsidy will have their respective online revenue taken into account on a graded basis, depending on the amount received. Revenue of up to €5,000 (creators) or €50,000 (publishers) counts at a rate of 100% for the purpose of calculating the Cultural Supplement for the Online Sector. Any further revenue above that level only counts partially – at a rate of either 50% or 25%. For further details, please see the graphic to the right.
Online revenue falling below a minimum amount of €100 (creators) or €1,000 (publishers) will not be taken into account for the purposes of the Cultural Supplement. Because of the differences in weighting, the supplement will vary, depending on the individual member and their revenue.
Cultural Fund for the Online Sector
Starting in 2025, a Cultural Fund for the Online Sector will also be available. From this, members can, on application, obtain financial support for concrete works or projects with an online component.
The committees of the Supervisory Board are currently developing this new individual subsidising procedure. We will inform you promptly once the Cultural Fund for the Online Sector has been set up and is in a position to receive applications.
Do you have any questions about our new subsidy programme?
We encourage you to take a look at our FAQ section. If you do not manage to find the answers you need there, please email us at mitgliederservice@gema.de, using the subject line “Cultural Subsidy for the Online Sector”.
Cultural Supplement for the Online Sector (FAQ)
The amount initially available for the Cultural Subsidy for the Online Sector is a figure in the mid single-digit million range.
The level of the Cultural Supplement for the Online Sector varies from member to member. In general, however, the following holds true:
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The Cultural Supplement for the Online Sector will not, in principle, be as high as other cultural distributions (e.g. the rating procedures).
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However, for all members receiving the Supplement, the amount will be higher than the deduction made from their revenue in the music on demand (MOD) and social media (GOP) categories.
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The Cultural Supplement for the Online Sector is relatively high this year because the Cultural Fund for the Online Sector has not yet been set up, leaving more funds available for the Cultural Supplement.
The following factors should also be noted:
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The overall funds available for the Cultural Subsidy for the Online Sector are limited. In the music on demand (MOD) and social media (GOP) categories, the customary 10% deduction for social and cultural purposes has been replaced by a deduction of 1%.
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The Cultural Subsidy for the Online Sector is also funded out of collections from statutory remuneration rights and amounts that cannot be distributed but that fall into the MOD and GOP categories. The overall level of the funds is not, for example, comparable to their previous value.
The level of the Supplement varies individually, depending on the weighting applied to the member’s revenue:
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Revenue received by “newcomers” up to €5,000 is weighted double. As such, newcomers with revenue up to €5,000 will receive a Cultural Supplement determined by their revenue but twice as high as that received by other members within the same revenue group.
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High levels of revenue will be taken into account on a graded basis structured as a "degression”. This means that although the Cultural Supplement for high revenue may be greater in terms of the amount paid, it will represent a lower percentage of the member’s revenue than that received by members whose actual revenue is low.
The three categories here (MOD S, MOD D, GOP) are the ones from which the funds for the Cultural Subsidy for the Online Sector are derived. In the MOD S VR, MOD D VR and GOP VR categories, there is no deduction for social and cultural purposes. The video on demand (VOD) and media library (MED) categories, on the other hand, have been integrated into the existing rating system.
The Cultural Supplement for the Online Sector is a percentage-based supplement to online revenue of the respective member. To determine this revenue, various forms of weighting are applied. Among these – alongside the newcomer factor – is the method known as “degression”.
For all members participating in the Cultural Supplement for the Online Sector, MOD-/GOP-related revenue of up to €5,000 (creators) or €50,000 (publishers) is counted at a rate of 100%. If a member’s overall revenue is higher, only the amount exceeding €5,000 or €50,000 will be counted at a lower rate.
For example: a member has online revenue of €8,000. Out of this, the first €5,000 are counted at a rate of 100%, and the remaining 3,000 at 50% (i.e. €1,500). Based on this, the member’s total online revenue for the purposes of the Cultural Supplement is €6,500.
In terms of structure, revenue received by individual creators is not comparable to that of publishers, who generally act for a large number of writers. This is why GEMA differentiates between creators and publishers in a variety of contexts in which revenue level is a key factor (minimum revenue for full membership and GOP supplement among other things).
Because the threshold values designated for the Cultural Supplement for the Online Sector are ten times higher for publishers than they are for creators, the allocation of funds reflects the division between creators and publishers at distribution level. This leaves the Supervisory Board in a position to react to any undesirable developments in the future by simply adjusting the threshold values.
If the revenue is low, a revenue-based supplement will not generate any financially significant support. However, irrespective of revenue level, the option of an individual subsidy from the Cultural Fund for the Online Sector remains open to all members.
This rule is based on the principle that those with a high level of revenue have no special need for support from a cultural subsidy.
The first distributions of the Cultural Supplement for the Online Sector will take place on 1 December 2024.
