Our distributions as of 1 April 2025
Online
As of 1 April 2025, you will receive royalty distributions for uses of your works in our online categories music (streaming & download), video (streaming & download), social media and web (including background music on websites).
Information on which streaming and download platforms are included in the distribution as of 1 April 2025 and with which usage periods can be found here.
Music on Demand (Streaming & Download)
Our music on demand categories include pan-European uses. Uses outside of the pan-European region are licensed by our sister organisations and paid via the international income categories A and A VR to our members.
Further information on the distribution can be found in the following supplements available for download: MOD S and MOD D.
If you wish to find out more about the distribution in our online categories music (streaming & download), it’s worth taking a look at our page on the MOD distribution.
Video on Demand (Streaming & Download)
Video on demand includes the use of music in films and series that can be viewed directly via streaming or downloaded from internet platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime or Disney+. The video on demand categories exclusively contain uses from within Germany. Uses outside of Germany are licensed by our sister organisations and paid via the international income categories A and A VR to our members.
We would like to point out that the distribution for Amazon (subscription) for the first half of 2024 is not yet included. The distribution is expected to take place on 1 October 2025.
Further information on the distribution can be found in the following supplement available for download: VOD S and VOD D.
Detailed information about Video on Demand can be found here.
Social Media
If your music is played on social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook or TikTok, you will receive distributions in the mixed online platforms’ categories. As usual, we distribute the income on the basis of usage reports on 1 April 2025.
Which is why we’re delighted to announce that as of 1 April 2025, we will be distributing royalties for lyrics as a supplement in the GOP and GOP VR social media categories. How does this work? When posting videos to social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, in addition to adding music to the post, the corresponding lyrics can now also be displayed. The display of these lyrics within the video is licensed separately by GEMA. Now, for the first time, GEMA is distributing the corresponding revenue to its members.
The distributable amount is a mid-six-figure sum and includes collections from the years 2022 and 2023. This distribution will only be received by lyricists and their publishers, although they must first have granted GEMA the graphic rights to the text for the online sector (display of lyrics in Facebook and Instagram clips).
All members who receive a distribution here will find precise details in their account statements under the following headings:
• GOP Zuschlag 2023 T Lyrics FB/Instagram 2022/23
• GOP VR Zuschlag 2023 T Lyrics FB/Instagram 2022/23
• GOP Zuschlag 2023 V Lyrics FB/Instagram 2022/23
• GOP VR Zuschlag 2023 V Lyrics FB/Instagram 2022/23
Further information on the distribution can be found in the following supplement available for download: GOP and GOP VR.
You can find detailed information about the divisions of Social Media on our GOP distribution page.
Sound Recording
On 1 April 2025, there is a backlog distribution in the category sound recordings (carriers) mechanical rights (Phono VR). The main distribution for the 1st semester 2024 has already been paid out on 1 January 2025.
Informations about sound recordings you can find here.
International
In the international income categories A and A VR (mechanical rights), we distribute revenues from our sister organisations for uses of the GEMA repertoire in their respective territories.
We would like to notify you that because of unresolved tax issues, the distribution for Italy relating to the first semester of 2023 is not yet ready for payment. Collections from France in respect of the A VR category for the second semester of 2023 are similarly affected.
Information, on which countries and periods are distributed as of 1 April 2025, can be seen here. Informations about sound recordings you can find here.
Statutory remuneration rights
On 1 April 2025, you will receive a distribution for statutory remuneration rights (GVA) for the 2023 financial year. This relates to remuneration rights arising out of private reproduction (e.g. when music is copied onto a USB stick or downloaded into clouds), lending by libraries or the use of music in educational, scientific or other institutions. Since it is not possible to identify the usage reports required for a use-based distribution, collections from GVA are distributed as a supplement.
As of this distribution, uses in the online categories will benefit more from the private copying supplement because it now covers more online categories. Furthermore, as of the 2024 financial year and pursuant to the distribution plan, collections derived from private copying will be allocated to these categories in accordance with a new allocation ratio.
In response to this development, the share of the supplement going to the music on-demand streaming area (MOD S, MOD S VR) has now been increased significantly. Additionally, the video on-demand download & streaming (VOD D, VOD D VR; VOD S, VOD S VR) and social media platforms (GOP, GOP VR) areas have recently been integrated into this supplementary distribution.
Extraordinary revenue from Amazon
In addition to the regular collections for GVA, GEMA has received extraordinary revenue from Amazon in relation to financial years that have already concluded (2021 & 2022). This too will be paid out on 1 April 2025 in the form of a supplement.
Information about our last payouts
Payouts as January 2025
In the categories Mixed online platforms, Music on demand streaming, Sound and audiovisual recordings, International
Payouts as of October-November 2024
In the categories Online, Phono VR, International, Rating, Live and Reproduction
Payouts as of 1 December 2024
GEMA starts distributing income for media libraries as a supplement
FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions about distribution
In the account statements you find the distributions of the statutory remuneration as gross amounts. The cost deductions for each item are listed explicitly and separately, as only these have been subject to VAT last year. This may give you the option to deduct input tax (Vorsteuerabzug).
You can access an overview of your turnover in the Online Portal in the service My royalties. There, you can also find where the royalties come from (live, radio, TV/film, digital or international income) and the revenue generated by your ten most successful works. More on this in the Video.
Detailed statements (individual statements and usage statements) can be accessed in the online portal under My Royalties.
If you cannot access the service yet, get your activation via the GEMA Online Portal. You can also request details on the distribution via e-mail: mitgliederservice@gema.de. They are subject to a service fee.
You can submit a claim for an incorrect distribution quickly and easily using the following options:
You log in to the Online Portal and use the Service Claims.
For missing live events, use the service My setlists in the Online Portal where you can submit your setlists in the form of a complaint/claim.
Please note: Before submitting any claims, please check whether a distribution has already been made for the period and category. You can access an overview of the deadlines and categories here. Please only claim uses, which are not included in your detailed statements (on the Online Portal > GEMA Download) or need to be claimed for other reasons. Pursuant to § 59 of the GEMA distribution plan, claims must contain specific details which permit a verification. You ensure that this is the case by providing the requested details in the Online Portal under Claims. You can access all the details regarding claims here.
When claiming unpaid royalties in the MOD distribution categories, please mind the following important points: If the royalties for use of a work during the specified usage periods of the Digital Service Providers (DSPs) concerned are not included in the royalty payment you received, you should make a claim for missing royalties shortly (at the latest within three months of the respective distribution date according to § 59 of the GEMA Distribution Plan). In order to arrange the licence allowing you to receive those royalties subsequently, the root of the problem (e.g. missing or incorrect declaration or registration, or incorrect classification of the work) needs to be fixed quickly. As a general rule, if information about the artist and label is provided in the work declaration prior to or for publication (ISRC), this helps the licensing and distribution processes run more smoothly.
If the dashboards of the DSPs show higher usage figures than those of our distribution, please consider that DSP dashboards usually show global streaming figures current to the day. Therefore, please check first whether the usage period concerned and the usage figures from the respective DSPs for the respective countries are included in the particular GEMA distribution you received for online and/or international use. If the royalty a stream earns, for example, on Spotify, per country, month and service type (Free, Student, Family, Duo, Premium) is not at least a few cents, we will not distribute it on a per-work basis but by way of supplements per entitled party.
When claiming unpaid royalties for use on mixed-content online platforms (distribution categories GOP/GOP VR), please remember the following: The deadline for such claims is three months, counted from the date of distribution of supplements, which is usually on 1 December of a financial year. The distribution date for this year has been postponed to 1 January 2023. As a result, the deadline for claiming unpaid royalties is automatically postponed accordingly.
You do not have access to the Online Portal yet? Register as a music creator here. Then, you will receive an e-mail with an activation link to set your own password. After that, you complete the activation application which is shown in the Online Portal, and send it through to us. Once your account has been successfully activated, we will inform you.
f you have any questions about our claim procedure, please contact our Member Services Department by email at mitgliederservice@gema.de.
For further information about how to make a claim, please click here.
It is possible that your account statements are still en route to you. They are available to you only a few days after the payout at the beginning of the new month.
The process is as follows:
-
Detailed breakdowns/statements are available in the online portal under My Royalties.
-
At the same time, we transfer your royalties to you.
-
The account statement will be issued and transferred (by post or the Online Portal)
Are you registered for the Online Portal? Then you can access your account statements there:
-
Simply go to My financial details in Online Portal .
-
You can access this in the area My account statements.
