Membership

Already a member

• Will I get an IPI number? And where can I find it?
  No, you will not get an IPI number. Even if the IPI number is often wrongly mentioned on the web, also in connection with GEMA.  What is referred to here is usually the  IP name number,  which is allocated by the international IPI database to creators and publishers . This number is then communicated to GEMA to such creators and publishers as part of the membership admission procedure to enable their identification as rightsholders at an international level. There is also an IP base number to which the existing IP name numbers can be linked; it is, in a way, the umbrella number. More on this in our  article on different available identifiers.  
   
  As a GEMA member, you can find the IP name number in the Online Portal in the service  My details under the panel My IP name numbers. The respective IP base number is  also shown in  My details under  My membership details. The IP base number is also located on the top right hand side in the Deed of Assignment.
• I have transferred my residence abroad. Can I remain a GEMA member and which changes will affect me?

  Your GEMA membership remains in place of course. Do you just want us to post your correspondence to your address abroad? Or did you also change your tax residence?
  
  If it is only the postal address that you have changed, you merely need to send us a confirmation by the German tax office. If the tax residence has changed, however, you, as a member must decide whether you wish to request an exemption or not.

• I wish to terminate my GEMA membership – what do I have to observe?

  Notice must be given in writing prior to 30 June of the current year, and include your legally binding signature. Please send the termination either by e-mail to mitgliederpartner@gema.de or by mail to GEMA Generaldirektion, Mitglieder- & Partner-Administration, Rosenheimer Str. 11, 81667 München, Germany/Deutschland. If the said deadline is adhered to, the termination takes effect from 1 January of the following year.

• May I receive my correspondence in English?

  Yes, we can make a note of that. However, certain letters, e.g. account statements or individual statements, can currently only be produced in German. The GEMA Online Portal is available to you in German and English.

• What forms of membership are there?

  There are two forms of membership: associate and full membership. For new members, associate membership usually applies initially. You can become a full member after five years of associate membership and once you have achieved a certain minimum income.
  
  Information on forms of membership

• Which are the most important usage categories?
  • Film performance rights and film synchronisation rights (to a limited extent)
  • Statutory remuneration rights such as what is known as hardware levy and blank media levy (blank tape remuneration)
  • Making available rights i.e. make music available on the internet or by similar means in such a way that it is available to music users at any time, anywhere.
  • Rights to use music as ringtone melodies
  • Performing rights
  • Broadcasting rights for radio and TV
  • Mechanical reproduction rights and distribution rights for audio, audiovisual and multimedia carriers
  • Communication to the public rights for radio and TV broadcasts
  • Communication to the public rights via audio and audiovisual carriers

  
  Deed of Assignment  

• How are collections from rights management distributed?

  As a member, the income collected from issued licences are allocated to you on the basis of the GEMA distribution plan. The distribution plan  governs the allocation ratios (splits) between composers, lyricists and music publishers of a work.
  
  In the performing and broadcasting rights categories, composers can decide themselves how they allocate the shares among themselves.  There is a minimum share for all composers of 35.20% and for all lyricists of 19.80%. This type of share division is also referred to as free negotiability. You can select these shares in our Online Portal by using the slider.
  
  If composer and lyricist have not come to a freely negotiated the division of shares, the composer shall receive 64.00% and the lyricist 36.00%.
  
  Example with free negotiability:
  
  If a composer enters into a publishing agreement, a publisher share of 33.33% is calculated based on the creator’s share. 
  
  Composer (K) and lyricist (T) agree that they split music and lyrics in a ratio of 50%: 50%.
  
  After that, the lyricist enters into a publishing agreement with publisher A (VA).
  
  The shares in the work are then split to K = 50%, T = 33.34% and VA = 16.66%.
  
  If the composer enters into a publishing agreement with publisher B (VB), the shares are split like this: K = 33.34 %, T = 33.34 % and VA = 16.66 % and VB = 16.66 %.
  
  Example without free negotiability: 
  
  If a composer enters into a publishing agreement, a publisher share of 33.33% is calculated based on the creator’s share. 
  
  Composer (K) and lyricist (T) agree that they split music and lyrics in a ratio of 64.00%: 36.00%.
  
  After that, the lyricist enters into a publishing agreement with publisher A (VA).
  
  The shares in the work are then split to K = 64.00%, T = 24.00% and VA = 12.00%.
  
  If the composer enters into a publishing agreement with publisher B (VB), the shares are split like this: K = 42.67%, T = 24.00% and VA = 12.00% and VB = 21.33%.
  
  In the mechanical reproduction rights categories, the rules provide that the shares between the composers and lyricists are distributed at equal shares in a 50/50 ratio.
  
  Composer (K) and lyricist (T) therefore must not and cannot apply the free negotiability principle for their shares in this case.
  
  If a composer enters into a publishing agreement, a publisher share of 40.00 % is calculated based on the creator’s share. 
  
  Example:
  
  First, the lyricist enters into a publishing agreement with publisher A (VA).
  
  The shares in the work are then split to K = 50%, T = 30.00 % and VA = 20.00 %.
  
  After that, the composer enters into a publishing agreement with publisher B (VB). This leads to the following share division: K = 30.00 %, T = 30.00 % and VA = 20.00 % and VB = 20.00 %.

• What do I need which number for?

  The membership number is created for each new member as part of the admission procedure and is automatically communicated to the member by the Members & Partners Department at the same time as the authorisation contract is sent out. It is used for the unambiguous internal verification of the respective member account. The membership number is required for all correspondence as well as for bank transfers, together with the first and last name/company name and the purpose of the transfer.

  The IP Base Number is a unique identifier automatically generated by the international database, the IPI system, for each member (IP) who is either a natural person (music creator) or a legal entity (publisher). The IP Base Number consists of 13 characters: Letter i (I), hyphen (-), nine digits, hyphen (-), a check digit. I-9999999-9 and is the main number of each account to which the IP Name Number(s) are attached.

  The IP Name Number is a unique identifier automatically assigned by the IPI international database for the civil name of a natural person or the company name of a publisher. IP Name Numbers are also assigned for pseudonyms/artist names and, if applicable, for different spellings of the name or other names (e.g. several first names), so that several IP Name Numbers can be registered for one member.
  The IP Name Number(s) are attached to and based on the corresponding IP Base Number. An IP Name Number consists of 11 digits. The last two digits are check digits. 

  The contract (account) number is the identification number (ID) of the financial contract assigned to the member on which all bookings are made.