Membership

Become a member

• When does my membership start?

  ​​​​​​​Both you and we must have signed the Deed of Assignment. In addition, the first membership fee plus admission fee must be paid. For newcomers who turn 30 or younger in the year of application, the admission fee is waived.
  
  Therefore you are a GEMA member as soon as

  •  you have transferred the first membership fee and admission fee
  •  we have confirmed your membership and
  •  you have received the countersigned Deed of Assignment from us.
• I have submitted a membership application. How long does it take to be processed? Do I get a provisional membership number?

  Due to the fact that we receive many applications, it usually takes a few weeks for them to be processed. We do, however, strive to complete the procedure as quickly as possible. Should you, for important reasons, require a membership number up front, please contact us by phone or write an e-mail to mitgliederpartner@gema.de.
  
  If you have met all requirements, your membership application will be processed. You now receive a written confirmation that you can be accepted as a member and, together with other important information such as statutes, distribution plan, payment information regarding the admission fee and membership fee and information on how to declare your works.
  
  The Deed of Assignment will also usually be sent to you digital in form for electronic signature purposes. After your identity has been verified and you have provided your electronic signature, a digital countersignature will be made by us. Please note that the agreement can only be countersigned if we verified the receipt of the admission fee plus membership fee. The admission procedure is thus concluded. You are now a member of GEMA.
  
  It is only now that we automatically create an online access for the e-mail address that you have provided in the membership application and activate the Online Portal for GEMA members. Next, you receive a link which enables you to assign your own password and to activate your online account.

• Can I become a creator or publisher member of several collective management organisations (for music) in the world at the same time?

  Yes, that is possible in principle. The requirement for this is that your membership does not overlap in terms of territories, rights and period of representation.

• When does GEMA membership make sense for me?

  We always look forward to welcoming new members. Before you decided to become a member, you should ensure that a membership makes economic sense to you as a creator.  This is the case if your own musical pieces are performed in public, broadcast on the radio or on TV or released by third parties via commercially published sound/audiovisual rights sound to a certain extent.  The same applies if such commercial exploitations are imminent. 
  
  Good to know: A member must pay a licence fee if it organises the public exploitation of its own works. Since you assign your exploitation rights as a member to us, you must acquire the licence for the use of your own works from us if you act as the music user, for example when you organise concerts or produce sound recordings. Said income will, however, be paid out to you again, after we have deducted the administration costs.
  
  With our live slider you can check whether a membership makes senses.

• Why do we speak about GEMA members?

  Because we are an association. More specifically, we have the legal form of an economic association by virtue of state conferral pursuant to section 22 of the German Civil Code (BGB). We consist of composers, lyricists and music publishers (and, where applicable, their legal successors) who are our members.

• Which rights do I assign to GEMA with the Deed of Assignment?

  You assign to us as a trustee all rights in your works you are currently entitled to and those accruing, devolving, redevolving to you or otherwise acquired by you during the term of this Deed for specific types of use. In this context, the most important types of use are: 

  • 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
  • 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
• Who can become a GEMA member?
  • Composers
  • Lyricists of lyrics set to music
  • Music publishers
  • Legal successors of the mentioned groups

  
  Music arrangers and arrangers or translators of lyrics set to music can also become GEMA members. In order for us to manage your copyrights, it is important that your arrangements reflect personal intellectual property. Moreover, you must have an authorisation of the rightsholder of the original work. 
  
  GEMA membership is linked to the individual. A band cannot become a GEMA member. Instead, each band member who is a composer or a lyricist must submit their own membership application. 
  
  Pure musical performers, i.e. performing artists, who are not composers, arrangers or lyricists at the same time cannot become members of GEMA because they are not active as creators. For them, the Gesellschaft zur Verwertung von Leistungsschutzrechten (GVL) is in charge. 
  
  If you are exclusively active as a producer or a producer of sound recordings, you cannot become a publisher member of GEMA.

• Are my works protected by a GEMA membership?

  No, the protection of your works is granted by the German Copyright Act, without you having to fulfil specific formalities such as a GEMA membership or a work declaration. Copyright protection of your works therefore exists independently from a GEMA membership.

• How does GEMA membership come about?

  Once you have completed the  admission procedure, membership is achieved by concluding a so-called Deed of Assignment. By signing the latter, creators or publishers, assign their copyright-related exploitation rights or publishing rights to us for management purposes. This means that we control how often and to which extent your works are used for you as our member. We collect the corresponding licence fees which become due from the music users. After that, we distribute the money to you and those creators who are also participants in the works. We therefore act as your fiduciary trustee.