Claiming unpaid royalties

We are committed to ensuring that you are paid your royalties correctly and always on time. However, there may be times when the information used to calculate your royalties (e.g. the data on how and when your works were used, or important information about your share in a work or its point value) was incomplete or incorrect. If you notice something missing or not quite right, please do not hesitate to let us know. Our case review process is quick and easy to follow. We will take care of your issue and get back to you as soon as possible.

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How to claim your missing royalties

If you registered your works on time and they have been used but you have not received any royalties, or received less royalties than expected, please go to our Online Portal to claim your missing royalties. Our simple interactive form will take you through a series of questions to gather the information we need to investigate your concern. Alternatively, you can use the Mass Upload feature, which allows you to upload all data about your works and about how and when they have been used in a single step using our Excel spreadsheet.

Checklist for claiming missing royalties

To enable us to process your request as quickly as possible, we recommend that you first go through our checklist for guidance regarding what is important to know before raising a case. This may help you avoid potentially unnecessary work, and you may even find answers to questions you have about the process.

1. Have you been paid any royalties at all for the distribution category and usage period concerned?

By checking our distribution dates, you can find out quickly which distribution categories and which usage periods royalties have already been paid for. Based on this, you may find that royalties for the period or financial year you are looking for have not been paid yet because the distribution date for those royalties has not yet arrived.

2. Do you think that any usage of your works has been omitted, or is there any important information that is incorrect?

Your detailed statement shows you the usage of your works that has been included in the royalty payment you received, with details about when and where which of your works were used. This also allows you to check whether there is any usage missing, or whether a mistake was made in the distribution of royalties. To view your detailed statement, please go to the service My Royalties in our Online Portal.

->  For details see GEMA Help Center

3. Are you within the deadline period?

Please note that it is always important for you to check whether you are within the deadline period for making a claim. To read more about the deadlines that apply to this, please click here:

4. Do you have all necessary information at hand?

Each concern is different. With this in mind, we have compiled detailed information for each distribution category.
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Get help – quickly!

If you need us, our help centre offers answers to your questions – it is quick and easy to use and accessible to you 24/7 – and there are no waiting times.

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