An agreement has been reached: performers better remunerated for streaming
A happy conclusion to the long road taken to obtain fair remuneration for performers when their music is broadcast on streaming platforms: negotiations between performers’ and producers’ organizations have unanimously resulted in an historic agreement!
The government had given performers’ and producers’ organizations 12 months to negotiate an agreement guaranteeing appropriate and proportional minimum remuneration for artists whose music is streamed.
This is a major step towards a fair sharing of value for artists. Over and above the agreement’s content, it seals a new relationship of trust between producers and performers. For the first time, the contractual conditions under which performers are remunerated will be regulated.
A monitoring committee will enrich the agreement and adapt it to the realities of the music market. A common basis for remuneration now exists. It’s up to all of us to seize this opportunity to continue improving artist remuneration in the digital world.
What does the “GRM” (guaranteed minimum wage) agreement cover?
For main perfomers
A minimum royalty rate payable to lead performers for the streaming of their tracks:
Under an artist’s contract, where the label is its own distributor
- Rate of 11% during periods when allowances apply
- Rate of 10% excluding periods when allowances apply
Under an artist’s contract, where the label is distributed by a third party
- Rate of 13% during periods when allowances apply
- Rate of 11% excluding periods when allowances apply
Under a licensing contract
- Single rate at 28%
→ Allowance period limited to 9 months after album release with a maximum of 50%.
Bonus rate
The agreement provides for a bonus on the royalty rate when the number of streams exceeds a certain threshold.
The nature and level of this threshold will be determined by the monitoring committee of all the signatories to the GRM agreement at its first evaluation meeting.
A guaranteed minimum advance
1,000 € gross per unreleased album
Amount reduced to 500 € gross when the producer is a VSE (very small enterprise: less than 2 million in sales and fewer than 10 employees)
→ The producers’ OGCs undertake to set up a support mechanism for the benefit of VSEs, with the aim of achieving an advance of 1,000 € for all artists.
For other performers
A minimum basic remuneration for all musicians
1.5% of the basic fee*, per musician and per minute
- An incentive based on the success of streaming titles
- from 7.5 million streams of a title: 20% of the basic fee
- from 15 million streams of a title: 25% of base fee
- from 30 million streams of a title: 30% of base fee
- from 50 million streams of a title: 35% of base fee
→ This remuneration will be managed by the producers’ OGCs and paid by a performers’ OGC.
* basic fee = 171 €
Support for employment
The parties undertake to support the employment of performers within the framework of a scheme co-financed by the State, to which they emphasize their attachment: FONPEPS private/public fund supporting artistic employment. The amount of this fund will be tripled.
When will it come into force?
It will come into force on July 1, 2022.
On which registrations?
For all new contracts and contract renewals.
The minimum rates apply to all marketing of an unreleased title if the recording contract was signed after July 6, 2017.
For how long?
The agreement will be reviewed every five years to keep pace with market trends.
Who are the signatories?
Employee unions: SNAM-CGT, SFA-CGT, F3C-CFDT, SNM-FO, SNACOPVA-CGC and SNAPSA-CGC
Employer unions: SNEP, UPFI, SMA
Collective management organizations: ADAMI, SPEDIDAM, SCPP and SPPF
