Features
Apple Music, iTunes On Board With German Promoter Royalties
German promoters collecting society GWVR started providing promoters with an easy way to get their live music content onto Apple’s platforms and monetize it.
– Johannes UlbrichtGWVR
Germany is the first country in the world to introduce a royalty rate remunerating promoters for the exploitation of their live concert footage by third party licensees.
Some of the largest promoters in Germany that have already become members of GWVR include Live Nation, Eventim, Drag and Stage Entertainment.
While Apple has not directly accepted the rates set by German promoters collecting society GWVR, it has accepted that promoters exploit their live content through its platforms, which are going to be provided with content by ConvertMedia and GoodToGo, the latter of which will be paying the license fees.
Since Apple is very specific about the specs of the content it receives and publishes, partnering with both companies will make sure promoters don’t have to worry about delivering the correct content.
It also makes sure that promoters take back control over the content that is being pushed to the public, countering the flood of low-quality fan videos on YouTube that would otherwise be the main live footage for fans to consume.
The plan is, of course, to get YouTube to accept GVWR’s royalty rates as well, so it will pay a certain amount of its revenue back to rights holders for the exploitation of their live music content.
However, the year-long legal battle with another German collecting society, GEMA, suggests this could still be some time away. In the meantime, promoters have a legal alternative to push their live content out to consumers, legally and in high quality through the partnership between GWVR, ContentMedia and GoodToGo. GWVR sees this as a remarkable step, hailing Apple forward thinking when it comes to music.
“The live format on Apple Music and iTunes is one important step towards our strategic goal to breathe life into the long sleeping neighboring right for promoters according to § 81 German Copyright Act,“ comments Prof. Jens Michow, president of German promoters association bdv.
Dr. Johannes Ulbricht, General Director of GWVR explains: “We’re creating an alternative to the flood of illegal mobile videos on well-known streaming platforms.
Our alternative is legal, fair and of high quality. The aforementioned flood is negative for artists, promoters and the audience. It is positive only for those generating advertising revenue.”
Stefan Schulz of ConvertMedia commented: “At a later stage we aim at realizing further attractive contents and formats for creating new revenue streams for the live industry.”