SUISA and SWISSPERFORM - 130 years together for music creators
Most music creators are familiar with SUISA. You write songs, register them with the copyright society and then receive money for radio plays, concerts or streams. What some people don't know, however, is that Performers and producers also receive money for the use of their music. If you are a member of SWISSPERFORM. SUISA and SWISSPERFORM are therefore two very important contact points for Swiss music creators. Below, the two organizations briefly introduce themselves and their work.
SUISA is the cooperative society of authors and publishers of music in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
So if you compose, write lyrics or work as a music publisher, you should consider becoming a member of SUISA. This is worthwhile if your music is published or at least used publicly. This is where SUISA comes into play: When music is broadcast on radio or TV in Switzerland, performed at concerts, streamed on online platforms or played in the background in restaurants and stores, SUISA collects the money for these uses and distributes it to the music creators whose works are used. Of the CHF 100 that SUISA collects, it distributes CHF 87 to the authors and publishers of music.
In order to receive copyright remuneration from SUISA for the use of your own music, it is important to register the works as soon as possible - preferably before publication. This applies in particular if the music is available on streaming platforms. Otherwise, you may not receive any money for the streams of the first few days, weeks or even months. The works can be conveniently registered online via the "My account" member platform.
For 100 years now, SUISA income has been an important part of the income of many composers and lyricists. If they are also performers or producers, they should also consider becoming a member of SWISSPERFORM.
Since 1993, SWISSPERFORM has represented the interests of performing artists, producers of sound recordings (phonogram producers), film producers (audiovisual producers) and broadcasting companies.
If you produce artistic work, SWISSPERFORM ensures that you receive money for the use of your work. SWISSPERFORM represents the neighbouring rights of more than 23,300 members. 10% of the income is also used for cultural and social purposes.
Switzerland is the only country in the world to have a state-supervised collecting society that unites all rightholders in the field of neighbouring rights in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein under one roof. In addition to performers and producers of music and film, broadcasting companies are also rightholders of SWISSPERFORM. A member can pursue various activities and therefore belong to several categories of rights holders, for example musicians with self-produced recordings that are played by their own band and broadcast on the radio.
The activities of SWISSPERFORM are similar to those of SUISA. The artists, producers and broadcasters assign their rights for administration. SWISSPERFORM then collects the license fees from the users on the basis of the statutory tariffs and pays them out to the beneficiaries in accordance with the distribution regulations approved by the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (supervisory authority).
SWISSPERFORM collects the remuneration from users on the basis of a legally prescribed procedure. Together with the copyright societies, it negotiates the amount of remuneration with the user associations and sets tariffs. SWISSPERFORM also works together with SUISA to collect license fees.
Ten percent of SWISSPERFORM's total income flows into various cultural and social institutions that are legally independent of SWISSPERFORM. This generous expenditure is used to take on useful tasks that could not otherwise be financed. These benefits accrue indirectly to the beneficiaries.
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