Income and costs
BumaStemra regulates fair fees for the use of music by composers, songwriters and publishers. On this page we explain what income you can expect as a music maker and what costs BumaStemra charges. BumaStemra works on a non profit base.
Income from your music
You make music. In whatever form you do that, as a creator you should get paid for it. There are different ways to get income from music. We explain through some examples.
Online
Our Online department ensures that deals with the major parties (such as Spotify, iTunes and similar parties) are as favorable as possible and that rights holders receive the highest possible remuneration for online music use. This department also continuously closes deals with small parties, such as Internet stations. Want to know more about your music online? Check this out!
Radio and TV
Background sounds for a commercial or a radio hit: music on radio or TV is reimbursed in all forms. Compensation for this use is calculated per second broadcast. The value per second varies per year and per station. The calculation example below shows income based on 2020. Here we assume a playing time of three minutes of a musical work created by you.
| Calculation example revenue radio | Calculation example revenue TV |
|---|---|
| Radio 538 180 seconds x € 0,053 per second = € 9,54 | RTL 4 180 seconds x € 0,0485 per second = € 87,30 |
| NPO 3FM 180 seconds x € 0,048 per second = € 8,64 | |
| Qmusic 180 seconds x € 0,043 per second = € 7,74 |
Live music
Revenues from live performances, such as gigs and stages, are calculated based on a percentage of the entrance fee (recette) and/or the fee amounts.
We apply a minimum fee of € 22,- per performance. The fee is determined on the basis of the set list and distributed among the relevant rights holders. These fees are regulated by Buma.
Physically released music such as CDs and vinyl
Fees for physically released music are calculated based on circulation (in the case of in-house productions) or on the number of CDs or vinyl sold.
Your music abroad
Wherever in the world your music is heard, BumaStemra makes sure you get a fair remuneration. We do this ourselves or in collaboration with our international sister organizations. More information about your music abroad? You can find it here!
Costs and fees BumaStemra
Administration costs
BumaStemra retains a certain percentage for administration costs. With this we cover the cost of operating expenses. BumaStemra has no profit motive. We deliberately keep our costs as low as possible. That way we can pay out as much money as possible to our affiliated music creators. We use fixed and variable administration costs.
Fixed administration fee
We apply a fixed administration fee methodology to certain categories. These are:
- Online (9%)
- Foreign (4%)
- The retransmission of foreign channels by network providers (10%)
Variable administration fee
A variable administration fee methodology is applied to the remaining categories. This applies to all categories distributed within Buma General Rights and Film. These include radio, TV, stages and film.
The variable administration fee is calculated based on the total costs, the fixed administration fees and the other income received by Vereniging Buma.
Basic allowance
Eligible members will receive a basic allowance in December. We pay this allowance for unreported use of your music. If no remuneration or less than € 70,- (for composers and authors) or € 140,- (for publishers) is paid to you in a given year, BumaStemra supplements this.
We do this because an exploitation agreement has been signed, which means that the music pieces are being used and therefore there should be income. We offset the basic payment against your annual contribution.