BumaStemra pays record amount to music creators in 2023
The amounts that BumaStemra pays out annually continue to rise. In 2023, the organization for music copyright paid over 251 million euros to its lyricists, composers, and music publishers. The figures were presented to BumaStemra’s General Members’ Meeting on Wednesday, May 15.
The payout represents a 5% increase compared to 2022. This growth is mainly attributed to an increase in the ‘live’ market in 2023. Additionally, new and improved deals have been made with Meta, Spotify, and YouTube. These results further strengthen BumaStemra’s international position.
Marcel Gelauff, Acting CEO of BumaStemra, stated: “We are proud that our members have been so successful again this past year and that we have been able to pay out a record amount to them. We do this with state-of-the-art technology, making us a leader in processing the enormous amount of data from online music providers. This system now also processes international music usage. Rightfully, our members demand faster, more accurate, and more regular income from music copyright. Our system provides an appropriate response to this.”
This year, BumaStemra is paying extra attention to further optimizing its services for composers, lyricists, and publishers. Among other things, this includes further investments in IT innovation.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is also receiving increasing attention from BumaStemra, the music copyright organization.
AI tools encompass a wide range of applications, many of which rely on training datasets that contain copyrighted works. BumaStemra aims to maintain the exclusive rights of creators by making text and data mining activities dependent on prior permission. Consequently, when using works of BumaStemra’s rights holders to train databases, explicit permission must be obtained from BumaStemra.
Together with members, employees, and international collaborations, daily efforts are also made to ensure fair compensation for authors for their creative work in the use of AI.
About BumaStemra
BumaStemra represents composers, lyricists, and music publishers, ensuring they receive compensation for the use of their music on radio, TV, streaming services, stages, and in hospitality, stores, and business premises. Additionally, BumaStemra promotes Dutch copyright both domestically and internationally.
For example, Dutch composers, lyricists, and music publishers are offered an international platform by supporting major events such as Eurosonic Noorderslag and the Amsterdam Dance Event.
Currently, over 40,000 composers, lyricists, and publishers from both home and abroad are affiliated with BumaStemra. BumaStemra: Where the music is.
