If you are organising an event in France (concert, DJ set, festival, etc.), you must obtain permission from SACEM in advance to play music.
Whether your event generates revenue or is free to the public, music is the essential element for success. It is therefore reasonable that the creators of the music also receive some remuneration. Authorisation from SACEM to play the music enables this remuneration to be distributed.
You need authorisation from the songwriters and composers of the songs that you want to play before you may play music at any event. To simplify the process, the creators have entrusted management of their works to SACEM, a private not-for-profit organisation whose purpose is to collect and distribute royalties to its members (authors, composers and music publishers)
SACEM represents and protects a repertoire of music from all over the world (rock, chanson, jazz, classical, rap, world music and electronic music) - in total 118 million French and international works. Royalties are the only source of income for songwriters and composers.
When organising a party or festival, consider contacting SACEM as early as possible before your event. This can be done either directly at the SACEM office nearest to the venue for your event, or online at sacem.fr/en.
The site allows you to create some sample playlists to find out how much you would have to pay SACEM in royalties, which you can take into account when planning your provisional budget.
By registering your event in advance, you will enjoy a 20% discount on the total amount of royalties you pay. If you are a member of an association that has an agreement with SACEM, you will also benefit from an additional discount on the amount you pay.
Depending on the nature of the event and the way it is organised, one of two pricing models will apply.
For larger events (see terms & conditions at sacem.fr/en, royalties are calculated based on a percentage of income earned and expenditure incurred. The percentage applied takes into account the type of event and organisational structure, and the way in which the works are used. You must submit your declaration of use before the event takes place. SACEM will send you a contract requiring you to submit a statement of receipts and expenses within 10 days of the event, which will be used to calculate the amount you have to pay.
Note: Royalties are never calculated on the basis of profit generated by the event.
One final point, when playing recorded music (vinyl, CD, digital files etc.) publicly, you must also pay a fair-use fee to SPRE (Société pour la perception de la rémunération équitable), which represents the performers and record producers, in addition to the royalties collected by SACEM. SPRE has appointed SACEM to collect these fees on its behalf. So, there is nothing else you have to do. Once you have made your declaration online, or submitted it to one of our teams, you will receive invoices from SACEM and SPRE. You can also view them and pay them via your client account at sacem.fr/en.
You can find all the tarifs, run a test sample and see the list of associations and SACEM partner organisations at https://clients.sacem.fr/en.
Note: when organising a concert or show, you must prepare and send SACEM the list of titles played within ten days of the event. This can be sent directly to the SACEM office nearest to the venue where your concert is being held, or uploaded online via your account. This information, called a "programme of works" allows SACEM to pay the creators of the works played during the concert or performance as accurately as possible.