Copyright

Whoever publicly uses, reproduces or commercialises works which are protected by copyright laws, whether in a performance or other forms of entertainment - irrespective of whether these shows are free of charge or not – must first obtain permission from the copyright holders. Authors and Publishers Societies (in Italy the SIAE - Società Italiana degli Autori ed Editori) are the organizations which charge for and administer these rights.

The copyright fees are not a tax or duty, they are payment for the intellectual work carried out by the creators of the artistic product.

It is a criminal offence to use the artistic product without authorization.

Related Fees

Other fees related to copyright concern the recording phase and are paid to the phonographic producer and to the artist whose voice is on the recording.

International Copyright Laws state that producers and performing artists have the right to payment of a copyright-related fee for the public broadcasting of their work and the duplication of their recordings over which the record company has exclusive rights. This means that only the record company can authorize the broadcasting or duplication of recordings for which it is the legal owner. The related fees exist to recompense the work of the record producers who invest funds and human resources in the recording and sale of the musical product, and the performing artist for his/her contribution to the recording.

It is necessary to ensure that you have obtained the authorization of the phonographic producers and performing artists involved in the recording you intend to use. This applies every time you want to play a piece of recorded music (songs or video clips) in public, whether on the radio, TV, satellite, Internet, CDs, or databases of files available on a server for use in shops. Usually a fee is involved for these kinds of public use.

To facilitate the fulfilment of these legal obligations, record companies have formed in Italy the SCF-Società Consortile Fonografici (Syndicated Company of Phonographic Professionals), which acts as an intermediary between the copyright holders which the company represents and anybody who intends to use recorded music.