Pictured L to R: Stefan Gheorghiu, Executive Director of CREDIDAM; Stefanie Taub, Chief Executive Officer of AFM & SAG-AFTRA Fund; and Michael Huppe, President and Chief Executive Officer of SoundExchange.
News broke on Thursday that the "AFM & SAG-AFTRA Fund (The Fund), along with SoundExchange (SX), has signed a new performer reciprocal agreement with CREDIDAM, the collective management organization that collects neighboring rights royalties for performers in Romania," according to Brian Stewart from the AFM & SAG AFTRA Fund. "Our agreement expands the Fund's international network and helps eligible non-featured musicians and vocalists receive the royalties they earn when their recordings are played abroad."
The AFM & SAG-AFTRA Fund "distributes U.S. royalties to entitled singers and musicians without regard to union membership." SoundExchange, meanwhile, says that it "is the largest global neighboring rights organization in the world, redefining how creators in the music industry get paid. By turning data into fast, accurate revenue for artists and rights owners, we have collected and distributed more than $13 billion in digital performance royalties to date on behalf of more than 800,000 music creators."
An agreement with CREDIDAM, therefore, makes sense. That company says on its online bio that it "has as purpose the collection and distribution of the money owed to the Romanian and foreign performers, originating from the broadcasting of the commercial recordings by television and radio stations, cable operators, cinemas, restaurants, hotels, bars, discos, organizers of artistic events etc."
Stewart says that, "According to IFPI, performance rights collections represented more than 54 percent of Romania's music revenue in 2023, highlighting the important role neighboring rights play in the country. This reciprocal agreement helps ensure US performers are compensated for the use of their recordings across borders, with The Fund representing eligible non-featured performers and SX representing featured artists."
This follows news in December that, "ISAMRA (Indian Singers And Musicians Rights Association) has signed a multi-lateral agreement with SoundExchange and the AFM & SAG-AFTRA Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund (The FUND) to ensure that performers get the royalties they deserve when their music is played across India & USA," highlighting efforts to increase global reach.
For more info, visit credidam.ro, sagaftra.org, and soundexchange.com.
