All artists now qualify in Sweden

On July 1, 2025, an important change in the Swedish copyright legislation came into effect. The change impacts the distribution of neighboring rights royalties for artists, musicians and record labels. As of July 1, 2025 all recordings are eligible, regardless the nationality of the artist or the country where the recording was made. 

The current license fees in use at SAMI/Ifpi Sverige were set with a more limited repertoire in mind, and therefore SAMI will now need to review its entire license rate card during the autumn. It is not yet clear how the license fees across the various music user segments will be affected by this, but SAMI made it clear that new license fees will come into effect no earlier than 1 January 2026.

About the change in law

The law change means that the so-called principle of reciprocity in the Copyright Act is removed. This principle meant that Sweden only paid neighboring rights royalties to artists with connections to countries outside the EU if the other country also paid compensation to artists with connections to Sweden.

Now SAMI/Ifpi will have to pay compensation to artists and musicians in all countries – even to those that do not pay Swedish artists any royalties for radio/TV broadcasts and public performances, such as the USA, Australia and China. 

#musicIndustry #musicrights #copyrightlaw #sami #neighboringrights #zanoise