Music streaming means cash flowing in Spain!

In the next weeks, Zanoise will be zooming in on where individual countries stand when it comes to artists’ individual remuneration for streaming. An very hot topic triggered in European countries by EU Directive 2019/0790, article 18 which recognizes the right for artists to receive a “appropriate and proportionate” remuneration for this type of exploitation. This week we are starting with Spain, a country that still is far ahead in this area.

Since 2006, there has been an inalienable right in Spain for artists with regards to exploitation revenues linked to their recordings (article 108 of the Spanish Intellectual Property Law). When an artist signs a recording contract, it is presumed by Spanish law that the artist assigns the exclusive exploitation rights to the record label. However, the artist automatically retains an inalienable right to equitable remuneration with respect to the use of his recordings on radio and television as well online. This includes streaming platforms. The recording artists’ equitable remuneration can only be administered by a management collective, i.e. @AIE in case of Spain. In 2021, AIE collected an impressive amount of more than EUR 5.6 million (up by some 180% compared to 2020) from Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Google Play but also from audio-visual platforms like Netflix, Filmin and Movistar.