Statement of the General Management
Dear readers, dear GVL rights holders,
122 nations, 65 genres, over 100 types of artistic contribution, 60 different instrument classes – this is how the different backgrounds, talents and forms of expression of our 173,867 rightsholders are reflecting the impressive diversity of this special part of the creative industry.
Art and creativity thrive on this plurality. Society lives from culture. And our rights holders want to make a living from their art.
As a collective management organisation and music licensing company, our work supports the economic basis of performers and labels and we are thus making an essential contribution to cultural diversity. With this mission, GVL is an important part of the cultural landscape.
GVL records increase in turnover
We are looking at revenue growth in the 2023 financial year: At 249.2 million euros, GVL remuneration is 13.8 million euros higher than in the previous year.
Such a favourable development can mainly be attributed to the increase in income from sister societies – here, we can report a record figure of 14.4 million euros – and to growing broadcasting revenues. At almost 100 million euros, the collections from radio, TV and retransmission make up our largest source of income.
In terms of public performance, we have recorded a further increase, leaving the COVID-based decrease behind us for good. Nevertheless, GVL income from the so-called Kneipenrecht [pub rights] is at an unacceptably low level compared in an international comparison. In the year under review, further tariff proceedings were therefore launched to remedy this situation.
Changing music landscape: radio remains the focal point
In 2023, we all celebrated a special anniversary: Radio turned 100 years. Despite the digital age, radio remains one of the most important media to discover new music – and for our rights holders an indispensable platform in order to reach music lovers.
The steadfastness of radio is proof of its adaptability and deep roots in our daily lives. At the same time, radio broadcasting stations find themselves in a constant balancing act between mainstream and niche tastes – two sides of the rich spectrum of the music landscape. Against this background, our committees ensure that smaller broadcasters with a specialised musical repertoire are also adequately represented in our evaluation.
Expansion of our services
Above all, our rights holders expect one thing from us: complete, correct and punctual payouts. In total, we transferred 222 million euros in 2023 to our artists, producers and event organisers, spread across 13 distribution runs. The very high distribution quotas which are now significantly higher than 90 percent in some areas thanks to the active contribution of our rights holders, deserve a special shoutout.
Our service teams played a significant role in achieving these results. Improved user portals, first-class consultation as well as providing a steady stream of information and the continuous communication with our rights holders are an essential expression of our self-image and part of our unconditional service orientation. The fact that GVL is on the right track with this strategy, is also reflected by the external feedback.
Investing in a flexible IT systems landscape
In times of ever-changing media usage, we at GVL are also focussing on the expansion of our rights portfolio and new licensing areas. A flexible IT infrastructure is an indispensable ingredient in order to be able to react to future developments. At the same time, innovative data management provides the foundation for professional cooperation with our industry partners and also enables us to tap into new business fields and types of use – both at national and international levels. This is why we make targeted investments in our IT systems landscape and efficient processes.
With a focus on constantly increasing quality and improving our services, artificial intelligence is finding its way into our organisation – whether it’s maintaining our product database or verifying contribution notifications.
We want to support creative people in their work with everything we do. That is why we consider ourselves to be a service provider with more than 170,000 rights holders for whom we have done our best once more in 2023.
Because we have been adhering to this motto for 65 years: The world is a stage. We support the act.
Guido Evers and Dr. Tilo Gerlach
Managing Directors of GVL