“Our rights holders take centre stage”
Developing our services further and taking the needs of our rights holders into consideration is part and parcel of how our self-conception. We spoke with departmental managers Sandy Backhaus (Rights Holders’ Service Division for Performers) and Dirk Löwenberg (Rights Holders’ Service Division for Producers) about modern service and individual advice at GVL.
A first-class service has absolute priority at GVL. Can you explain to use what guiding principles we pursue with our services?
Dirk Löwenberg: As a collective management organisation and music licensing company, we are mainly a service provider for the creative sector. This is why a good and accessible service is a major part of our self-image. In a way, it is in our DNA as a company. We want to keep performers’ and producers’ backs free so that they can pursue their creative work. This means that whenever artistic productions of our rights holders are used, whether in the radio or on TV, and thus others benefit from that, money should be paid out from us for such usages. As quickly and straightforward as possible.
Sandy Backhaus: We have specialised people in all our service teams; they know exactly what makes people in the individual creative categories and sectors tick. As such, we want to make it as simple as possible for our rights holders to manage their GVL matters in order to receive their remuneration in the end. It is our aspiration to keep the contact threshold low and offer personalised as well as target group-oriented but also innovative services.
We have introduced new features in the Rights Holders’ Service Division in the last one to two years. Which criteria do you follow for your enhancements?
Sandy Backhaus: Our clear focus is set on user-friendly, attractive portals, specifically meine.gvl and label.gvl. We are constantly optimising the offers for self-help and features on the portals such as the search function.
Another important topic is the ongoing digitisation of our services. In the last one and a half years, we made great progress once more, for example with the new rights administration agreements. It is, however, not just in the context of digitisation where we are regularly analysing the market and are intending to remain competitive with new ideas.
The third criterion is a first-class individual support. Queries that reach us are as diverse as our rights holders. When it comes to this matter, we do not really mind whether someone is calling because of a payout notification, is stuck with the portal or whether this is about a new online contract. We want to respond as flexibly as possible to the personal needs of the individual. This is why we offer such a range of options and channels to be contacted.
We are placing a clear focus on user-friendly, attractive portals. Another important topic is the ongoing digitisation of our services. The third criterion is a first-class individual support.
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Sandy Backhaus
Sandy Backhaus, Manager of the Rights Holders’ Service for performers
Dirk Löwenberg: The service at GVL is not standing still and always in motion. We are constantly taking on input from our rights holders. Ongoing surveys, e.g. of our rights holders who are producers, provide us with important feedback. It also shows us that a steady 85 percent of our producers are satisfied to very satisfied with our service. Especially our fast reaction time for queries is something that is very well received, plus the fact that our digital services are run by people and not by bots.
How important is the human factor when it comes to the services?
Dirk Löwenberg: All digital and analogue services of GVL are supplemented by our staff by their outstanding customer service. You have to remember sometimes that there is a person behind every service at GVL. These people bring all of their experience, knowledge and personality to the table.
Sandy Backhaus: Especially our performers consider it to be an important quality when it comes to service that our staff can actually empathise with them. If a rights holder still has questions left despite our digitally accessible help features such as FAQs or tutorials and gets in touch with us, they meet a professional who quickly grasps the situation, interprets the questions in the right context and can help them directly. This is why we have subdivided our service teams into entertainment music, acting and classical music because the individual genres often differ quite a bit.
Apart from subject-matter questions, this is also always about an open ear for moods and needs. Remembering the COVID-19 period, for example, part of our job was to empathise with the situation of the performers. Such human qualities are cherished by our rights holders.
We are placing a clear focus on user-friendly, attractive portals. Another important topic is the ongoing digitisation of our services. The third criterion is a first-class individual support.
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Dirk Löwenberg
Division Manager of the Rights Holders’ Service Division for Promoters
Could you give us a small sneak preview into what you are going to implement next year or what you have planned for next year?
Dirk Löwenberg: On the producers’ side, this year the chat was extended onto the website in order to service prospective rights holders and interested parties. We also plan to provide virtual individual consulting sessions more often.
Sandy Backhaus: We are currently focussing on enhancing the self-service section in the portal for performers meine.gvl. For the communication with the creatives, we are planning to implement formats tailored to the existing requirements; they are intended to provide information about GVL and improve the exchange.
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Dirk Löwenberg, Division Manager of the Rights Holders’ Service Division for Promoters
Dirk Löwenberg is responsible for all questions of our producers of sound recordings and audiovisual recordings and is Head of the Rights Holders’ Service division for producers & promoters today. He has accompanied the transition from a label code-based to a track-based distribution since its operational beginnings. He studied English, journalism and psychology in Berlin and Glasgow. Before joining GVL, he worked as a project manager and consultant in various IT companies and led service and sales teams in b2b and b2c environments for more than fifteen years.
Sandy Backhaus, Division Manager of the Rights Holders’ Service Division for performers
Sandy Backhaus is our Manager of the Rights Holders’ Service for performers and responsible for providing well-founded and comprehensive advice on all relevant issues concerning GVL. With a lot of experience and repertoire know-how, her team accompanies the performers of GVL particularly when it comes to registering contributions in the performer portal meine.gvl. She has more than 20 years of professional experience in media and music. Before joining GVL, she worked as a product and label manager in the music industry, where she was responsible for marketing releases and PR strategies for artists.