With the advance payments to its producers of sound recordings, which are starting right now, GVL is making a further contribution to the financial support of its rightsholders. By doing so, it intends to counteract the acute economic effects of the corona pandemic, especially on independent labels.

In 2019, GVL recorded total revenues of EUR 215.5 million (2018: EUR 229.8 million). Compared to the previous year, income fell by 6.3 percent due to the absence of the special effects in previous years.

“We are pleased to have gained the VUT as another shareholder by our side, which is going to support members’ interests with a lot of effort and empathy and thus gives them a strong voice when it comes to managing their rights” say Guido Evers and Dr. Tilo Gerlach, Managing Directors of GVL.

The agenda items for the meeting of the 26-member governing body which consists of four Associates and 22 Delegates were, among others, the approval of the support projects for 2021, modifications of the Articles of Association as well as a critical debate regarding the draft version of the new copyright law.

The payments on account are made to producers who are GVL rights holders and participated in the distributions for sound recordings in the last three years and have not rejected to receive advance payments. The initial distribution for the 2020 usage year to the producers is therefore taking place in two payout rounds in 2021. The total budget for the advance payments paid out not amounts to EUR 41.9m.