GVL is doing everything possible to provide the best possible support in this exceptional situation. In order to be able to provide visible help in the short and medium term, we established the € 250 emergency aid programme for freelance corona victims as quickly as possible in mid-March, which has since been taken up by well over 7,000 freelancers.
The objective of MEP Niklas Nienaß's campaign is to secure short and medium-term support for the European cultural and creative industries and thus to ensure a diverse cultural landscape in the long term, even after the Covid 19 pandemic.
The objective of this campaign is very close to the heart of GVL. For this reason, it has joined the "SaveEUculture" campaign and calls on its rightsholders to sign the respective petition (here http://www.saveEUculture.eu).
These payments on account, to be transferred at the end of May, are an exceptional kind of advance for performers on future distributions. The amount is not yet fixed, it depends on the number of participants and the individual expected claims from the distributions of the next years.
The advance payment made by GVL will be offset against the future remuneration to which they are entitled. Only when the advance payment has been fully covered by future remuneration for the years will new payouts be made again.
We are pleased to make a donation of EUR 1,500 to the Charité hospital in Berlin to fight the corona pandemic and hope that our commitment will help those who need our help most. The donation will go to the "Corona Emergency Aid Fund" of the Charité. https://gutes-tun.charite.de/ The money will be used here for aid offers that relieve doctors and nursing staff during the spread of the corona virus. These may include food delivery services, additional childcare or alternative means of transport.
The current shutdown of public life is threatening the existence of the industry, which is characterised by individual, small and micro enterprises - partnering with the performers who are the focus of attention. The German music industry fears that losses caused by corona will amount to almost 5.5 billion Euros within 6 months. The damage report of the music industry illustrates this.
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 addition to the "emergency relief", for which GVL will provide up to €4 million as part of its grants, other possibilities for short-term support, such as advance payments on future distributions, are also being firmed up. Rightsholders should be able to benefit from these measures as soon as possible.
In this way, as employers, we support the call of the federal government and the campaign #wirbleibenzuhause (#westayathome). Our colleagues stay at home to protect the elderly, the sick and the weak and to support the many heroes in the health care system.
As an emergency measure, the GVL pays 250 Euros to its freelance rightsholders for the cancellation of concerts and productions, so that they at least have a financial margin for the most necessary things. In addition, the GVL Committees are currently discussing further measures. The aim is to provide the GVL's rightsholders with a financial buffer in the coming months so that they can cope better with everyday life.
This is merely a precautionary measure. So far, no GVL employees have fallen ill.
"For us, the protection of our employees has absolute priority," emphasize Guido Evers and Dr. Tilo Gerlach, GVL's Managing Directors. "Only with a healthy workforce can we ensure that we will be able to continue to provide an, albeit limited, service to our rightsholders and partners in the coming weeks".
