2021 year-end accounts: GVL increases its income significantly despite the second COVID-19 year in succession

Overall income of GVL for 2021 stands at EUR 248.6m and GVL thus managed to raise it by 15.5 percent compared to the previous year (2020: EUR 216.1m). GVL recorded growth in all three core sectors of GVL, i.e. broadcast, reproduction and public performance. Remuneration paid to GVL by collective management organisations or music licensing companies abroad also rose noticeably. 

Dr. Tilo Gerlach and Guido Evers, Managing Directors of GVL, explain: “The contribution GVL is making with regard to the income of the creatives and their partners is rather significant in these uncertain times.  We are pleased that not only did we manage to increase our income but were also able to distribute a record amount to our rights holders. After all, many creatives still have to contend with loss of earnings. We know first-hand how important the promotion and support of the sector is in COVID-19 times, it’s an absolute priority for us to make a tangible contribution here.” 

In 2021, GVL paid out in excess of EUR 337m to over 140,000 rights holders and therefore managed to pay out EUR 45m more than in the previous year. At the same time, reserves and accounts payable were reduced by EUR 100m in another year in succession.

Moreover, GVL allocated about 5,500 scholarships/grants in the course of the support programme Neustart Kultur. Performers were thus able to implement their creative projects and continue with their professional development in times where many events continue to be cancelled or postponed.

The most important figures at a glance

GVL yielded the highest income in the reproduction sector, just like in the previous year. The reproduction rights management brought in revenues amounting to EUR 11.3m compared to EUR 92.1m in the previous year (+20.8 percent). 

Most affected by the pandemic was the public performance revenue sector. While it recovered in 2021, it still has not reached 2019 levels. In 2021, collections amounted to EUR 30.7m (previous year: EUR 26.5m, +15.6 percent). 

Thanks to a new broadcast tariff, however, GVL managed to increase its private radio collections by more than 25%. Overall, the broadcast remuneration in 2021 stood at EUR 92.5m (previous year: EUR 86.2m, +7.2 percent).

Based on the representation agreements with collective management organisations or music licensing companies based abroad, EUR 8.8m were collected, which equals an increase of 67.2 percent (previous year: EUR 5.3m). The increase is mainly due to a one-off effect, in particular a high back payment from Switzerland.

GVL's own administrative costs amounted to EUR 24.2m in 2021, the cost rate of 9.7 percent was significantly lower than in the previous year due to the growth in collections (previous year: EUR 23m, cost rate: 10.7 percent). In this context, the cost for own personnel including social security contributions decreased slightly, by EUR 0.2m. A neutral item in terms of cost were the additional staff expenses of GVL for allocating the scholarships in the course of the support programme Neustart Kultur which was completely taken over by the BKM, the Federal Ministry for Culture. 

Grants for cultural, cultural-political and social purposes amounted to EUR 3.3m. (Previous year: EUR 5.1m; this figure included payments in the course of the immediate emergency relief for COVID-19 amounting to EUR 2.0m). 

You can download the 2021 GVL Transparency Report (VGG) at the end of June 2022 via www.gvl.de.

Shareholders and Delegates hold face-to-face meetings again

After the members of the Assembly of Shareholders and Delegates had to meet in virtual space for two years, the meeting of the most important decision-making governing body of GVL took place on site and “live” in Berlin.

Detlev Tiemann, Chairman of the Assembly of Shareholders and Delegates, welcomed the personal get together: “We have been cooperating in a competent and efficient manner by using digital channels for our meetings in the past two years. Especially our new delegates who were only able to find their feet by participating via video conferences during this time, were able to integrate well and familiarise themselves with the complex world of GVL in terms of the topics in question. I would like to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your involvement! At the same time, we are glad that we managed to revive the rather important personal exchange with today’s meeting once more. The cultural and creative sector is a people business. It mainly thrives off the fact that we have personal, face-to-face meetings; this applies to me as a performer, not just in terms of my live appearances in front of an audience but also the cooperation in the governing bodies with my colleagues.”

Image details:

• The GVL Assembly of Shareholders and Delegates at its meeting on 8 June 2022 (Photo: Michael Reinhardt)
• Detlev Tiemann, Chairman of the Assembly of Shareholders and Delegates of GVL (Photo: Michael Reinhardt)
• Dr. Tilo Gerlach and Guido Evers, Managing Directors of GVL (Photo: Stefan Wieland)

You can find additional image material on our homepage.

About GVL:

Those who render artistic performances or create the respective financial basis for the latter must receive money for the exploitation of their performances. GVL, the society for the administration of neighbouring rights, captures and manages such exploitations. GVL pays the fees it collects on a fiduciary basis e.g. from radio and TV stations and for the communication to the public (e.g. in restaurants or cafés) to its members in the form of a remuneration each year. More than 160,000 performers, producers of sound recordings and audiovisual recordings, music and music video clip producers as well as event organisers have placed their trust in GVL on a global level - and thus make GVL one of the biggest collective management organisations and music licensing companies for neighbouring rights in the world.

Shareholders of GVL are the German Orchestra Association (DOV), the Federal Association of the Music Industry (BVMI), the Federal Acting Association (BFFS) and the Association of Independent Musicians and Music Companies e.V.(VUT).