GEMA Payouts Rise, Major Publishers Push Supreme Court Review, X Tests Cox Copyright Limits
How The Music Business Works - Issue #55
Welcome back to How The Music Business Works.
GEMA has reported another year of growth in distributions, with gains in online and live collections helping push payouts to rightsholders above €1bn. In the US, major publishers have formally entered the termination-rights battle over Double Shot, seeking Supreme Court review of a ruling that favours songwriter reversion of global rights.
Spotify and the majors are also pursuing a permanent injunction against the infrastructure supporting Anna’s Archive following last year’s major data breach, while X is attempting to use the Supreme Court’s Cox ruling to dismiss the remaining publisher claims over unlicensed music on its platform.
Elsewhere, Spain’s live music market has crossed the €800m mark after another year of double-digit growth.
GEMA distributions rise as online and live collections offset weaker broadcast and physical
Germany’s GEMA distributed €1.15bn to rightsholders in 2025, up 1.4% year on year, as gains in online licensing and live performance collections more than compensated for declines in broadcast, advertising, and physical formats. Total revenues edged up to €1.34bn, while the society improved its cost ratio from 14.9% to 14.1%, reflecting continued efficiency gains in processing and administration. Online music collections rose 5.7% following new agreements with major platforms including Spotify and Amazon Music, while live and background revenues increased 5.6%, supported by a higher volume of small and mid-sized events. GEMA also identified AI as both a revenue risk and a licensing opportunity in its transparency report, citing its 2025 court win against OpenAI and its legal action against Suno alongside the rollout of internal AI tools designed to accelerate processing times and payouts.
Major publishers move to take termination-rights fight to the US Supreme Court
Sony Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing, Warner Chappell and BMG have jointly acquired an interest in Double Shot (Of My Baby’s Love) in order to seek Supreme Court review of the termination-rights case. The dispute centres on whether the US termination right allows songwriters to reclaim copyrights worldwide rather than only in the US after the statutory reversion period. Both the district court and the Fifth Circuit sided with songwriter Cyril Vetter, finding that the rights in question could be reclaimed globally. The publishers’ filing states that the acquisition was made specifically to pursue a petition for certiorari before the Supreme Court. If the court accepts the case, the publishers will seek reversal of the lower-court rulings that currently allow Vetter to control worldwide licensing of the song, including the disputed ABC sync usage referenced in the litigation.
Spotify seeks permanent infrastructure injunction after Anna’s Archive hack
Spotify and the major labels are seeking a default judgment against Anna’s Archive after the piracy group failed to respond to litigation tied to the theft of 86 million music files from Spotify’s systems. Spotify is requesting $300m in damages tied primarily to claims that DRM protections were removed from at least 120,000 files later accessed via torrent releases. In parallel, the plaintiffs are seeking a permanent injunction directed at domain registries, hosting providers, and other internet intermediaries that may be enabling the continued operation of the piracy network. A preliminary injunction issued earlier this year resulted in the loss of some domain names, though the group subsequently shifted to newly registered alternatives. The latest filing also references the February release of torrent files containing nearly three million tracks taken from the hacked Spotify dataset.
X argues Cox ruling eliminates publishers’ contributory infringement claims
Uganda's parliament has passed the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights (Amendment) Bill, aimed at aligning the country's copyright law with international agreements and adapting it to the digital era. Minister Norbert Mao stated the bill will provide stronger protections for creators, streamline the sector, and introduce tougher penalties for piracy and copyright infringement. The legislation reflects a different stage of copyright development than the AI-focused reforms currently being debated in Western markets, where foundational creator protections are already in place. Industry figures have also pointed to the need for greater organizational infrastructure within Uganda's music industry to support creators effectively.
Spain’s live music market passes €800m after another year of double-digit growth
Spain’s live music sector generated €807.2m in 2025, rising 11.2% year on year according to the latest annual report from the Association of Musical Promoters. The result follows 25.3% growth in the previous year and marks the first time the sector has surpassed the €800m threshold. In the report’s introduction, APM president Pascual Egea described the figure as evidence of “definitive structural strength” following the sector’s recovery from the Covid-19 lockdown period. The update arrives alongside continued momentum in Spain’s wider music economy, where recorded music retail value rose 13.7% in 2025 to €664.5m. During the same month, Spain’s Ministry of Culture also backed the launch of Music by Spain, a dedicated export office for Spanish music supported by an annual €100k grant.