Germany · Performance + mechanical
GEMA
What counts as black box here
Under the VGG (§§28–30), ordinary distribution generally happens within 9 months of the financial year end. Unidentified or unlocated amounts are accounted separately with identifying information published, and become non-distributable 3 years after the end of the collection year.
Mini box
Lit: compartments used and exit chute(s).
Its rules
Governed by EU/UK collective-management law: unpaid money must be identified, reported and eventually redistributed within set deadlines.
- Rights it handles
- Performance + mechanical
- Holds a pool?
- Yes, accounted separately
- Evidence level
- Official quantitative
How it distributes money
How often matched money is paid out, and how members can find what's theirs.
- Payment cadence
- Generally ≤9 months after FY end
- Data maturity tier
- B
How it handles unresolved royalties
How long money waits, when the clock starts, and where it goes if nobody claims it.
- Holding clock
- 3 yrs
- Clock starts
- End of collection financial year
- Exit chute
- Social and cultural purposes
- Late claims after expiry
- Entitled persons' rights remain unaffected
Lifecycle path
- 1
Collect
Licensing income
- 2
Distribute
Ordinary distribution
≤9 months after FY end
- 3
Publish
Unidentified/unlocated amounts listed
- 4
Expire
Non-distributable
3 yrs after collection FY
- 5
Cultural use
Transferred to social/cultural purposes
Published figures
€0.554m
From collection year 2021, declared non-distributable
Source: GEMA transparency report 2025
From the original research
€921.046m
Collected but not yet assigned
Source: GEMA transparency report 2025
From the original research
€29.710m
Assigned, not yet paid
Source: GEMA transparency report 2025
From the original research
~€1.15bn
Total distributions 2025 (~€886m in 2021)
Source: GEMA transparency reports 2021–2025
From the original research