GEMA has made its first festival-by-festival distribution: around €3 million, 21 festivals and 779 setlists on 1 October. For German promoters, the setlist is now the document that money depends on, and arriving late costs an extra 10%.
What happened
From the 2026 usage year, the entity distributes to its members quarterly and festival by festival, in what it calls its UD category, for festivals from which it has collected €10,000 or more. The threshold is measured on what GEMA has collected, not on the festival's own revenue.
The first distribution took place on 1 October 2026 and moved around €3 million: 21 festivals, 779 setlists and 10,303 work usages. The calculation draws on monitoring data and on setlists, with GEMA obtaining line-ups, headliners and setlists directly from organisers. It presents this as more transparent, with more detailed settlements, and fairer, since it takes potential headliners into account when allocating royalties.
On its page for organisers, GEMA sets out the other half of the deal: register the festival in advance and provide box-office revenue, attendance figures and setlists. For festivals with live music, the setlist is required within 21 working days counted from the day before the festival starts. If it doesn't arrive on time, the entity invoices an extra 10% on top of its remuneration.
According to Gemazahler.de, the procedure was designed by a working group formed by the BDKV and GEMA, and has applied since October 2026 to organisers who pay the entity more than €10,000 net for their event. There are three steps: pre-registration four weeks beforehand with the number of live performances; an Excel template, due at the latest two days before the event, covering all stages and schedules with headliners marked; and a follow-up report within 21 working days with net box-office revenue, visitor numbers, the updated line-up if there were any changes, and setlists for each performance submitted separately. GEMA has set up the festival@gema.de mailbox.
Why it matters
The setlist stops being paperwork and becomes the document the money depends on. Each festival generates its own quarterly settlement, and the table of stages, schedules and headliners is filled in by the promoter.
The cost of being late has also changed: the 10% surcharge doesn't punish non-payment, it's triggered by a file that didn't arrive. And the clock starts the day before the festival begins, not when it ends.
The first distribution shows how small the universe covered still is: 21 festivals. Germany has been fine-tuning how money from live events gets shared out for a while now, from the euro-per-ticket levy for venues to CTS Eventim's margins and DEAG's own ticketing system.
What to do about it
- Check whether GEMA collects €10,000 or more for the festival: that's the threshold for both the quarterly distribution and, according to Gemazahler.de, the reporting procedure.
- Build registration and pre-registration into the production calendar: four weeks beforehand, with the number of live performances.
- Request the setlist from each artist as a contract clause, not as a favour asked for afterwards: the deadline is 21 working days and starts before the festival.
- Keep a record of who marked the headliners, and update the line-up if there were any changes.