On Friday 7 May 2021, the Council of Ministers decided that the government will release 19.1 million euros to compensate for the loss of copyrights and neighbouring rights.

As a reminder: Neighbouring rights mainly arise from the compensation paid by the organisers of events and the Horeca to broadcast recorded music (equitable remuneration). However, the cancellation of all activities related to these two sectors goes hand in hand with a decrease in the compensation that PlayRight receives on behalf of performing artists. Result: a drastic decrease in the neighbouring rights that we distribute among our affiliated performing artists.

In February, it was already announced that the federal government wanted to support artists by partially compensating for this loss of copyrights and neighbouring rights. Thorough consultations have taken place since then to determine the terms of this compensation. The Council of Ministers has now decided that they will reserve 1.5 million euros from an envelope of 19.1 million euros for the Belgian performing artists, of which 1.2 million euros for musicians and 300,000 euros for actors.

“The cancellation of thousands of public events as a result of the health crisis has had a devastating impact not only on the professional income of artists, but also on their income from neighbouring rights. The health crisis has thus turned into a serious economic and social crisis for all these artists. This finding led to a constructive dialogue between PlayRight and the cabinet of the Minister of Economy, Pierre-Yves Dermagne. Together we came to a balanced solution to help our members. Thanks to this support, thousands of Belgian artists will be able to enjoy a partial compensation for the loss of their rights.” Christian Martin, President of PlayRight.