[updated on June 16th 2022] Last March, PlayRight announced that performers would be guaranteed a remuneration for the use of their performances online. The law has been approved in Parliament today.

Context: This new law is part of the transposition of the European Directive of 17 April 2019 on copyright and neighbouring rights in the Digital Single Market (the so-called DSM Directive).

Since October 2021, artists have launched a petition demanding a fair and proportionate remuneration for the online use of their performances. Subsequently, PlayRight has repeatedly urged the Belgian government to seize this opportunity to bring real change and strengthen the artists’ rights.

In the meantime, a new law has been introduced. It introduces the following:

• A new non-transferable right to remuneration for artists for the use of their performances on online content-sharing platforms. This new remuneration right is limited to compensating for performances uploaded by users on online content-sharing platforms, such as Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and Twitch.
• A new non-transferable right to remuneration for artists for the use of their performances on commercial streaming platforms. This right to remuneration aims to compensate musicians and actors for the online use of their performances and targets platforms such as Spotify, Netflix, Deezer, Apple TV or Apple Music, and so on.

These remuneration rights are subject to mandatory collective management.

This law was approved in a plenary session in Parliament today.

PlayRight welcomes this law, which will finally allow your collecting society to meet and negotiate with the platforms in order to obtain a fairer remuneration for all the performers!