GEMA: Submit music sequence - that's how it works

Anyone wishing to hold events with music will inevitably come into contact with GEMA. This practical tip shows you how to submit a music sequence for this.

GEMA: Submit music sequence - the background

"GEMA" is the "Society for Musical Performing and Mechanical Reproduction Rights".

• In short, "GEMA" is a society of music authors that represents and distributes their copyrights.
• In Germany, about 70, 000 artists belong to "GEMA", and more than 2 million worldwide. Ralf Weigand is the chairman of the "GEMA" supervisory board.
• "GEMA" therefore grants rights of use for the pieces by artists that are organized within its framework.
• In this context, music sequences are a kind of "playlist" for concerts, festivals and other events with live music, which is sent to "GEMA" after an event.
• They serve to record the played pieces in the sense of the exact remuneration of all rights holders, composers and poets.
• Of course, submitting a music sequence is not free of charge. Depending on the entrance fee, event type and size, there is a lump sum that you have to pay to GEMA.
• Use the "GEMA" tariff calculator to find out which tariff is suitable for your event and at what conditions. We will explain to you how to use it correctly elsewhere.
• The further procedure is then based on the selected tariff. Submission of a music sequence is only necessary for live music, if you play the music from an audio medium, for example, you have to use another form.

Submit music sequence to GEMA - form

In the meantime it is relatively easy to submit a musical sequence to "GEMA".

• You can submit the music sequence either using a form or simply online.
• If you opt for the former variant, you must first create a customer account with "GEMA" in order to receive an individual customer number.
• Enter this in the top right of the form.
• Then you provide all the required information about the event, such as the name, the venue, the date, the admission price and the contact details of the organizer.
• The next step is the information about the band that provides the live music. Information about the band's address, telephone number or email address is also required here, and a contact person must also be specified.
• It is also important at this point to classify the band in relation to "opening act", "main program" or "sole band", which you must make on the right-hand side of the form.
• Then you have enough space to perform the individual musical works. Here you may need the GEMA work number, but in any case the title of the piece, composer, arranger, publisher and also the playing time. The order of the listing is negligible, but it must always be complete.
• Since the submission of the music sequence should always take place after the event, you must keep an overview of which works were played.
• If more than the possible 33 tracks have been played, simply add a continuation to the list.
• Finally, the person filling out the form and the organizer must verify the information by means of a signature.

Submit music sequence to GEMA - online

Submitting online is no problem.

• First you have to make sure that the Fekd "Java-Script" is activated, besides you should not use the "back" button of the browser, just as you cannot work in several tabs at the same time.
• Please also note that events abroad are not supported any more than concerts with electronic music. In both of these cases, you will have to use the procedure described above.
• If you have already used the tariff calculator as recommended above, you already had to create a user account. If this is not the case, you have to set up a corresponding access by registering with your name and email address before using the service.
• After successfully creating the account, log in to it. Accept the terms of use and select the function (organizer, musical director etc.) in which you want to use the service. A multiple selection is possible, but you cannot change the details afterwards.
• Depending on the selection, you now have to enter the customer or member number as well as other identification features.
• As a "musical director", you still have the option, if you have used the service in the past three years, to have repertoire lists determined on the basis of previous use, which takes about 24 hours.
• The homepage of the GEMA portal should now appear, click on "Music sequences" in the navigation bar and then on "New music sequence".
• A screen then appears on which you must select the individual works - either via research, manual entry or your previous repertoire.
• Select all the required pieces here and click on "Add" after each to add them to the title list.
• When you are finished, click on "Save title list", select a name and then click on "Next" at the top.
• You can then edit the title list at any time if certain details change.
• The next step is to enter information about the band. Enter the name and address of the music director as well as the name and line-up of the band and click on "Save", then "Next".
• Now it's time to choose the frequency of your event. Click on the appropriate event type and then choose "Next" again. If your event is not a one-off event, you have to select at which point the event took place and which songs were played.
• Finally, it goes to the information about the event itself. Enter the necessary information about the organizer, venue and the modalities of the event here and click on "Save".
• If you click on "Next", you will get an overview of all your entries. With the button "Edit" you can change the information again.
• If everything is correct, click on "Submit" to transmit the information and the music sequence to "GEMA".
• You will receive a success message on the screen, your music sequence will now be shown in the overview under "Music sequences".
• You can now edit these, for example, or use them as the basis for further music sequences. To do this, you must select the sequence and click on the "Create similar music sequence" button.
• If you have further questions or even problems with the use of the online service, the detailed user manual of the service will help you.

We will explain in another practical tip how you can register your music usage for a web radio or your own productions with "GEMA".