The association of events industry and the Association of German concert directors (VDKD) have reached an agreement with the GEMA, the society for musical performing and mechanical reproduction rights, to a new tariff model and thus settled the dispute that had escalated temporarily.

After the arbitration center of the German patent and trademark bureau had submitted a settlement proposal and by accepting it the two parties would have fallen far from their expectations. So the associations had further negotiations with the GEMA to avert a protacted legal dispute and the resulting planning uncertainty by the event industry.

According to the assessment of associations and assuming a settlement proposal by the arbitration center, the outcome will provide significant improvements for the event organizers.

In particular, small events with up to 2,000 visitors will be strained less in the future. The new rate for events with up to 2,000 visitors begins in 2010 with three percent and will go up in increments of 0.5 percent up to five percent by the year 2014. Volume rebates are significantly generous than the ones which had proposed to the arbitration board. Thus, the volume discount level with more than 40 concerts is at 12.5 percent, with more than 80 concerts at 15 percoent and with more than 200 concerts it will be increased to 17.5 percent.

For the time being, revenue for sponsorships and the like are initially not included in the assessment basis for the GEMA fee. However, the two parties have committed to promptly meet in order to negotiate if and should the situation arise in future, on which conditions sponsorship revenue should be taken into account.
Apart from these three results of the renegotiation both parties accepted the settledment proposal of the arbitration board.