Published
Fri, Jun 22, 2012, 16:30
- An event this Monday at the
Kulturbrauerei will protest GEMA's new tariff system, which threatens the existence of many Berlin clubs.
A rally against GEMA's new tariff system called Fair Play will take place this Monday at 6:00 PM at the Kulturbrauerei.
Most people know GEMA from the unhappy face you get when trying to stream a copyright-protected song on YouTube. As a performing rights organization, or PRO, GEMA collects money from clubs and services like YouTube to distribute back to their artist members as royalties (they represent some 65,000 musicians). The effectiveness of this system was already up for debate, but the new tariff system has made GEMA one of the most controversial topics in Berlin's music scene today.
In short, the new system would attempt to simplify GEMA's current tariff structure, but in doing so would cause many clubs (including Watergate, Berghain, KaterHolzig, Club der Visionaere, etc.) to owe vastly more money in fees to GEMA every year. Steffen Hack from Watergate reckons that his club would owe somewhere between 50,000 and 140,000 euros per year if the new system goes into effect—an increase of 500%-1,400%. As Berghain explain on their homepage, this would cause many clubs to close, and many others to dramatically increase their door fees. "Just like YouTube, there will be disappointed faces at the club doors," they say.
The event on Monday night will push for a fair and affordable tariff system to replace the one proposed by GEMA, and will take place at the same time as a party for GEMA members, also at the Kulturbrauerei. "We call on all parties of creative industries, tourism, catering, club owners, promoters and artists, as well as on all the cultural events of to-do, to join our protest," reads the event's Facebook page. "We demand a fair and equitable interpretation and enforcement of existing copyright law in Germany!"
You can sign a petition to stop the new tariff system right here.