What SACD does

SACD (Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques) is a French non-profit collective management organization founded in 1777 and governed under articles 1832 et seq. of the French Civil Code and Title II of Book III of the French Intellectual Property Code. It serves approximately 58,000 author-members — including playwrights, screenwriters, directors, choreographers, circus artists, web/digital creators, and animators — by collecting statutory author royalties from exploitation of dramatic and audiovisual works in France and abroad, then distributing net receipts to members. In 2025, total perceptions reached €285.7M and distributions reached a record €281M (+4.7% year-on-year), with live performance posting a record €87.6M (+10.4%) and international audiovisual royalties from abroad totaling €35.1M (−2.8%). Statutory retention of 7.9% is the lowest of any collective management organization in France or Europe, with €4.2M of retention reimbursed to authors in 2025.

The operating stack combines digital self-service (e-dpo work declaration, online rights and contract management, moncompte.sacd.fr member portal) with physical member infrastructure (Le Pôle Auteurs service center, La Maison des auteurs, Le Studio SACD recording/editing facility, La Bibliothèque SACD) and dedicated creation funds (Théâtre, Humour, Musique de scène, Création Lyrique, Danse TRIO(S), Processus Cirque, Podcasts Originaux, DAANSE, and joint funds with France Télévisions and TV5MONDE). Distribution is delivered via the Paris headquarters and dedicated branches in Belgium and Canada, augmented by reciprocal representation agreements with 225 CISAC member societies across 116 countries and partnership-led presence at flagship festivals (Cannes, Avignon Festival and OFF). SACD has been ISO 9001 certified since prior audits and is the only French OGC with this certification; it also holds the AFNOR Engagé RSE (Confirmed) label awarded in September 2025.

The business model is a non-profit collective licensing structure: members pay membership fees and SACD retains the lowest statutory retention in France/Europe (7.9%), distributing roughly 92% of collected amounts to authors. Customer segments are two-sided — supply side (the 58,000 author-members) and demand side (film and audiovisual producers, live-performance producers and festival organizers, TV/radio/streaming broadcasters including France Télévisions as a key counterpart, and international collecting societies via reciprocity). SACD is a founding member of CISAC and instrumental in creating the SAA (2010, 34 European societies); it coordinates the Coalition française pour la Diversité Culturelle (founded 2004, ~50 cultural organizations). Leadership transitioned in 2026 with Régine Chopinot elected President by the General Assembly on June 25, 2026, while Valérie Josse took over as Déléguée générale of SACD Belgium on May 1, 2026.

Name

SACD

Legal name

Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques (SACD)

Website

https://sacd.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1777

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

SACD is a French non-profit collective rights management organization founded in 1777, serving approximately 58,000 dramatic authors by collecting and distributing royalties from theatrical, audiovisual, and digital exploitation of their works.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Collective Rights Management

NAICS

Music Publishers (51223), Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works) (5331)

akta.pro primary industry

Performing Rights Organizations (PROs) & Public Performance Licensing (MPAIAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Global Rights Representation & Sub-Publishing/Reciprocal Collection Services (MPAIAKAI), Royalty Accounting & Payment Services (Statements, Audits, Payee Management) (MPAIABAL), Music Rights Administration & Royalty Processing (Admin, Accounting, Statements) (MPAIAKAD)

Keywords

• Collective rights management
• Author royalty collection
• Copyright licensing services
• Cultural action funding
• Audiovisual rights administration

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Royalty collection and distribution: SACD collects statutory author royalties from the exploitation of dramatic and audiovisual works in France and abroad — including live performance venues, TV broadcasters, VOD platforms, and international collecting societies — then distributes collected amounts to its 58,000 author members after deducting administrative costs. In 2025, total perceptions reached €285.7M and distributions reached a record €281M (+4.7%). Live performance alone reached €87.6M (record, +10.4%). The organization is a non-profit collective management body.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

SACD is a French collective rights management society that collects and distributes author royalties on behalf of approximately 58,000 members for the exploitation of dramatic, audiovisual, and live performance works. It provides copyright protection, contract templates, legal/fiscal/social advisory, authorization management for live performance and audiovisual exploitation, and cultural action funding through multiple discipline-specific funds. In 2025, total perceptions reached €285.7M and author distributions reached a record €281M (+4.7%), with live performance reaching €87.6M (+10.4%).

Product overview

SACD (Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques) is a French collective rights management society founded in 1777, serving approximately 58,000 dramatic authors including filmmakers, screenwriters, theater writers, choreographers, directors, circus artists, and digital content creators. The organization operates a portfolio of integrated services: Le Pôle Auteurs as a centralized service center; La Maison des auteurs as a physical venue with co-working spaces and Le Studio SACD (recording/editing studio); and La Bibliothèque SACD for archives. Financial support is delivered through multiple dedicated funds (Fonds SACD Théâtre, Fonds SACD Humour, Fonds SACD Musique de scène, and others) and via the partner Association Beaumarchais-SACD. The organization collects and distributes royalties (281 M€ in 2025 repartitions), protects copyright, and provides legal, fiscal, and social advisory services to its members.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Le Pôle Auteurs A centralized service center where SACD authors can find answers to professional questions and access support for managing their rights and careers. Available to SACD members.
• La Maison des auteurs SACD An author-focused venue providing co-working spaces, a recording and editing studio, and professional resources for SACD members at the Paris headquarters.
• Le Studio SACD A recording and editing studio available to SACD members for professional content creation purposes.
• La Bibliothèque SACD A library service providing access to texts and archives from the SACD repertoire for research and promotion purposes.
• Services for Authors (Members) Comprehensive member services including copyright protection, work declaration, contract management, authorization handling, and rights collection and distribution for audiovisual and live performance works.
• Legal, Fiscal, and Social Advisory Services Advisory services providing legal counsel, tax guidance, URSSAF assistance, social support, and solidarity aid for SACD authors.
• Fonds SACD Théâtre A fund supporting theater creation and production for SACD authors.
• Fonds SACD Humour A fund supporting humor and one-man-show creation for SACD authors.
• Fonds SACD Musique de scène A fund supporting stage music creation for SACD authors.
• Fonds de Création Lyrique (FCL) A fund supporting lyric and musical theater creation for SACD authors.
• Dispositif Danse TRIO(S) A dance-focused funding program supporting choreographic creation for SACD authors.
• Processus Cirque A funding process supporting circus arts creation for SACD authors.
• Fonds Podcasts Originaux A fund supporting original podcast creation for SACD authors.
• Fonds SACD – France Télévisions Création & Diversité A joint fund with France Télévisions supporting creation and diversity in audiovisual works for SACD authors.

Quantifiable outcome

• €281M distributed to authors in 2025, a record level, up 4.7% year-on-year
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

21 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• SAA – Société des Auteurs de l'AudiovisuelcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010SACD was instrumental in founding the SAA in 2010, which now brings together 34 societies in 26 European countries. SAA defends the interests of screenwriters and directors before European authorities, promoting an audiovisual policy favorable to creation and the right to proportional remuneration.
• Coalition Française pour la Diversité CulturellecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2004SACD has animated and coordinated this coalition since its 2004 creation. It groups nearly 50 professional cultural organizations. Pascal Rogard serves as its president. The coalition has spawned similar European coalitions and is deeply engaged in defending cultural diversity, modernizing cultural support policies, and protecting copyright in Europe.
• Festival d'AvignonflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerSACD is a faithful partner of the Festival d'Avignon, present each year with events for authors including Vive le sujet!, Voix d'Auteurs, Ça va ça va le monde!, Le Souffle d'Avignon, and a reception/information desk throughout the festival. The partnership includes events at the Conservatoire du Grand Avignon, Maison Jean Vilar, and support for Le Partage de midi editorial encounters.
• Festival de Cannes / Directors' FortnightflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerSACD is a faithful partner of the Cannes Film Festival, maintaining the Authors' Pavilion where encounters between authors and professionals take place. SACD's cinema commission awards two prizes: one at La Quinzaine des Cinéastes and one at La Semaine de la Critique. SACD was the initiator of the Scenario Prize in the festival's official selection.
• Association Beaumarchais-SACDflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounded in 1987, this association provides financial support through writing bursaries to authors across all SACD disciplines: theatre, dance, circus, street arts, lyric arts, cinema, television, animation, radio, and virtual reality. It supports emerging authors and promotes diversity in contemporary creation. SACD holds seats on its board of directors.
• France CulturecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSACD partners with France Culture for Voix d'Auteurs — readings that highlight contemporary Francophone authors and their texts, broadcast by France Culture. Also partners for Le Partage de midi editorial encounters at Avignon and other events.
• RFIcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSACD partners with RFI for Ça va ça va le monde! — a cycle of readings of Francophone dramatic texts by authors from Africa, the Caribbean, and the Arab world, presented at Avignon Festival and broadcast by RFI.
• Avignon OFF (Festival et Compagnies)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSACD partners with Avignon OFF through its multiple support funds including SACD Theatre Fund, SACD/Ministry of Culture Large Theatre Forms Fund, Stage Music Fund, Humour Fund, Humour Avignon OFF, and Beaumarchais-SACD writing aid. Also supports EAT (Écrivaines et Écrivains Associés du Théâtre) initiatives for the OFF.
• Auteurs SolidairescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA dotation fund created under the impulse of SACD in 2014 that mobilizes professional authors to carry out shared creation projects with populations more or less distant from cultural activities. SACD sits on its board of directors. Programs include 'Raconte-moi ta vie!' (regional school deployment), 'Un Cirque dans ma tête', 'La Vie rêvée...', and 'Tour à Tour'.
• Conservatoire du Grand AvignoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSACD partners with the Conservatoire du Grand Avignon for Les Rendez-Vous du Conservatoire — encounter and exchange sessions with creators — and provides reading rooms for authors during the Avignon Festival. The SACD also maintains a reception desk at the Conservatoire during the festival.
• CISAC (Confédération Internationale des Sociétés d'Auteurs et Compositeurs)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerSACD is a founding member of CISAC, created in 1926. CISAC is the world's premier network of authors' rights societies, with 225 collective management organizations in 116 countries covering music, audiovisual, live performance, literature, and visual arts. SACD participates in CISAC's board and assemblies addressing AI threats to creators.
• Contxto (International Network for Francophone Dramatic Texts)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAn international network created by Artcena with the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Institut Français, and SACD to encourage the translation and international diffusion of Francophone dramatic texts. Facilitates translation, distribution, and creation of French-language theatrical works worldwide.
• ArtcenacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSACD partners with Artcena (national center for circus, street arts, and theatre resources) on Les Belles Heures des auteurs, a festive event exploring contemporary dramatic writing, and on professional encounters and research on artistic emergence.
• Scènes d'enfance – ASSITEJ FranceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSACD partners with this professional association for live performance for young audiences to support artistic education initiatives, including Avignon Enfants à l'honneur which brings 400 children to the Avignon Festival annually.
• Maison Jean VilarcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSACD partners with Maison Jean Vilar for Le Partage de midi editorial encounters and Les Intrépides program at Avignon Festival, supporting author encounters and theatre publications.
• Fondation Paul MillietminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSACD holds seats on the board of this foundation, which provides support to authors alongside SACD's cultural action programs.
• DGCA – Ministère de la Culture (France)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSACD partners with the French Ministry of Culture's General Commission for Territorial Development (DGCA) for several joint funds including the SACD/DGCA Grandes Formes Théâtre Fund and the writing aid program that awarded 32 authors €100,000 total in 2025.
• France TélévisionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSACD partners with France Télévisions through the SACD – France Télévisions Création & Diversité Fund, which supports diverse creation, and collaborates on various cultural events. France Télévisions is a key broadcaster of SACD members' works.
• TV5MONDEminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSACD partners with TV5MONDE for the Fonds Francophone Numérique SACD – TV5MONDE, supporting Francophone digital creation.
• Chartreuse-CNES de Villeneuve lez AvignonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSACD partners with the CNES (National Center for Space Studies) cultural venue on the European Studio for Theatre Writing, which brings together young French and foreign theatre writers, and on various Avignon events.
• La Maison des Artistes (Mutuelle des auteurs)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSACD promotes and supports La MACD (Mutuelle des Artistes), an attractive and human-sized mutual insurance organization for authors, as part of its member services.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• SIAE: Italian CMO covering authors across music, dramatic, audiovisual, and visual arts repertoires. SIAE is closely comparable to SACD structurally — both are multi-repertoire CMOs in neighboring EU markets with reciprocal agreements — though it serves the Italian market rather than competing directly in France.
• BUMA/STEMRA: Dutch PRO and neighboring-rights CMO with European reciprocity. Comparable to SACD in operating model and CISAC membership, but geographically focused on the Netherlands and more music-centric than dramatic-audiovisual.

Broad incumbents

• PRS for Music: UK-based PRO representing songwriters, composers, and music publishers. PRS is comparable as a major European CMO with reciprocal agreements via CISAC, similar royalty-collection infrastructure, and an analogous mix of broadcasting, live, and online collections.
• SAA – Society of Audiovisual Authors: European-level umbrella co-founded by SACD in 2010, bringing together 34 audiovisual CMOs across 26 European countries. SAA is the supranational advocacy counterpart that SACD helped build, lobbying EU institutions on proportional remuneration and copyright reform — a strategic extension of SACD's reach.
• ASCAP: US performing rights organization for music composers and publishers. ASCAP is comparable to SACD as a long-established PRO with reciprocal CISAC representation, similar licensing and royalty-distribution mechanics, and the same role as a key counterparty for international rights flows.
• GEMA: Germany's leading PRO for musical works, with reciprocal agreements spanning the European CMO ecosystem. GEMA is comparable as a large European rights society with a similar member-governance and collective-licensing model, though focused on music rather than dramatic works.

Direct peers

• SCAM: French CMO representing audiovisual authors (documentary filmmakers, reporters, writers). SCAM is a direct peer sharing SACD's French regulatory framework and reciprocal CISAC agreements; its audiovisual/documentary focus partially overlaps with SACD's audiovisual repertoire.
• ADAGP: French collective management organization for visual arts authors (painters, photographers, sculptors, illustrators). ADAGP is a direct peer as another French CMO operating under identical French IP Code provisions, with similar member-governance, royalty collection, and reciprocal international agreement structures.
• SACEM: France's primary music collective management organization (PRO) for composers and music publishers. SACEM is the closest functional peer to SACD — both are French CMOs governed under the same Intellectual Property Code, but SACEM covers musical works while SACD covers dramatic/audiovisual works; their repertoires frequently intersect at stage music and lyric arts.

Others

• CISAC: International confederation of authors' societies (225 members in 116 countries), of which SACD is a founding member. CISAC is an ecosystem/infrastructure peer rather than a competitor — it sets standards, facilitates reciprocal agreements, and coordinates AI advocacy that materially shapes SACD's operating environment.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/sacdparis
• Xx.com/SACDParis
• Facebookfacebook.com/SACD.FR

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SACD