Gramex

What Gramex does

Gramex is the Danish collective rights management organization (CMO) designated under Article 68 of the Danish Copyright Act to administer neighboring rights of performing artists and record companies in Denmark. Founded in 1963 and approved by the Danish Ministry for Cultural Affairs, Gramex collects licensing fees from Danish radio and TV broadcasters, instore radio providers, theaters, venues, and other music users that publicly perform recorded music, and distributes those royalties to its members, who are performing artists and record companies/producers. From January 2026, Gramex also administers Performex's retransmission, archive, and TV music-video rights under a consolidated mandate, extending the rights perimeter.

The core technology is a proprietary member-management and rights-administration platform exposed via the 'Mit Gramex' self-service portal. The platform supports study-list (studieliste) registration of releases with artist credits, roles, and instruments; ISRC producer-code issuance for Danish labels and producers; Label Code procurement through the German sister organization GVL; automatic assignment of International Performer Numbers (IPN) registered in the International Performer Database (IPD); and online payment calculators for record labels and performers. It also maintains a public registry of registered tracks and a 'missing study lists' list that lets rights holders claim unpaid royalties. The firm's go-to-market is community-led and largely non-commercial: membership is free and conferred automatically when a Danish artist or producer first earns Gramex money through airplay, while music-user licensing relies on direct enterprise agreements with broadcasters and venues, with a parallel channel for non-reporting SMB users routed through a unified Koda invoice.

Commercially, Gramex generates revenue by licensing recorded-music public performance and ancillary rights (private-copying compensation via Copydan KulturPlus, retransmission via Performex, and mandate-based copying rights for podcasts, jukeboxes, theaters and venues). Royalty payments to rights holders are calculated on usage-based, channel-specific minute rates that vary materially by broadcaster tier (e.g., nationwide producer radio at 54.39 DKK/min in 2025 versus instore radio at 1.59 DKK/min). Annual distributions occur primarily around St. Hans (June) for the prior year's airplay, with supplementary distributions in September, December, and March. Gramex is non-profit, governed by a board and general assembly, with no parent company or external ownership. It maintains bilateral agreements with sister CMOs in more than 30 countries, plus dedicated collection and distribution arrangements with KNR in Greenland and Framleidarafelagið in the Faroe Islands, and collects on behalf of international rights holders whose repertoire is performed in Denmark.

Name

Gramex

Legal name

Gramex

Website

https://gramex.dk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1963

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Gramex is the Danish collective management organization, approved under Article 68 of the Danish Copyright Act, that collects and distributes royalties for public performance of recorded music to performing artists and record companies in Denmark.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Collective Rights Management

akta.pro primary industry

Neighboring Rights (Master Performance Rights) Administration (MPAIAAAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Music Rights Administration & Royalty Processing (Admin, Accounting, Statements) (MPAIAKAD), Global Rights Representation & Sub-Publishing/Reciprocal Collection Services (MPAIAKAI), Music & Audio Rights for Broadcast (Sync/Master/Library) (MPABANAF)

Keywords

• Neighboring rights collection
• Music royalty administration
• Collective rights management
• Public performance licensing
• Sound recording royalties

Headquarters

HQ city

Copenhagen

HQ country

Denmark

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Public Performance Licensing: Gramex collects licensing fees from radio and TV broadcasters (both public and commercial), instore radio providers, theaters, and other music users who publicly perform sound recordings. The fees are distributed to performing artists and record companies. Distribution occurs annually in June (around St. Hans) for the previous calendar year's airplay, with additional distributions in September, December, and March for outstanding or international earnings.
2. Private Copying Compensation: Gramex distributes funds from Copydan KulturPlus (compensation for private copying) to performing artists. This compensation comes from the levy on devices like smartphones, tablets, and USB drives that allow private copying. Distributed based on the 2,000 most streamed and 2,000 most played tracks in Danish radio.
3. Performex Retransmission Rights: Gramex distributes royalties on behalf of Performex for retransmission of music in radio and TV, use of music in archive productions, and music videos on TV. As of January 2026, Performex's administration and payment has been consolidated with Gramex.
4. Mandate-based Rights Administration: Gramex administers rights beyond public performance (§68) based on mandates from rights holders, including copying of recorded music for public performance at venues like shops, restaurants, hotels, nightclubs; jukeboxes; podcasting; and theater.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Gramex administers the financial neighboring rights of performing artists and record companies in Denmark, collecting licensing fees from radio and TV broadcasters, instore radio providers, theaters, and other music users, and distributing royalties to its members. Founded in 1963 and approved by the Danish Ministry for Cultural Affairs under Article 68 of the Danish Copyright Act, it serves as the designated collective management organization for public performance of sound recordings in Denmark and operates the Mit Gramex self-service platform for rights registration, ISRC code issuance, and royalty tracking.

Product overview

Gramex is an independent Danish organization founded in 1963, approved by the Danish Ministry for Cultural Affairs, that administers financial rights of performing artists and record companies under Article 68 of the Danish Copyright Act. The organization's core offering is the collection and distribution of royalties for public performance of sound recordings in radio, TV, and other venues. The portfolio consists of: the Mit Gramex self-service portal as the central member platform; ISRC Producer Codes and Label Codes for music identification; Gramex-nummer and IPN for artist/repertoire tracking; Study List registration for rights documentation; payment calculation tools; and public registries of registered tracks and missing study lists. The service handles domestic collection, international agreements with 30+ countries, and special distributions for Greenland and the Faroe Islands.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mit Gramex Online self-service portal for Gramex members (performing artists and record companies/producers) to manage track registrations, view registered releases, check payment records, and download statements. Supports both artist and producer accounts and serves as the central member platform.
• ISRC Producer Code Issuance Service for issuing ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) producer codes to new Danish record companies and producers. These 12-digit codes uniquely identify individual tracks and are required for tracking music plays across radio and TV.
• Label Code Issuance Service intermediating with German sister organization GVL to help Danish record companies obtain German label codes required for CD, vinyl, and digital metadata distribution in Germany. Provided at no charge.
• Gramex-nummer (Gramex Number) Unique identifier assigned to performing artists for rights registration with Gramex. Used by record labels when submitting study lists to ensure correct royalty attribution.
• International Performer Number (IPN) Global unique performer identifier assigned by Gramex and registered in the International Performer Database (IPD) alongside information about which collective management organization represents the artist in which territory. Enables cross-border royalty collection and distribution.
• Study List (Studieliste) Registration Online registration form for producers to report new releases, including participating musicians, their roles and instruments, and producer rights ownership. Forms the foundation for Gramex's rights registration and royalty payment system.
• Missing Study Lists Registry (Efterlyste studielister) Public registry listing tracks played on Danish radio and TV that do not have registered rights holders, enabling artists and producers to claim unpaid royalties for previously unidentified performances.
• Registered Tracks Database Searchable public database of all tracks registered with Gramex via study lists, showing artist, title, recording year, release year, ISRC code, and registration status.

Quantifiable outcome

• Record revenue of 288 million DKK distributed to rights holders in 2025, up 15 million DKK year-over-year

Named customers11 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Danish Ministry for Cultural AffairscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1963Gramex was founded in 1963 and is officially approved by the Danish Ministry for Cultural Affairs for administration of the financial rights of performing artists and record companies under Article 68 of the Danish Copyright Act. This government approval establishes Gramex as the designated neighboring rights organization in Denmark.
• Copydan KulturPluscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCopydan KulturPlus administers the compensation scheme for private copying (previously called blank media/blank tape royalties) in Denmark. Gramex distributes and pays out these funds to performing artists on behalf of Copydan KulturPlus. The compensation comes from levies on devices capable of private copying such as smartphones, tablets, and USB drives.
• PerformexcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPerformex administers retransmission rights for music in radio and TV, and rights for music in archive productions and TV music videos. From January 2026, Performex's administration and payment functions have been consolidated with Gramex, unifying these rights collections under one organization.
• KodacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGramex and Koda collaborate so that music users (shops, restaurants, venues) only need one agreement and pay one invoice to Koda, which is then distributed to both Koda (for composers/songwriters) and Gramex (for performers and producers). This partnership simplifies licensing for music users while ensuring all rights holders are compensated.
• Framleidarafelagið (Faroese Record Producers Association)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn the Faroe Islands, Gramex collects payments for music use and distributes half back to the Faroese music scene via Framleidarafelagið, which allocates funds to Faroese record companies based on their releases' sales figures. Address: Tórugøta 14, FO-100 Tórshavn.
• International Sister Organizations (30+ countries)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGramex has bilateral agreements with over 30 sister organizations in countries including most European nations, USA, Canada, and Japan. When Danish music is played on foreign radio or TV, the foreign organization sends payment to Gramex, which then distributes to Danish rights holders. Key partners include PPL (UK), SAMI (Sweden), and similar organizations worldwide.
• IFPI DenmarkminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRecord companies that are members of IFPI may have their Gramex payments handled through IFPI rather than directly through Mit Gramex. Members should contact IFPI directly for payment statements.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• SoundExchange: SoundExchange administers neighboring rights for sound recordings in the United States, collecting and distributing royalties from digital services, satellite, and webcasting. It is the direct counterpart to Gramex in the US market with the same performer/producer licensing model.
• PLR (Literar-Mechana / Leistungsschutzrechte): PLR administers neighboring rights in Austria and Switzerland for performers and producers, serving as the Alpine regional peer to Gramex with an analogous mandate and bilateral reciprocity flows.
• GVL (Gesellschaft zur Verwertung von Leistungsschutzrechten): GVL is Gramex's German counterpart organization administering neighboring rights for performers, producers, and labels in Germany. Already one of Gramex's identified sister organizations, GVL runs an identical mandate model with shared technology and reciprocity flows.
• SAMI (Sveriges Artisters och Musikers Intresseorganisation): SAMI administers neighboring rights for performers and producers in Sweden, mirroring Gramex's mandate in the Nordic region. Listed as an explicit sister organization partner of Gramex for cross-border royalty collection.
• SENA (Stichting Exploitatie Naburige Rechten): SENA administers neighboring rights in the Netherlands for performing artists and record companies, providing the same performing/producer rights collection and distribution as Gramex in the Dutch market.
• PPL (Phonographic Performance Limited): PPL is the UK's CMO for neighboring rights of performers and record companies, collecting license fees from broadcasters and venues and distributing royalties. It is the closest functional equivalent to Gramex operating in a separate national territory, with an identical mandate and business model.

Broad incumbents

• IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry): IFPI is the international trade body representing the recording industry globally and is the parent context for Gramex's national label-side stakeholders. It operates at an industry-wide level across both recordings and affiliated rights that overlap with Gramex's work.
• SCAPR (Societies' Council for the Collective Management of Performers' and Producers' Rights): SCAPR is the international confederation of neighboring rights CMOs including Gramex and its sister organizations, coordinating technical standards (IPN/ISRC), reciprocal exchange, and shared reporting across the network. It is broader in scope than any single national CMO.

Others

• Copydan KulturPlus: Copydan KulturPlus administers Denmark's private copying compensation scheme funded by levies on devices, and channels those funds through Gramex for distribution to performing artists. It is a complementary enabling organization rather than a competing CMO.
• Koda (Danish Society of Songwriters and Composers): Koda is Gramex's Danish counterpart CMO that collects composition (songwriter/publisher) rights, mirroring Gramex's scope on the recording side. The two organizations share a joint invoicing partnership for music users but cover distinct rights categories, making Koda a non-competing sibling.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/gramex_dk
• Facebookfacebook.com/1604558299762552
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/59247

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Gramex