Eesti Autorite Ühing

What Eesti Autorite Ühing does

Eesti Autorite Ühing (EAÜ), also known as the Estonian Authors' Society, is Estonia's statutory collective management organization for copyright. Designated by the Ministry of Justice, EAÜ represents 6,523 members comprising musical work authors, music publishers, visual artists, audiovisual authors, and their heirs. The organization addresses the collective action problem inherent in copyright enforcement: individual authors cannot economically monitor and collect royalties from every public performance of their works, while music users require a single license covering the full repertoire. EAÜ fulfills both sides of this market by licensing music users (concert organizers, venues, restaurants, broadcasters, VOD services) and distributing royalties to its members, alongside administering the private copying levy on digital devices such as smartphones and computers.

EAÜ operates a suite of web-based portals that form the operational backbone of the organization: the Author Portal (autor.eau.org) for work registration and royalty management, the Repertoire Reporting System (rep.eau.org) and Financial Reporting System (fredi.eau.org) for music users to report events and finances, the Private Copying Reporting System (is.eau.org) with Smart-ID and Mobiil-ID authentication, and a separate AV Authors Interface (av.eau.org) for audiovisual rights holders. These portals collectively enable self-service onboarding for both sides of the market. Concert licensing is structured as a take-rate (5% for pop/rock/jazz/folk, 7% for chamber/choir, 9% for symphonic works) with a €30 minimum, while free-admission concerts use tiered unit pricing from €25 to €80. Private copying levies are collected per device (currently €3.5 per smartphone, with a proposed increase to €6).

The organization's revenue is non-profit in structure, with 2025 receipts totaling approximately €11.97 million, comprising €10.55 million in royalties collected (including commission fees) and €1.42 million in private copying levies. Of this, €9.07 million was distributed to members, with operating costs of €1.59 million. EAÜ also operates creative activity grants (€155,000 distributed to 137 recipients in 2025), board direct grants, and an Export Fund (€60,000 budget for 2026) supporting cross-border circulation of Estonian music. The organization holds core memberships in CISAC, GESAC, and BIEM, with reciprocal agreements enabling international royalty collection, and operates from a single headquarters in Tallinn under CEO Mati Kaalep and a board elected triennially by the general assembly.

Name

Eesti Autorite Ühing

Legal name

Eesti Autorite Ühing

Website

https://eau.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Eesti Autorite Ühing (EAÜ) is Estonia's statutory collective management organization for copyright, representing 6,523 music authors, publishers, visual artists, and audiovisual authors. It licenses music users, collects the private copying levy on digital devices, and distributes royalties domestically and through CISAC reciprocal agreements abroad.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Collective Copyright Management

NAICS

Music Publishers (512230)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Performance Rights Administration (PRO Affiliation, Cue Sheet/Setlist Processing) (MPAIABAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Publishing Administration (Catalog Admin, Global Subpublishing) (MPAIABAB), Royalty Auditing, Compliance & Anti-Piracy/Enforcement (MPAIAKAE)

Keywords

• Collective copyright management
• Music royalty collection
• Public performance licensing
• Private copying levy
• Author rights administration

Headquarters

HQ city

Tallinn

HQ country

Estonia

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Licensing fees from music users: EAÜ collects licensing fees from businesses and organizations that use musical works publicly (concerts, venues, broadcasters, restaurants, etc.). Fees are calculated based on admission fees for paid events or attendance numbers for free events. The organization deducts a commission fee from collected royalties to cover operating costs.
2. Private copying levy: EAÜ, designated by the Ministry of Justice, collects private copying levies on digital devices (smartphones, computers, etc.) sold in Estonia. This levy compensates authors for private copies made by consumers. Revenue in 2025: €1,416,898.
3. International royalty collection: EAÜ collects royalties from foreign sister organizations (CISAC network) when Estonian authors' works are performed abroad, and distributes foreign royalties to Estonian-based foreign authors represented in Estonia.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Eesti Autorite Ühing (EAÜ) is Estonia's legally mandated collective management organization for copyright. It collects and distributes royalties to authors of musical, visual, and audiovisual works, licenses public performance of music to businesses and venues, and administers the private copying levy on digital devices on behalf of the Estonian Ministry of Justice. It also provides grants and export funding to support Estonian creative activity.

Product overview

Eesti Autorite Ühing (EAÜ) is Estonia's collective copyright management organization for music authors, artists, and audiovisual creators. The organization operates a portfolio of web-based portals for copyright licensing, royalty distribution, and member services. The core product suite includes the Author Portal (Autoriportaal) for music authors, the Financial Report System (FREDI) for licensees, the Repertoire Report System for event reporting, the AV Authors Interface for audiovisual creators, and the Private Copying Reporting System. EAÜ also provides grants for new musical compositions, residencies, and recordings, plus an export fund for international promotion of Estonian music.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• EAÜ Export Fund: Fund to promote cross-border circulation of Estonian music supporting participation in international showcase festivals and conferences. Budget 60,000 euros in 2026.

Products and services

• Author Portal (Autoriportaal) Web portal at autor.eau.org for music authors to register works, manage royalty accounts, and submit concert data from foreign performances.
• Financial Report System (FREDI) Online system at fredi.eau.org for music users to submit financial reports on public performances and other licensed uses for licensing fee calculations.
• Repertoire Report System Online system at rep.eau.org for music users to submit reports listing musical works performed at events.
• Private Copying Reporting System (Erakopeerimise aruandlussüsteem) Dedicated reporting system at is.eau.org/erak/ for private copying levy declarations by importers and manufacturers of digital devices, accessible via Smart-ID or Mobile-ID authentication.
• AV Authors Interface (AV-autoriliides) Separate portal at av.eau.org for audiovisual authors to manage their works and royalties.
• Music Public Performance Licensing License agreements for concert organizers, venues, restaurants, broadcasters, and VOD services to publicly perform musical works, with fees calculated as percentage of admission revenue or fixed rates for free events.
• Private Copying Levy Collection Statutorily mandated collection of levies on smartphones, computers, and other digital devices sold in Estonia, designated by the Ministry of Justice, compensating authors for private copies made by consumers.
• Royalty Collection and Distribution Aggregation of royalties from domestic music users and foreign sister societies through the CISAC network, with subsequent distribution to member authors and rightsholders.
• Creative Activity Grants Grants for new musical compositions, residencies, co-creation camps, recordings, author recognition, copyright studies, and extraordinary industry development initiatives.
• Export Fund (Ekspordifond) Funding program to promote cross-border circulation of Estonian music, supporting participation in international showcase festivals and conferences, with a 60,000 euro budget for 2026 across four application rounds.

Quantifiable outcome

• €10.55 million in royalties collected and €9.07 million distributed to members in 2025
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CISAC (International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEAÜ is a member of CISAC, the global confederation of authors' societies. This membership enables international royalty collection through reciprocal agreements with sister societies worldwide. EAÜ's board chairman Karl-Ander Reismann was elected to CISAC's audit committee in 2025.
• GESAC (European Group of Societies of Authors and Composers)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEAÜ is a member of GESAC, the European grouping of authors' societies, participating in European-level policy discussions and harmonization efforts.
• BIEM (International Federation of Mechanical Reproduction Rights Societies)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEAÜ is a member of BIEM, which handles mechanical reproduction rights internationally.
• ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerASCAP is EAÜ's American sister organization representing authors and their rights on US territory. Through this reciprocal agreement, EAÜ members can receive additional royalties for live performances at ASCAP-licensed venues in the USA through the OnStage program.
• Music EstoniaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMusic Estonia's project manager Greete Paršin serves on the EAÜ Export Fund committee, supporting cross-border circulation of Estonian music.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• GEMA: Germany's largest music rights CMO. Comparable operating model (music authors/publishers, public performance licensing, CISAC member) but an order of magnitude larger than EAÜ; represents the scaled European CMO peer archetype. EAÜ partners with GESAC for EU policy advocacy.
• SACEM: French collective rights management for music, audiovisual, and literary authors. Comparable in scope (multi-rights including audiovisual and visual arts, like EAÜ's expanded mandate) and CISAC membership, but operates at much larger scale in a major market.
• ASCAP: American performing rights organization whose sister-society agreement with EAÜ enables cross-border royalty collection (e.g., OnStage program). Same PRO business model, similar roles in grand rights administration. A scaled incumbent peer in the same global network.
• SIAE: Italian authors' and publishers' society for music and multimedia rights. Comparable to EAÜ in scope (multi-rights CMO including audiovisual) and CISAC peer status, but operates in a much larger market with broader repertoire coverage.
• PRS for Music: UK-based music rights collective serving over 100,000 members. Comparable CMOs mandate (music authors, publishers, public performance licensing) and CISAC reciprocal partner to EAÜ, but materially larger scale and mature technology infrastructure. Represents a "scale-up" peer.

Regional players

• AKKA/LAA: Latvian collective management organization for authors. Highly comparable Baltic peer to EAÜ with the same mandate (music, audiovisual, visual arts rights), similar small-market economics, and shared CISAC/BIEM membership for international royalty collection.
• LATGA-A: Lithuanian collective rights management association covering music, audiovisual, and visual arts authors. Comparable to EAÜ as a Baltic CMO in the same geographic and regulatory neighborhood, with very similar scope and CISAC membership.

Direct peers

• STIM: Swedish Performing Rights Society representing music creators and publishers. Direct peer to EAÜ: same business model (PRO/CMO), same member base (Nordic music authors), same CISAC/BIEM network membership, and same revenue streams (public performance, private copying, international reciprocal).
• Teosto: Finnish collective management organization for music authors and publishers. Directly comparable to EAÜ as a Nordic/Baltic CMO administering public performance rights, collecting private copying levies, and distributing royalties to members. Same governance model and CISAC membership.
• KODA: Danish collective rights management organization for music authors and publishers. Direct peer to EAÜ, comparable as a small Northern European CMO with the same rights administration mandate, CISAC membership, and reliance on private copying levies as a revenue stream.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/autoriteuhing
• LinkedInee.linkedin.com/company/eaü
• Instagraminstagram.com/eestiautoriteuhing

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Eesti Autorite Ühing