PlayRight

What PlayRight does

PlayRight is a Belgian cooperative society (C.V.B.A.), recognized by the Minister of Economy, that operates as the statutory collective management organization for neighboring rights of performing artists in Belgium. Founded in 1974 and headquartered in Brussels, it collects and distributes royalties on behalf of more than 15,000 affiliated musicians, actors, dancers, circus artists, and variety performers. Rights flows cover equitable remuneration from broadcasters and venues, cable retransmission royalties, private copying levies (collected via Reprobel and Auvibel), public lending rights, and international collections recovered through reciprocal agreements with sister CMOs worldwide. PlayRight is a member of SCAPR (where it leads the RAWG working group) and AEPO-ARTIS, and has elected leadership from the artistic community, including President Christian Martin (musician/producer, since 2019) and Vice-President Alain Van Goethem (actor, since 2017).

The organization's core operational product is the online Member Portal at portal.playright.be, built on the OutSystems low-code platform and offered in Dutch, French, and English. The portal enables self-service member registration (with separate flows for adults, minors, heirs, and mandate-holders), repertoire declaration against annual broadcast playlists, viewable distribution statements, and tax document access. A dedicated account-management team (with sector specialists for music and audiovisual) supplements the portal with workshops, the annual General Assembly held on the third Monday of June, and direct member support. Supporting products include the PlayRight Top 100 weekly chart, a quarterly newsletter, the annual distribution calendar, and the PlayRight+ sub-brand, which administers individual grants, project funding via the PlayRight Commission, educational support, and policy advocacy.

PlayRight's business model is that of a not-for-profit collective rights manager: membership is free for eligible performers, with the society retaining roughly 14-15% of gross collections as operating costs (11.26%) and PlayRight+ (3.50%) in 2024, down from 22.5% in 2015. Distribution cadence runs to seven scheduled annual payouts across Belgian and international rights categories. Revenue (operating cost retention) is concentrated in the audio-visual and music streams, with documented annual payout totals in the low-to-mid single-digit millions of euros per reference year, and more than €100M distributed since 2013. The organization is governed by a Board drawn from its Music and Drama/Dance colleges with member-elected oversight, and it has no external investors, parent company, or acquisition history.

Name

PlayRight

Legal name

PlayRight C.V.B.A.

Website

https://playright.be

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

PlayRight is the Belgian cooperative society mandated to collectively manage neighboring rights for the country's performing artists. It collects and distributes royalties from broadcasters, cable operators, private-copying schemes, and international sister societies to over 15,000 affiliated musicians, actors, dancers, circus, and variety performers via a member portal and account-management team.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Collective Rights Management

NAICS

Music Publishers (512230)

akta.pro primary industry

Neighboring Rights Collection (Sound Recording Performance Rights) (MPAIAKAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

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

Keywords

• Collective rights management
• Neighboring rights collection
• Royalty distribution services
• Performing artists society
• Copyright collective management

Headquarters

HQ city

Brussels

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Equitable Remuneration: Levies collected from users of recorded music (broadcasters, venues, etc.) based on Belgian copyright law for private copying and equitable remuneration.
2. Cable Retransmission Rights: Rights collected from cable operators for the retransmission of audiovisual and musical performances.
3. Private Copying Levy: Compensation collected through Reprobel for private copying of recordings onto blank media devices.
4. Public Lending Rights: Rights collected for the lending of audiovisual and musical recordings through public libraries.
5. International Rights Collection: Rights collected abroad through reciprocal agreements with sister societies in other countries for performances of Belgian artists internationally.
6. Educational/Research Use Rights: Rights collected for the educational and scientific use of recordings.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

PlayRight collects and distributes neighboring rights royalties on behalf of performing artists in Belgium, including equitable remuneration, cable retransmission rights, private copying levies, public lending rights, and international rights. Artists register for free through the online Member Portal, declare their musical and audiovisual performances, and receive royalty distributions collected from broadcasters, cable operators, venues, and platforms. PlayRight also operates the PlayRight+ support program providing grants and advocacy for artists.

Product overview

PlayRight is a Belgian collective management society (C.V.B.A./S.C.R.L.) that manages neighbouring rights for performing artists in Belgium. The core offering consists of collecting and distributing royalties from cable retransmission, private copying, public lending, and equitable remuneration for musical and audiovisual performances. The primary member-facing product is the online Member Portal, which enables artists to register, declare performances, access rights statements, and track distributions. PlayRight+ serves as a complementary support program offering individual grants, project funding for organizations, and educational/policy support. Supporting products include the PlayRight Top 100 weekly music chart, a quarterly newsletter, and a distribution calendar. International rights collection is facilitated through bilateral agreements with sister societies abroad. The organization operates in Dutch, French, and English.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PlayRight+: Support program for performing artists providing financial grants for projects and organizations, educational support, and political advocacy for artists' rights.

Products and services

• Neighbouring Rights Management Centralized collective management and distribution of neighboring rights royalties for performing artists in Belgium, covering equitable remuneration, cable retransmission rights, private copying compensation, public lending rights, and international rights recovery.
• PlayRight+ Support Programs

Quantifiable outcome

• 100 million euros in rights distributed to artists since 2013
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SCAPR (Society of Composers and Authors Publishers)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlayRight participates in SCAPR activities and has been elected to lead the RAWG (Rights Assignment Working Group). SCAPR is the international organization for neighbouring rights societies that facilitates cooperation and standards for rights management worldwide.
• AEPO-ARTIS (Association Européenne des Societies de Gestion pour les Droits des Artistes-Interprètes)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean association of collective management societies for neighbouring rights of performing artists. PlayRight is a member and actively participates in advocacy for EU-level legislation to strengthen artist rights, including DSM Directive implementation.
• ReprobelcoreOthersBelgian society managing private copying compensation. Reprobel collects levies on blank media and distributes shares to copyright societies including PlayRight for the audiovisual sector.
• AuvibelcoreOthersBelgian society that distributes public lending rights collected by Reprobel. Auvibel allocates portions to copyright societies for authors, performers, and producers based on statutory distribution keys.
• IAO (International Artist Organisation)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational Artist Organisation collaborated with PlayRight and AEPO-ARTIS on a major survey of 9,542 artists across 19 EU countries to assess the impact of the DSM Directive on artist remuneration.
• Sabam ( Belgian authors' society)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerContinued collaboration after Fund Belgian Music (COVID-19 support). Sabam and PlayRight co-organized seminars on copyright and neighbouring rights tax reform. Fund Belgian Music supported 191 music projects with nearly €400,000.
• International Sister Societies (via bilateral agreements)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPlayRight maintains reciprocal bilateral agreements with neighbouring rights societies worldwide. These agreements enable collection of Belgian artists' rights collected abroad and distribution of foreign artists' rights collected in Belgium.
• RTBF (Radio-Télévision Belge Francophone)minorOthersBelgian French-language public broadcaster. PlayRight distributed €439,095.57 in exclusive rights from RTBF (co-)productions 1996-2020, with additional distribution of €577,403 in 2023.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• GVL (Gesellschaft zur Verwertung von Leistungsschutzrechten): German collective management organization for neighboring rights of performers and phonogram producers, structurally and functionally comparable to PlayRight but serving the German market. Same model: mandated collection from broadcasters and platforms, distribution to affiliated performers, and reciprocal international agreements.
• SUISA: Swiss cooperative society for authors and publishers of music that also handles neighboring rights administration in a small European market similar to Belgium. Comparable cooperative governance model and cross-border rights management through reciprocal agreements.
• SoundExchange: US-based independent nonprofit performance rights organization that collects statutory neighboring rights royalties from digital services (satellite radio, internet radio, cable TV) for sound recording copyright owners and performers. Closest large-market analog with a similar collection-and-distribution value proposition.
• SIAE (Società Italiana degli Autori ed Editori): Italian collective management organization covering both author/publisher rights and neighboring rights for performers. Comparable multi-rights structure and statutorily mandated collection framework make it a relevant peer despite its broader scope.
• PPCA (Phonographic Performance Company of Australia): Australian nonprofit organization that collects and distributes neighboring rights royalties to Australian recording artists and rights holders. Direct functional analog with a similar member-cooperative operating model in a mid-sized market.
• STEMRA (Stichting Stemra): Dutch counterpart organization managing neighboring rights for performers and producers in the Netherlands. Comparable mandate, governance structure (artist-led cooperative), and reliance on reciprocal international agreements, making it the closest geographic peer to PlayRight.
• ADAMI: French collective management society dedicated to neighboring rights of performing artists in music, cinema, television, and dubbing. Operates the same mandate-based collection-and-distribution model for performers and serves as the most relevant Benelux/France comparator.
• PPL (Phonographic Performance Limited): UK-based collective management organization that collects and distributes neighboring rights royalties to performers and record companies for the use of recorded music. Direct functional analog operating in a larger English-language market with the same licensing and reciprocal-collection model.

Broad incumbents

• AEPO-ARTIS: European association of collective management societies for neighboring rights of performers, of which PlayRight is a member. Relevant as an industry-association peer and advocacy counterpart for EU-level legislative and policy initiatives affecting performers' rights.
• SCAPR (Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers for Rights): International umbrella organization for neighboring rights societies worldwide, of which PlayRight is an active member and which PlayRight's leadership helps steer (RAWG). Relevant peer in its capacity as a coordinating industry body, though it does not itself collect royalties.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/playrightbe
• Facebookfacebook.com/PlayRight.be
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/playright-cvba-scrl
• Instagraminstagram.com/playright_belgium

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 PlayRight