Stowarzyszenie SAWP

What Stowarzyszenie SAWP does

SAWP (Stowarzyszenie Artystów Wykonawców Utworów Muzycznych i Słowno-Muzycznych) is a Polish non-profit collective management organization established in 1984 and headquartered at ul. Tagore 3 in Warsaw, operating under direct supervision of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage. It is statutorily designated to manage performer rights in Poland, directly representing nearly 4,900 outstanding Polish performers and providing reciprocal representation for close to 1.6 million performers globally. The organization runs on a lean 6-employee operating model supported by a centralized web portal (artysci.sawp.pl) through which performers electronically register repertoire, update personal data, and view royalty statements.

The core technology is the repertoire-registration and royalty-distribution platform that ingests broadcaster playlist data, matches it against registered performer records, and computes allocation per statutory split rules (e.g., 50/25/25 for audio private copying fees among creators, performers, and producers). The organization collects revenue across three licensing streams: private copying fees from manufacturers and importers of blank media and copying devices (distributed quarterly under a 2003 Ministry of Culture regulation), public performance licensing from music-using businesses such as broadcasters, hotels, restaurants and retail (per published compensation tables), and supplementary remuneration from phonogram producers under Article 95³ of Poland's Copyright and Related Rights Act following a 2016 ministerial appointment. Pricing is regulated via published tariff tables, with individual performer entry fees set at 30 PLN one-time and 24 PLN annual.

SAWP operates as a governance-heavy association with a Walne Zgromadzenie (General Assembly), Zarząd (Board), Komisja Rewizyjna (Supervisory Board), and Sąd Koleżeński (Arbitration Court); it does not generate profit for external owners. Distribution cooperation runs through a joint office with ZAiKS and ZPAV at ul. Nalewki 8, Warsaw, alongside reciprocal arrangements with ZASP, STOART, and STL. The business model is structurally analogous to a regulated quasi-utility: revenue is largely a function of statutory rates, licenseable usage volume, and device/media imports rather than competitive market dynamics.

Name

Stowarzyszenie SAWP

Legal name

Stowarzyszenie Artystów Wykonawców Utworów Muzycznych i Słowno-Muzycznych SAWP

Website

https://sawp.pl

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Stowarzyszenie SAWP is a Polish non-profit collective management organization, founded in 1984 and operating under the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, that collects and distributes royalties — private copying fees, public performance licensing, and supplementary remuneration — on behalf of nearly 1.6 million performers including approximately 4,900 outstanding Polish artists.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Music Rights Management (Collective Management Organization)

NAICS

Music Publishers (512230), Music Publishers (51223)

akta.pro primary industry

Music Rights Administration & Royalty Processing (Admin, Accounting, Statements) (MPAIAKAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Neighboring Rights (Master Performance Rights) Administration (MPAIAAAH)

Keywords

• Collective rights management
• Performer royalties collection
• Music licensing services
• Private copying fees
• Supplementary remuneration

Headquarters

HQ city

Warsaw

HQ country

Poland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Private Copying Fees Collection: SAWP collects private copying fees from manufacturers and importers of blank carriers and copying devices. These fees are distributed to performers, creators, and phonogram producers according to statutory allocation keys (audio: 50% to creators, 25% to performers, 25% to producers; video: 35% to creators, 25% to performers, 25% to producers).
2. Public Performance Licensing: Licensing fees collected from businesses that publicly perform musical works (restaurants, hotels, shops, broadcasters). Fees are calculated based on type of business, scope of music use, and size of establishment.
3. Supplementary Remuneration: Additional remuneration collected from phonogram producers when performers transfer rights or grant exclusive licenses for one-time remuneration covering reproduction, distribution, or public communication fields.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

SAWP is a Polish collective management organization that protects the rights of performers of musical and musical-literary works. It collects private copying fees from manufacturers and importers of blank media and copying devices, licenses public performances of music to businesses such as broadcasters, hotels, restaurants, and shops, and distributes the resulting royalties to nearly 1.6 million represented performers under the supervision of the Polish Minister of Culture and National Heritage.

Product overview

SAWP (Stowarzyszenie Artystów Wykonawców Utworów Muzycznych i Słowno-Muzycznych) is a collective management organization for performers' rights in Poland, not a traditional product company. The organization offers a Web Portal for performers to electronically submit repertoire and manage personal data, alongside services for collecting and distributing royalties. The main offerings include: the Web Portal (artysci.sawp.pl) for artists to submit performances and track payments; private copying fee collection and distribution services for manufacturers and importers; supplementary remuneration collection for phonogram producers; and licensing services for users such as broadcasters, hotels, and event venues.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Web Portal (Portal dla Artystów) Web-based portal allowing performers to electronically submit artistic repertoire, update personal data, view lists of submitted performances, payments, and documents, and track royalty distributions. Access requires registration and submission of a declaration form to the SAWP Office.
• Private Copying Fees Management Service for collecting and distributing private copying fees from manufacturers and importers of blank carriers and copying devices to performers, phonogram producers, and creators, distributed quarterly to affiliated organizations and artists under statutory allocation keys.
• Supplementary Remuneration Service Collection and distribution of supplementary remuneration for performers from phonogram producers, as mandated by Article 95³ of the Polish Copyright and Related Rights Act. Applies when performers transfer rights or grant exclusive licenses for fields including reproduction, distribution, and public communication.
• Audiovisual Works Producers Service Services for audiovisual producers regarding payments to performers for cinema screenings, rentals, television broadcasting, and reproduction for personal use, as defined by Article 70(21) of the Polish Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act.
• User Licensing Services Licensing and royalty collection services for users of musical performances, including broadcasters, hotels, restaurants, shops, clubs, and event venues. Fees are determined according to SAWP Royalty Tables based on the type of business and scope of music use.

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Stowarzyszenie Twórców Ludowych (STL)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 June 2003Association of Folk Performers. STL receives quarterly distribution of private copying fees from the audio sector alongside ZASP and STOART, as designated by the Ministry of Culture Regulation of June 2, 2003.
• Związek Artystów Scen Polskich ZASPcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 June 2003Union of Polish Stage Artists. ZASP receives quarterly distribution of private copying fees from the audio sector alongside STL and STOART.
• Związek Artystów Wykonawców STOARTcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 June 2003Union of Performing Artists. STOART receives quarterly distribution of private copying fees from the audio sector alongside STL and ZASP. Also designated for joint collection of public performance fees.
• Stowarzyszenie Autorów ZAiKScoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 June 2003ZAiKS is designated for collecting royalties on behalf of creators (composers, lyricists) from private copying fees and public performances. Joint collection agreement exists for clean media.
• Związek Producentów Audio-Video ZPAVcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 June 2003Polish Audio-Video Producers Association. ZPAV is designated for collecting and distributing private copying fees on behalf of phonogram and videogram producers.
• Biuro ZAiKS, SAWP, ZPAV ds. czystych nośnikówcoreTechnology or Integration · 2 June 2003Joint office established by ZAiKS, SAWP, and ZPAV to streamline collection of private copying fees. Located at ul. Nalewki 8, Warsaw. Handles inquiries and coordinates clean media fee collection.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• ADAMI: French CMO for performers' neighboring rights. Closest functional peer to SAWP in continental Europe — collects and distributes remuneration for performers across music and audiovisual uses.
• ZAiKS (Stowarzyszenie Autorów ZAiKS): Polish CMO for music authors/composers. Direct CMO counterpart in Poland sharing joint collection infrastructure with SAWP; operates the same statutory private copying and public performance framework but for the creator side.
• GVL (Gesellschaft zur Verwertung von Leistungsschutzrechten): Germany's CMO for neighboring rights of performers and phonogram producers. Direct functional equivalent in the largest EU market, collecting analogous private copying and public performance remuneration.
• ZPAV (Związek Producentów Audio-Video): Polish phonogram producers' CMO. Co-located with SAWP at the joint office (ul. Nalewki 8) and counterpart for producer-side neighboring rights in the same statutory fee distribution framework.
• STOART (Związek Artystów Wykonawców): Polish performing artists union with CMO functions. Receives parallel private copying fee distributions alongside SAWP under the same 2003 ministerial regulation, making it the closest competitor for performer mandates.
• PPL (Phonographic Performance Limited): UK CMO collecting and distributing neighboring rights royalties to performers and record companies for public performance and broadcast use. Direct functional peer for SAWP's public performance licensing business.

Emerging players

• AIE (Association of Independent European Performers): European-level performer rights body coordinating collective management across EU member states. Relevant comparable as a supranational aggregator that supplements national CMOs like SAWP with cross-border mandate work.

Broad incumbents

• SGAE (Sociedad General de Autores y Editores): Spanish combined CMO covering both authors and performers. Comparable broad-scope collective management organization operating under the same EU copyright regime as SAWP.

Regional players

• SENA (Stichting Reprorecht): Dutch CMO for neighboring rights of performers and producers. Direct functional peer operating under analogous EU copyright directives; useful for cross-border reciprocity benchmarking against SAWP.
• GRAMEX (Denmark): Danish CMO collecting neighboring rights remuneration for performers and producers. Smaller-scale EU peer operating the analogous private copying and broadcast remuneration model as SAWP.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stowarzyszenie-sawp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Stowarzyszenie SAWP