What AEPO-ARTIS does

AEPO-ARTIS (Association of European Performers' Organisations) is a Brussels-headquartered, Belgium-domiciled non-profit association founded in 2007 that represents 42 collective management organisations (CMOs) spanning more than 30 European countries and covering over 650,000 performers from the audio and audiovisual sectors. The organisation does not produce commercial technology; instead it develops, strengthens, and protects performers' rights through policy advocacy, legal research, and cross-border coordination among its member CMOs. Its core outputs include the Performers' Rights Study (first published 2007, updated 2018 and 2022), the Streams & Dreams reports on musicians' streaming remuneration (surveying 9,542 artists in 19 EU countries), and the Acting Fairly? report on actors' contractual practices (surveying 2,382 actors in 11 EU Member States). It also maintains an interactive Transposition Tracker mapping CDSM Directive implementation across EU member states and a Members' Area portal.

Its business model is that of a membership-funded industry association: there are no commercial products, no disclosed revenue, no pricing tiers, and no venture or private equity backing. Funding is derived from membership contributions by the 42 CMO members. Its go-to-market is policy-focused rather than commercial: direct engagement with the European Parliament, European Commission, Council of the EU, and WIPO's Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights; annual conferences; research publications; open letters to rotating EU Council Presidencies; and active social media dissemination. Strategic partnerships include formal stakeholder status at the EUIPO Observatory on Infringements of IP Rights (since September 2025), participation in the EU-Japan IP Action Project (from October 2025), and a role in the Horizon Europe Music360 research consortium. Leadership transitioned in 2026, with Christophe Van Vaerenbergh elected President in June and Ibán García del Blanco appointed General Secretary effective 24 August 2026, the latter bringing deep EU-level experience on AI, intellectual property, and culture legislation.

Name

AEPO-ARTIS

Legal name

AEPO-ARTIS (Association of European Performers' Organisations)

Website

https://aepo-artis.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

AEPO-ARTIS is a Brussels-based non-profit association founded in 2007 that represents 42 European performers' collective management organisations across 30+ countries and over 650,000 performers, advocating for their rights through EU and WIPO policy engagement, legal research, and member coordination.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Brussels

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

AEPO-ARTIS is a Brussels-based non-profit association representing 42 European performers' collective management organisations across more than 30 countries, covering over 650,000 performers. It conducts policy advocacy, legal research, and publications focused on performers' neighbouring rights, fair remuneration under the EU Copyright in the Digital Single Market (CDSM) Directive, contract transparency, AI training protections, and cross-border collective management cooperation. It does not sell commercial products or services.

Product overview

AEPO-ARTIS (Association of European Performers' Organisations) is a non-profit advocacy organization that represents 42 European performers' collective management organisations from 30 countries, covering over 650,000 performers. The organization does not offer a commercial technology product but provides public resources including research publications (Acting Fairly? Report, Streams & Dreams Reports, Performers' Rights Study), a policy transposition tracker showing CDSM Directive implementation status, and a members-only portal for its member organisations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Acting Fairly? Report

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• EUIPO Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property RightscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2025AEPO-ARTIS officially became a stakeholder of the European Union Intellectual Property Office's Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights in September 2025. The Observatory brings together public authorities, private stakeholders, and civil society to strengthen understanding and enforcement of IP rights. AEPO-ARTIS contributes to joint initiatives highlighting the importance of intellectual property and protecting performers' rights.
• EU-Japan IP Action (IPA) ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAEPO-ARTIS participates in the EU-Japan IP Action project, a 48-month initiative (starting October 2025) focused on enhancing cooperation between Japan and the EU in intellectual property, particularly in the digital space. The project aims to align IP policies and practices between regions and includes conferences on AI and IP.
• WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAEPO-ARTIS actively participates in WIPO's 45th SCCR meetings, engaging with country delegates, African group, GRULAC, and the European Union. The organisation co-organised panels on music streaming fairness and actors' remuneration with FILAIE, FIM, and SCAPR.
• Music360 Project ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAEPO-ARTIS is a partner in the Horizon Europe Music360 project examining the value of public performance of music. Partners include GDA, SENA, and Gramex Finland (via music licensing body GTM). The project includes living labs in the Netherlands and Spain exploring music's impact in retail and therapeutic settings.
• FILAIE, FIM, SCAPRcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAEPO-ARTIS co-organises events with FILAIE (audiovisual performers), FIM (musicians), and SCAPR (performers' rights societies) at WIPO forums to address performers' right to remuneration and streaming industry issues.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• FIM (International Federation of Musicians): FIM is the global federation of musicians' unions, directly comparable to AEPO-ARTIS in advocating for musicians' neighbouring rights at WIPO, ILO and EU level. The two organisations already co-organise panels at WIPO SCCR and represent overlapping European performer constituencies.
• FILAIE (Fédération Internationale des Acteurs / International Federation of Actors' Unions - Audiovisual): FILAIE is the audiovisual-specific arm of the actors' trade union movement and a direct peer to AEPO-ARTIS on audiovisual performers' neighbouring rights. Both organisations co-organise WIPO SCCR side events and share member CMOs across Europe.
• FIA (International Federation of Actors): FIA is the global federation of actors' unions, paralleling AEPO-ARTIS's work on audiovisual performers' rights, fair remuneration and contract adjustment. FIA and AEPO-ARTIS address the same primary member segment (actors) and frequently coordinate on EU copyright advocacy.
• SCAPR (Sharing of Audiovisual Content and Rights): SCAPR is the international organisation of performers' collective management organisations for audiovisual rights, directly comparable to AEPO-ARTIS in coordinating cross-border rights exchanges among CMOs. SCAPR and AEPO-ARTIS co-organise WIPO panels and share substantial membership overlap.

Broad incumbents

• CISAC (International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers): CISAC is the global confederation of authors' and composers' CMOs, a broader incumbent with similar EU-level advocacy work but focused on authors rather than performers. AEPO-ARTIS operates in the parallel performers' CMO ecosystem and engages CISAC on cross-cutting copyright issues.
• GESAC (European Grouping of Societies of Authors and Composers): GESAC is the European advocacy body for authors' and composers' CMOs, structurally analogous to AEPO-ARTIS but focused on the authors side of the copyright value chain. Both lobby the European Parliament and Commission on CDSM and AI policy, often coordinating joint positions.

Emerging players

• SAA (Society of Audiovisual Authors): SAA represents audiovisual authors (directors, screenwriters) on neighbouring and remuneration rights at EU level, an adjacent but thematically parallel advocacy body. SAA and AEPO-ARTIS regularly align on CDSM Directive issues affecting audiovisual creators, including the 2026 Commission review.

Regional players

• UNI MEI (Media, Entertainment & Arts, UNI Global Union): UNI MEI is the global union federation for media, entertainment and arts workers, addressing many of the same performer remuneration and contract issues as AEPO-ARTIS but with a union/labour-rights framing and global rather than EU focus. They overlap on AI and copyright policy at WIPO and ILO level.

Others

• IFRRO (International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations): IFRRO is the international federation of reproduction rights organisations, an adjacent CMO-association peer to AEPO-ARTIS. While IFRRO focuses on text-and-image reproduction rights rather than performers' rights, both organisations operate similar Brussels-based advocacy models and engage EUIPO and WIPO on parallel copyright enforcement issues.
• BIEM (Bureau International des Sociétés Gérant les Droits d'Enregistrement et de Reproduction Mécanique): BIEM is the international organisation representing mechanical rights societies, an adjacent CMO confederation working on similar EU copyright policy issues. BIEM provides a comparable institutional model for cross-border rights coordination, though it focuses on reproduction rights rather than performers' neighbouring rights.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/aepoartis
• Facebookfacebook.com/AEPO-ARTIS-109249700895317
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aepoartis

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about AEPO-ARTIS