What Verwertungsgesellschaft BILD-KUNST does

Verwertungsgesellschaft Bild-Kunst (VG Bild-Kunst) is a German collective rights management society organized as a state-authorized, legally incorporated non-profit association (rechtsfähiger Verein kraft staatlicher Verleihung) and supervised by the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA). The society represents the collective copyright interests of more than 70,000 creators, publishers, image agencies, and film production companies across the visual arts disciplines of fine art, architecture, photography, illustration, design, caricature, comics, and film. Operationally headquartered in Bonn (Weberstraße 61) with a Berlin office and a registered seat in Frankfurt am Main, VG Bild-Kunst is a member of CISAC, the international confederation of authors' societies.

The society's product surface is anchored by a set of core rights-administration services: a Mitgliederportal (member portal) for membership management and online work reporting (Online-Meldung), a Künstlersuche (artist search) database for rights clearance, license inquiry forms (Anfrageformulare) for reproductions, digital, broadcasting, and film uses, and an Opt-Out-Datenbank enabling members to exclude individual works from extended collective licensing for social media services. Folgerecht (resale right) administration, supported by an online Folgerechtsrechner (resale royalty calculator), applies to art resales above a €400 net sale price threshold. Affiliated foundations Stiftung Kulturwerk and Stiftung Sozialwerk provide cultural promotion funding and social support for members in hardship, disability, and old age. Underlying technology is a tariff- and rights-registration system, with no proprietary AI or ML components disclosed.

VG Bild-Kunst monetizes exclusively through licensing and royalty fees. Licensees — galleries, auction houses, art dealers, publishers, museums and cultural institutions, film and television producers, and online platforms — pay tariff-based licensing fees calculated on usage type, circulation, duration, and territory, plus statutory Folgerecht royalties on qualifying art resales. Members of trade associations BVDG, BDK, KD, and VDA receive negotiated discounts of 10% on resale royalties and 20% on further-usage licensing fees under collective agreements. Pricing is not publicly listed; licensees submit requests via the website and are quoted based on the published tariff structure. At the July 2026 Mitgliederversammlung, CEO Urban Pappi publicly acknowledged a revenue decline (Erlösrückgang) and called for new collectively managed revenue sources to reduce dependence on private copying royalties.

Name

Verwertungsgesellschaft BILD-KUNST

Legal name

Verwertungsgesellschaft Bild-Kunst

Website

https://bildkunst.de

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

VG Bild-Kunst is a German state-authorized collecting society that administers collective copyright and Folgerecht (resale royalty) licensing for more than 70,000 visual artists, publishers, image agencies, and film production companies, serving galleries, publishers, museums, broadcasters, and online platforms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Collective Rights Management

NAICS

Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works) (533)

SIC

Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Creator Licensing & Rights Monetization (UGC Licensing, Music/Video Rights) (MPACAFAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Content Licensing (Film/TV, Clips, Stills) (MPADALAA)

Keywords

• Collective rights management
• Visual arts licensing
• Copyright royalty collection
• Artist rights administration
• Resale royalty management

Headquarters

HQ city

Bonn

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Licensing fees: Collection and distribution of licensing fees for the use of copyrighted visual works including reproductions, online usage, broadcasting, and publishing across various media channels.
2. Folgerecht (Resale royalty): Collection and distribution of statutory royalties from art resales. Artists receive participation in the proceeds when their works are resold through galleries or auction houses. Minimum threshold of 400 euros net sale price triggers the royalty obligation.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Verwertungsgesellschaft BILD-KUNST (VG Bild-Kunst) is a German collecting society that collectively manages copyright and related rights for visual artists. It grants licenses to users of visual artworks (publishers, galleries, auction houses, museums, film/TV producers, online platforms), collects the resulting licensing fees and resale royalties (Folgerecht), and distributes the proceeds to its members.

Product overview

VG Bild-Kunst operates as a collective rights management organization (Verwertungsgesellschaft) representing over 70,000 visual artists, publishers, image agencies, and film production companies in the areas of art, architecture, photography, illustration, design, caricature, comics, and film. The organization's core offerings include a member portal for artist management, licensing services through various inquiry forms, resale rights administration (Folgerecht), an artist search tool (Künstlersuche), and an online reporting system (Online-Meldung). Additional services include an opt-out database for social media collective licensing, cultural promotion funding, and social support programs. The portfolio also features supporting tools such as a resale royalty calculator. The organization manages collective rights on behalf of its members and distributes royalties from licensed uses.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Copyright and Reproduction Licensing
• Folgerecht (Resale Right) Administration
• Member Portal (Mitgliederportal)
• Text and Data Mining (TDM) Licensing and Opt-Out Database

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• CISAC (International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 June 2026VG Bild-Kunst is a member of CISAC. CISAC President Björn Ulvaeus delivered an opening speech at the 100th anniversary general assembly in Paris in June 2026, addressing AI and author rights issues.
• Sister Societies (Schwestergesellschaften)coreTechnology or IntegrationInternational sister societies representing artists in their respective countries. VG Bild-Kunst and its foreign sister societies collectively represent artists in the Folgerecht (resale royalty) system.
• BVDG (Bundesverband Deutscher Galerien und Kunsthändler)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCollective agreement with BVDG for German gallery and art dealer association. Members receive 10% discount on resale royalties and 20% on licensing fees through individual contracts.
• BDK (Bundesverband Deutscher Kunstversteigerer)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCollective agreement with BDK for German art auctioneers. Members receive 10% discount on resale royalties and 20% on licensing fees. BDK members can also obtain supplementary agreements for online catalogue archives.
• KD (Kunsthändlerverband Deutschland)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCollective agreement with KD for German art dealers. Members receive preferential rates through individual contracts under the collective agreement.
• VDA (Verband Deutscher Antiquare)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCollective agreement with VDA for German antiquarian booksellers. Members receive preferential rates through individual contracts.
• Stiftung KulturwerkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCultural foundation affiliated with VG Bild-Kunst providing cultural promotion funding for members and cultural projects.
• Stiftung SozialwerkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSocial foundation affiliated with VG Bild-Kunst providing financial support for members in personal hardship, disability, and old age.
• DPMA (German Patent and Trade Mark Office)coreOthersVG Bild-Kunst is subject to state supervision by the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt) in Munich.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• SABAM: Belgian collecting society covering authors, composers, and visual artists. Operates as a multi-discipline CMO with comparable rights administration, tariff-setting, and distribution functions.
• VG Wort: German sister collecting society managing reproduction rights for authors and publishers of textual works. Operates under the same German VGG framework and DPMA supervision as VG Bild-Kunst, sharing operational and regulatory parallels.
• Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS): UK-based collective management organization for visual artists, providing analogous licensing, royalty collection, and pay-out services. Sister society partner in the international visual arts rights network.
• Pictoright: Dutch sister society handling reproduction rights for visual creators and publishers, complementing VARA's coverage with direct licensing and rights administration.
• ADAGP (Société des Auteurs dans les Arts Visuels): French collective rights management society for visual artists—the direct French equivalent of VG Bild-Kunst. Both administer reproduction rights and resale royalties (droit de suite) for visual creators within their respective national jurisdictions, with reciprocal representation agreements.
• KOPINOR: Norwegian collective rights organization representing visual artists and other rightsholders for reproduction licensing. International sister society with reciprocal representation arrangement.
• GEMA: Germany's largest collecting society for music authors and publishers. Operates under identical VGG/DPMA framework as VG Bild-Kunst, providing the closest regulatory and operational analog within the German collective management landscape.
• VARA (Vereniging van Beoefenaars van de Aanverwante Beeldende Kunsten): Dutch collective rights organization for visual artists performing the same collective rights management function in the Netherlands—reproduction rights, resale royalties, and creator representation.
• Bild och Ord (Bildupphovsrätt i Sverige): Swedish visual artists' rights organization administering reproduction rights and related licensing for Swedish visual creators—analogous function within the Nordic market.

Broad incumbents

• CISAC (International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers): Umbrella organization representing VG Bild-Kunst and 225+ sister collecting societies globally. Not a direct competitor but the international body that sets standards, enables reciprocal agreements, and lobbies for collective rights management worldwide.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@VGBildKunst
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/verwertungsgesellschaft-bild-kunst

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 Verwertungsgesellschaft BILD-KUNST