Corint Media
Corint Media is a Berlin-based, EU-authorized non-profit Collective Management Organization that manages ancillary copyright and press publisher rights for 579 German broadcasters and publishers, licensing those rights to digital platforms across 40+ countries and distributing royalties back to rightholders.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2001
- HeadquartersBerlin, Germany
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Corint Media does
Corint Media is a Berlin-based, non-profit Collective Management Organization (CMO) authorized by the European Commission under the EU CMO Directive, operating as one of approximately 13 collecting societies in Germany. Founded in 2001 as VG Media and rebranded to Corint Media in January 2021, the organization manages ancillary copyright and press publisher rights for 579 rightholders, comprising private broadcasters such as RTL Television, ProSieben, Sat.1, and WELT, and press publishers including Axel Springer. Corint administers more than 360,000 contractor licensing agreements and operates licensing frameworks in over 40 countries.
The organization's core activity is the aggregation of rights from its member broadcasters and publishers, the licensing of those rights to digital platforms and content aggregators (including Google, Microsoft, Facebook, UPDAY, and Ecosia), and the distribution of collected royalties back to rightholders. Corint has progressively expanded its mandate from traditional ancillary rights (transmission and retransmission) into press publisher rights, a strategic repositioning reflected in the 2021 rebrand. The organization is notable for an increasingly assertive regulatory and commercial posture toward large platforms, evidenced by a 2020 Franco-German press publisher coalition, a 2023 interim licensing agreement with Google, a 2022 €1.2 million arbitration win against Microsoft, and a September 2025 complaint filed against Google under the EU Digital Services Act over AI Overviews.
As a non-profit CMO, Corint does not retain licensing revenue for profit; only administrative costs are retained, with those costs reportedly split roughly 50/50 between the broadcaster and publisher mandates. With 13 employees and a single Berlin office, the organization operates a lean administrative model relative to the scale of rights flows it manages. Strategic direction under Managing Director Dr. Christine Jury-Fischer (appointed May 2023) is oriented toward regulatory enforcement and rate renegotiation with US hyperscalers, including a 2025-commissioned study arguing that Google owes German media approximately €1.3 billion for press content usage.
Corint Media firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Corint Media
- Legal name
- Corint Media GmbH
- Website
- https://corint-media.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2001
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Corint Media is a Berlin-based, EU-authorized non-profit Collective Management Organization that manages ancillary copyright and press publisher rights for 579 German broadcasters and publishers, licensing those rights to digital platforms across 40+ countries and distributing royalties back to rightholders.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Corint Media industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Collective Rights Management / Media Rights Licensing
- NAICS
- Broadcasting and Content Providers (516)
- SIC
- Services-Allied To Motion Picture Distribution (7829)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Neighboring Rights Collection (Sound Recording Performance Rights) (MPAIAKAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Public Performance/Neighboring Rights for AV Uses (Cue Sheet & Reporting Services) (MPAIALAK), Neighboring Rights (Master Performance Rights) Administration (MPAIAAAH)
Keywords
Where Corint Media is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Berlin
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Corint Media business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Licensing Royalties: Corint Media collects copyright and ancillary rights royalties from third parties (primarily digital platforms like Google, Microsoft, Facebook) who use content from private broadcasters and press publishers. Revenue is collected through licensing agreements and distributed to rightholders after deduction of administrative costs.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
Corint Media product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Corint Media is a European Collective Management Organization (CMO) that administers copyright and ancillary rights on behalf of private broadcasters and press publishers. The company bundles rights from its rightholder members, licenses those rights to digital platforms and other users under collectively negotiated tariffs, and distributes collected royalties (net of regulated administrative deductions) back to its members. It also engages in legal enforcement of rights and represents members in regulatory and tariff proceedings.
Product overview
Corint Media is a European Collective Management Organization (CMO) that operates as a single, unified rights licensing service rather than a modular platform. The core offering consists of four integrated components: broadcasting rights licensing, press publisher rights management, rights administration services, and international licensing. Together these services enable private broadcasters and press publishers to collectively license their copyright and ancillary rights to digital platforms, with revenues distributed to rights holders after administrative costs. The company manages rights for over 500 rightholders and operates under the EU's CMO Directive, with oversight from the German Patent and Trade Mark Office.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Broadcasting Rights Licensing Collective licensing of copyright and ancillary rights of private (non-public-service) broadcasters to digital platforms and other users, with royalty collection and distribution back to member broadcasters. The service is for digital platforms needing licensed access to broadcaster content.
- Press Publisher Rights Management Collective licensing of copyright and ancillary rights of press publishers to digital platforms, news aggregators, and AI/ML services, including negotiation of tariffs covering press publisher rights. The service targets platforms and services that reproduce or make available press publisher content.
- Rights Administration and Royalty Distribution Services End-to-end rights administration services for rightholder members, including rights tracking, royalty calculation, deduction of regulated administrative costs, and distribution of net royalties to entitled members.
- Legal Enforcement and Tariff Representation Legal enforcement of collective rights (including against unlicensed digital usage) and representation of members in tariff-setting and regulatory proceedings under German/European copyright law.
- International Licensing and Reciprocal Representation Cross-border licensing of member rights via reciprocal agreements with foreign collective management organizations and direct international licensing, extending the company's licensing reach beyond Germany to other European and international markets.
Quantifiable outcome
- €1.2 million arbitration award against Microsoft (2022)
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Corint Media
Customer profileNamed customers24 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Corint Media technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Corint Media partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Alliance of Media and Digital Industry (DSA Complaint Coalition)coreAlliance including VAUNET, BDZV, DJV, European Federation of Journalists, EMMA/ENPA, AlgorithmWatch, and other organizations filed DSA complaint against Google's AI Overviews. Coalition of NGOs, associations and organisations from media and digital industry.
- GooglecoreInterim agreement with Google regarding remuneration for press publishers' rights. Final remuneration to be determined by Arbitration Board. Also related to Google News Showcase coexistence with collective rights management.
- MicrosoftminorArbitration awarded Corint Media €1.2 million from Microsoft for use of press publisher rights. Corint Media enforced press performance protection rights against Microsoft through arbitration.
- EscosiaminorCorint Media reached a breakthrough licensing agreement with Escosia for the use of press publisher content.
- UPDAYminorCorint Media entered into a licensing agreement with UPDAY, a news aggregation service, for the use of press publisher content.
- French and German Press Publishers CoalitioncoreFrench and German press publishers united to enforce EU Directive on press publishers' rights against digital platforms. Joint initiative to implement ancillary copyright across Europe.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Corint Media competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- GEMA: Germany's largest music rights collecting society and another authorized CMO under German law. Directly comparable to Corint Media as both function as German collecting societies administering rights and royalties on behalf of rightholders, supervised by DPMA.
- CEDRO: Spanish collecting society for editors and authors of books, journals, and other publications. Directly comparable as a CMO administering reproduction rights of press publishers—the same rightholder segment Corint represents.
- SACEM: France's leading CMO for musical works, jointly leading the French-German press publishers coalition with Corint Media. Highly comparable as a fellow EU-authorized CMO operating under the same CMO Directive framework.
- Reprobel: Belgian collecting society administering reproduction rights for authors, publishers, and press publishers. Comparable as a smaller neighboring EU CMO with analogous rights administration and royalty distribution functions.
- PRS for Music: UK-based CMO for songwriters, composers, and music publishers. Comparable to Corint Media as a national CMO administering collective rights and royalties under similar collective management principles.
- VG Wort: German collecting society for authors and publishers of written works. Directly comparable as a parallel German CMO administering reproduction and distribution rights for press publishers and authors, with similar statutory status.
- SIAE: Italian collecting society for authors and publishers across multiple creative categories including audiovisual works. Comparable as another EU CMO focused on rights administration and royalty distribution to creators and intermediaries.
- AGICOA: European CMO specifically administering neighboring rights of audio-visual producers. Closely comparable to Corint Media given the shared focus on neighboring rights and the role as specialized CMO for media intermediaries rather than individual creators.
Others
- CISAC: International confederation of authors' and composers' societies. Related to Corint Media as a global umbrella and standards body for CMOs, of which Corint is a member through its national society affiliations.
Regional players
- SACD: French collecting society for dramatic authors and composers. Comparable as another EU CMO under the same regulatory regime, with overlap in audiovisual rights administration.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Corint Media social profiles
Digital presenceCorint Media compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Corint Media financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Corint Media leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Corint Media funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Corint Media M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Corint Media
What does Corint Media do?
Corint Media is a European Collective Management Organization (CMO) that administers copyright and ancillary rights on behalf of private broadcasters and press publishers. The company bundles rights from its rightholder members, licenses those rights to digital platforms and other users under collectively negotiated tariffs, and distributes collected royalties (net of regulated administrative deductions) back to its members. It also engages in legal enforcement of rights and represents members in regulatory and tariff proceedings.
Is Corint Media a public or private company?
Corint Media is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Corint Media founded?
Corint Media was founded in 2001. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Corint Media based?
Corint Media is headquartered in Berlin, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Corint Media make money?
One revenue line is on record: licensing Royalties.
Who are Corint Media's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are GEMA, CEDRO, SACEM, Reprobel, PRS for Music, VG Wort, SIAE and AGICOA. CISAC is listed as an others. SACD is listed as a regional player.
Does Corint Media have an API?
No public API is recorded for Corint Media.
What industry is Corint Media in?
Corint Media's product category is Collective Rights Management / Media Rights Licensing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAIAKAC, Neighboring Rights Collection (Sound Recording Performance Rights), with a secondary code of MPAIALAK, Public Performance/Neighboring Rights for AV Uses (Cue Sheet & Reporting Services). Its NAICS code is 516 and its SIC code is 7829.