MSG

What MSG does

MSG (Musiki Eseri Sahipleri Grubu Meslek Birliği) is a Turkish professional association founded in 1999 that operates as a collective management organization (CMO) for music copyright. It is established under Turkish Law No. 5846 (FSEK) and supervised by the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism, headquartered in Istanbul's Şişli district. MSG administers the mechanical and performance rights of 11,000+ member creators — composers, lyricists, music publishers, and arrangers — covering over 1 million musical works in its catalog.

The organization's core activity is issuing music usage licenses to music users (broadcasters, digital platforms, live venues, and businesses), collecting licensing fees under tariffs negotiated with user associations and approved by the Ministry, and distributing those royalties back to rights holders. Its technology stack centers on a proprietary rights database, a joint MSG-MESAM shared database project for music licensing interoperability, and an online member portal (member.msg.org.tr) for work notifications and royalty tracking. Services include mechanical and performance (temsili) licensing, distribution, work search, and member search functions.

MSG generates revenue primarily through licensing royalties (mechanical and performance) collected from music users, with pricing set via Ministry-approved tariff schedules, including the 2024 joint MSG-MESAM General Licensing Tariff. The organization extends its reach internationally via CISAC membership and bilateral reciprocal representation agreements covering 100+ countries; a notable recent agreement with GEMA (Germany) runs 2025–2029. MSG is advancing consolidation with peer society MESAM toward an Authors Federation (pending Ministry approval) and has 122 employees supporting operations. No external funding rounds or parent ownership are disclosed.

Name

MSG

Legal name

Musiki Eseri Sahipleri Grubu Meslek Birliği

Website

https://msg.org.tr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

MSG is a Turkish music copyright collective management organization (CMO), founded in 1999 and supervised by the Ministry of Culture, that licenses mechanical and performance rights for 11,000+ member creators covering 1M+ works and distributes collected royalties domestically and across 100+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Music Rights Management / Copyright Collective Administration

NAICS

Music Publishers (512230), Music Publishers (51223)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYMPAIAKAA

Performing Rights Organizations (PROs) & Public Performance Licensing

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Music & Audio (Recording, Publishing, Streaming)/Music Rights & Royalty Services (PROs, Collection, Royalty Accounting)

SECONDARYMPAIAKAB

Mechanical Rights Collection & Licensing (MROs/CMOs)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Music & Audio (Recording, Publishing, Streaming)/Music Rights & Royalty Services (PROs, Collection, Royalty Accounting)

SECONDARYMPAIABAE

Performance Rights Administration (PRO Affiliation, Cue Sheet/Setlist Processing)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Music & Audio (Recording, Publishing, Streaming)/Music Publishing (Songwriting, Rights Administration, Licensing)

SECONDARYMPAIABAD

Mechanical Licensing (MLC/Local Equivalents, D2C/Streaming Mechanical)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Music & Audio (Recording, Publishing, Streaming)/Music Publishing (Songwriting, Rights Administration, Licensing)

Keywords

• Music copyright licensing
• Royalty collection services
• Collective rights management
• Music rights administration
• Copyright collective society

Headquarters

HQ city

Istanbul

HQ country

Türkiye

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Copyright Licensing Royalties: MSG collects royalties from music users (businesses, broadcasters, digital platforms, live venues) who license musical works. Fees are collected based on licensing agreements and distributed to member rights holders. The organization collects both mechanical and performance licensing fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

MSG is a Turkish collective management organization that issues mechanical and performance licenses for music usage to businesses, broadcasters, digital platforms, and live venues; collects the resulting royalties; and distributes them to its member music creators (composers, lyricists, publishers, arrangers). It manages rights for over 11,000 members covering more than 1 million musical works and provides international copyright protection in 100+ countries through reciprocal agreements with foreign societies.

Product overview

MSG (Musiki Eseri Sahipleri Grubu Meslek Birliği), Türkiye'de faaliyet gösteren bir meslek birliği olarak eser sahiplerinin (besteci, söz yazarı, yayımcı, aranjör) telif haklarını yönetir. Temel hizmetleri arasında mekanik ve temsili lisanslama, telif dağıtımı ve uluslararası ilişkiler yer alır. MSG, 11.000'i aşkın üye ve 1 milyonu aşkın eseri yönetmekte olup, üyelik portalı ve eser/üye arama sistemleri gibi dijital hizmetler sunmaktadır.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• GEMA (Germany)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 January 20255-year reciprocal representation agreement signed in January 2025. GEMA's repertoire of millions of works is now protected in Turkey by MSG, and MSG's repertoire is protected in Germany by GEMA. The agreement runs until January 2030.
• MESAM (Turkey)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 June 2023Federation formation in progress between MSG and MESAM for unified representation of music copyright holders. Collaboration includes joint licensing tariff, shared database project, and coordinated industry advocacy. CISAC 2023 report highlighted their effective licensing collaboration.
• CISAC (International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers)coreOthersGlobal international confederation of copyright societies. MSG participates in CISAC General Assemblies and technical meetings. CISAC recognized MSG-MESAM collaboration in 2023 activity report.
• BMI (USA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAmerican copyright society visited by MSG to strengthen international representation of Turkish music in the US market.
• Mundi KitapminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPublishing partnership for music-related books including 'Bedava Müzik' (Free Music), 'Müzik Nasıl İşler' (How Music Works), and 'Müzikonomi' (Musiconomics).
• Medicana Hastaneler GrubuminorOthersHealthcare partnership providing MSG members with preferential rates at Medicana hospital chain.
• TOBB (Türkiye Odalar ve Borsalar Birliği) Kreatif Endüstriler MeclisiminorOthersMSG participates in TOBB Creative Industries Council for industry representation and policy advocacy.
• SUISA (Switzerland)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss copyright society with which MSG reached agreement on retransmission fees.
• AKM (Austria)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAustrian copyright society with which MSG reached agreement on retransmission fees.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• SACEM: France's primary music rights CMO covering authors, composers, and publishers. Operates the same PRO/CMO model with reciprocal international agreements, directly comparable as a mid-to-large European collective management organization.
• BMI: The second major US PRO, performing collective rights management and royalty distribution for public performance of music. MSG leadership visited BMI to strengthen Turkish repertoire representation in the US, indicating operational parity at a smaller scale.
• GEMA: Germany's PRO and one of the largest music rights CMOs in Europe. Signed a 5-year reciprocal representation agreement with MSG in January 2025. Operates the same core PRO/CMO business model at significantly larger scale, making it a relevant structural comparable.
• ASCAP: The largest PRO in the United States, performing the same collective licensing, royalty collection, and distribution functions as MSG but at a vastly larger scale. ASCAP serves as a global benchmark for PRO operating models.
• PRS for Music: UK-based PRO that collects and distributes royalties on behalf of songwriters, composers, and publishers. Performs identical mechanical and performance licensing functions to MSG with much greater scale.

Regional players

• JASRAC: Japan's PRO performing collective licensing and royalty distribution for music rights holders. Functions as a CMO in a non-overlapping geography but with an identical operating model, useful for international benchmark comparison.
• SIAE: Italy's largest collecting society for authors, composers, and publishers, operating a similar collective rights management model across music, drama, and literary works. Comparable as a European CMO peer with similar reciprocal international representation structure.

Direct peers

• SUISA: Switzerland's PRO for authors and publishers of music. MSG has a bilateral agreement with SUISA on retransmission fees, making it a directly connected peer in the European reciprocal representation network.
• MESAM: Turkey's other major music rights collective management organization for composers, lyricists, and publishers. MSG and MESAM are actively forming a federation with joint licensing tariffs and shared database, making them the most directly comparable peer in the same regulatory and market environment.
• AKM: Austria's PRO for musical works. MSG has a bilateral agreement with AKM on retransmission fees. Operates an identical CMO/PRO business model serving the Austrian market, making it a tight comparable in structure.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/msg_online
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@msgonlinee
• Facebookfacebook.com/msgofficial
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/msg
• Instagraminstagram.com/msg_online

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 MSG