Syndicat National des Auteurs et Compositeurs

What Syndicat National des Auteurs et Compositeurs does

Syndicat National des Auteurs et Compositeurs (SNAC) is a French non-profit professional trade union (syndicat professionnel) founded in 1946 that represents authors and composers in the French cultural economy. The organization structures its membership across eight thematic groupements covering disciplines including lyric creation and song (Répertoire Musique et Paroles), music written for image and audiovisual (Musiques à l'image), feature film, television and digital scripted works (Œuvres dramatiques et audiovisuelles), podcasts, online video, dubbing, and other audiovisual formats.

Services to members include individual legal advice, collective-bargaining representation, social-protection guidance, professional training, defense of copyright and remuneration interests, and document-deposit services (dépôt légal). Operationally, SNAC runs with approximately 11 staff from a single office in central Paris (5 passage du Caire, 75010 Paris). Beyond in-house services, the union participates in the Commission Paritaire des Editeurs (CPE), a European Works Council (EWC), and international bodies including CISAC and ECSA, which coordinate cross-border royalty collection and policy positions with peer authors' organizations.

Funding is generated through three principal channels: membership dues, donations, and fees from its work-deposit service. Recent operational moves include the co-founding of the AMAEL mediation association with peer unions in November 2025, participation in the Filéas book-sales data platform announced in December 2024, a leadership renewal with Pierre Thilloy elected President on June 25, 2026 and Maïa Bensimon appointed Déléguée Générale, and an 80th anniversary commemoration scheduled for November 5, 2026.

Name

Syndicat National des Auteurs et Compositeurs

Legal name

Syndicat National des Auteurs et des Compositeurs

Website

https://snac.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1946

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

French non-profit trade union (founded 1946) representing authors and composers across eight thematic disciplines including song, music for image, and scripted audiovisual works. Provides legal advocacy, collective bargaining, training, and document-deposit services, funded by membership dues and deposit fees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Trade Union Services

NAICS

Music Publishers (512230)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Publishing Administration (Catalog Admin, Global Subpublishing) (MPAIABAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Copyright Registration & Catalog Management (Metadata, ISWC/ISRC Linking) (MPAIABAC), Performance Rights Administration (PRO Affiliation, Cue Sheet/Setlist Processing) (MPAIABAE), General Trade Publishing (Adult Fiction & Nonfiction) (MPAJAAAA)

Keywords

• Trade union services
• Copyright advocacy
• Contract review services
• Work registration deposits
• Professional representation

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Membership dues: SNAC is a non-profit professional union funded primarily through annual membership dues paid by authors and composers. No revenue figures are disclosed.
2. Donations: The union accepts voluntary donations from members and supporters via its website.
3. Work deposit service: SNAC offers a paid deposit service (physical or digital) for recording works with legal timestamp value. Fees are charged per deposit.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

SNAC is a French professional trade union (syndicat professionnel) founded in 1946 that unites and defends authors and composers across eight creative sectors (audiovisuel, BD, doublage/sous-titrage/audiodescription, lettres, musiques actuelles, musiques à l'image, musiques contemporaines, théâtre/danse/scenography). It sells annual memberships granting access to legal pre-litigation assistance, contract review, fiscal/social advice, work deposit registration with legal timestamp value, educational webinars, and a members journal.

Product overview

SNAC (Syndicat National des Auteurs et Compositeurs) is a professional union established in 1946 that provides membership services, legal assistance, and work registration (dépôts) to authors and composers across multiple creative sectors. The organization operates through specialized groupements for different creative fields (Audiovisuel, Bande dessinée, Lettres, Musiques, Théâtre) and offers educational resources via Snac'adémie, professional publications through the Bulletin des Auteurs, and hosts the FIMI forum series for music and image professionals. The union focuses on defending authors' rights, negotiating contracts, and providing pre-litigation and judicial legal support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Adhésion (Membership Services) Annual union membership for individual authors and composers providing access to legal assistance, advocacy, collective representation in government bodies and professional institutions, and use of the work deposit service.
• Dépôts (Work Registration) Physical or digital registration service for creative works that establishes authorship and provides legal proof of creation date with timestamp value usable in judicial proceedings.
• Service Juridique (Legal Services) Legal assistance including publishing/command contract review, pre-litigation support, and representation during judicial or administrative proceedings for members.
• Snac'académie (Educational Resources) Educational platform providing webinars and documentation on electronic invoicing for authors, copyright, AI, fiscal matters, social security, and professional development for members.
• Groupements (Professional Sections) Eight specialized professional sections covering Audiovisuel, Bande dessinée, Doublage/Sous-titrage/Audiodescription, Lettres, Musiques actuelles, Musiques à l'image, Musiques contemporaines, and Théâtre/Danse/Scénographie, each with dedicated events, resources, and representatives.
• Bulletin des Auteurs Members journal providing articles on copyright, contracts, industry news, interviews, and practical guidance distributed to the membership.
• FIMI (Forum Itinérant de la Musique à l'Image) Annual touring forum series co-organized with UNAC and U2C addressing music composition for visual media, including discussions on tariffs, contracts, industry practices, and professional development for image music composers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Co-signed the 2004 Charter of Scenographers with the Syndicat des Directeurs de Théâtres Privés, still referenced for author negotiations.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• FiléascoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 December 2024SNAC participates in Filéas, a mission-driven company providing book sales data transparency to authors and publishers. SNAC holds a seat in Filéas' board (CPE representative Séverine Weiss) and mission committee. The platform aggregates GfK sales data and real point-of-sale data from independent bookstores.
• SACEM (Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSNAC collaborates with SACEM on multiple fronts: electronic invoicing support for authors in collective management, tripartite agreements for video game music contracts, and joint advocacy for composer rights. SNAC's Musiques à l'image groupement is represented in SACEM's governance structures and contributes to working groups on professional tariffs.
• CPE (Conseil permanent des écrivains)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSNAC is a member organization of the CPE, a federation of writer and author defense bodies (ADAGP, COSE-CALCRE, EAT, La Maison de Poésie, PEN Club, SACEM, SAIF, SAJ, LASCAM, SELF, SGDL, UPP, and SNAC). CPE coordinates advocacy on copyright reform, publisher contracts, AI, and author rights at the national and European levels.
• AMAEL (Association de Médiation des Auteurs et des Éditeurs de Livres)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounded November 2025 with SNAC's participation alongside SGDL, SAJ, ADAGP, SAIF, LaScam, and the Syndicat national de l'édition. AMAEL provides mediation services for individual disputes between book authors and publishers without court proceedings. SNAC is represented in its governance.
• UNAC (Union Nationale des Auteurs et Compositeurs)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSNAC co-organizes the FIMI (Forum Itinérant de la Musique à l'Image) with UNAC and U2C. FIMI holds tables rondes at film and animation festivals across France (La Rochelle, Rennes, Marseille, Annecy, Aubagne) addressing composer careers, contracts, and professional standards.
• U2C (association des compositeurs de musiques à l'image)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSNAC co-organizes the FIMI (Forum Itinérant de la Musique à l'Image) with U2C and UNAC. U2C represents composers specifically in the image-music sector and collaborates with SNAC on advocacy at the CNM and with the CNC.
• EWC (European Writers' Council)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSNAC participates in the EWC (Fédération des associations européennes d'écrivains), whose General Assembly was held in Brussels in June 2026. EWC issues declarations on author protection, AI regulation, and copyright harmonization at the European level.
• CNM (Centre national de la Musique)coreOthersSNAC is party to a government concerted consultation on music sector financing (rapport Bargeton), advocating for a streaming revenue tax to fund CNM. SNAC's Musiques à l'image groupement is represented on CNM commissions and working groups on composer aid programs.
• CNC (Centre national du Cinéma et de l'image animée)coreOthersSNAC has signed agreements with the CNC on standard contract clauses (clauses types) that condition public financing for audiovisual and cinema projects on compliance with fair editing practices. SNAC advocates for these conditions to extend to music at image sector financing.
• ADAGP (Société des auteurs dans les arts graphiques et plastiques)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerADAGP partnered with SGDL and SNAC to conduct an observatory study on the exploitation of rights ceded to publishers by authors and illustrators of books. Results were presented at Festival du Livre de Paris 2026.
• Adami (Société Civile pour l'Administration des Droits des Artistes et Musiciens Interprètes)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSNAC and UCMF have held FIMI sessions at Adami's Paris offices, where Adami presents its collective management functions, rights distributions, and services for music-sector performers and composers.
• AFDA (fonds pour la formation continue des artistes-auteurs)minorOthersSNAC represents authors and composers in AFDA's professional commission on music and choreography training, which allocates approximately €1 million annually for vocational training. SNAC members are eligible for AFDA-funded professional development.
• Cristal PublishingminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCristal Publishing co-sponsors the FIMI (Forum Itinérant de la Musique à l'Image) alongside SNAC, UCMF, and UNAC, contributing to the organization of tables rondes on music industry topics at the Festival de la Fiction TV in La Rochelle.
• Festival du Livre de ParisminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSNAC organizes interventions and roundtables at the Festival du Livre de Paris, presenting research on book rights exploitation, BD tools, and AI topics to the professional book community and general public.
• Festival National du Film d'Animation de RennesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSNAC's Musiques à l'image groupement organizes FIMI roundtables at the Festival National du Film d'Animation in Rennes, addressing animation music careers, working conditions, and compensation.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• SACEM (Société des Auteurs, Compositeurs et Éditeurs de Musique): France's main music collective management organization. SNAC's Musiques à l'image groupement is represented in SACEM governance and they co-develop electronic invoicing support, making SACEM a partner-ecosystem peer for composer rights.
• ECSA (European Composer and Songwriter Alliance): European federation for composer and songwriter associations. SNAC participates in ECSA-adjacent EU advocacy, making ECSA a confederation-level peer in representing composers' interests at EU institutions.

Direct peers

• SCAM (Société Civile des Auteurs Multimédia): French collective-management and advocacy society for audiovisual and multimedia authors. SNAC and SCAM share audiovisual/dubbing author constituencies and CPE affiliation, working on parallel rights-defense agendas.
• ADAGP (Société des Auteurs dans les Arts Graphiques et Plastiques): French collective management society for visual creators. SNAC and ADAGP jointly produced the 2026 book-rights exploitation observatory and are both CPE/AMAEL partners, representing shared author populations.
• UNAC (Union Nationale des Auteurs et Compositeurs): French sister union also defending authors and composers. SNAC and UNAC co-organize FIMI roundtables, giving them overlapping scope and direct member-overlap in the musique à l'image segment.
• SGDL (Société des Gens de Lettres): Historic French authors' society representing writers. SNAC and SGDL are both CPE members, co-publish research (e.g., rights observatory with ADAGP) and serve overlapping literary author members in France.
• SAIF (Société des Auteurs des Arts Visuels et de l'Image Fixe): French society for visual arts authors and photographers. SAIF co-founded AMAEL with SNAC in November 2025, making them close peers in both scope (rights defense) and specific initiatives (publishing mediation).
• SAA (Society of Audiovisual Authors, EU): European umbrella representing audiovisual authors. SNAC engages EWC/CISAC structures that overlap with SAA's mandate, making SAA a transnational peer in audiovisual author rights defense.

Regional players

• ALCS (Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society, UK): UK authors' rights collecting society. ALCS is a structural analog in a different geography, with a comparable mix of advocacy, royalty collection and member services for writers.
• GEMA (Germany): German music rights collecting society. GEMA is the largest EU functional analog for music creators, sharing SACEM-like functions that intersect with SNAC's music groupements from a national/regional perspective.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xinstagram.com/snac_auteurs_compositeurs
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCTHx0CLSp0HqeiAwqTWrikQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/SNAC.fr
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/syndicat-national-des-auteurs-et-compositeurs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Syndicat National des Auteurs et Compositeurs