Swissperform

What Swissperform does

SWISSPERFORM is the sole Swiss collective management organization (Verwertungsgesellschaft) dedicated exclusively to neighbouring rights (Leistungsschutzrechte) for performing artists and producers in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein. Founded in 1993 and headquartered at Kasernenstrasse 23 in Zurich, the organization serves five rights-holder constituencies — audio performers (musicians, singers, conductors), audiovisual performers (actors, dancers, voice-over artists), phonogram producers (record labels), audiovisual producers (film/TV producers), and broadcasters — with a 2020 membership of 19,777. Its core activity is negotiating tariff-based royalty agreements with rights users (broadcasters, streaming platforms, cable operators, etc.) and their associations under the Swiss Copyright Act (LDA), collecting the resulting revenues, and distributing them to members net of an 8.68% administration cost ratio (2020).

The organization's technology stack comprises a Performers and Recordings Database tracking audio and audiovisual recordings, the Apollon distribution system launched in 2025 as a major IT modernization (described internally as a 'quantum leap' replacing legacy allocation infrastructure), and the myswissperform member portal launched in 2025 — a password-protected, two-factor-authenticated digital gateway through which members access statements, register performances, and exchange documents electronically. Complementary offerings include Discography and Filmography registration forms, an annual Cultural and Social Fund (Kultur- und Sozialfonds) of approximately CHF 5.7M, the annually awarded PRIX SWISSPERFORM acting prize at the Solothurn Film Days, and the 'respect ©opyright!' educational school campaign. Members also benefit from international reciprocal agreements with sister societies including PPL (UK), NUOVOIMAIE (Italy), and Peermusic/Global Master Rights, coordinated through SCAPR, enabling cross-border royalty collection that individual rights holders could not achieve unilaterally.

Commercially, SWISSPERFORM generates revenue through tariff-based licensing on a usage-based, annually billed model negotiated with user groups and their associations — most notably the new common tariff TC 14 for video-on-demand platforms activated in January 2022. In FY2020, gross tariff revenues reached CHF 59,174,858.92. The organization is structured as a private Swiss association (Verein) under state supervision, with no external parent, no public listing, and no venture capital or private equity involvement; governance is exercised through elected delegates from the five rights-holder groups, with a comprehensive committee reform ('Variante 5plus') adopted in June 2024 and effective January 1, 2025, and a new Managing Director, Olivier Gremaud, appointed effective September 1, 2025.

Name

Swissperform

Legal name

SWISSPERFORM

Website

https://swissperform.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SWISSPERFORM is the Swiss collective management organization for neighbouring rights, collecting and distributing tariff-based royalties to 19,777 performing artists, producers, and broadcasters across Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Collective Rights Management

NAICS

Sound Recording Industries (5122), Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries (512), Motion Picture and Video Distribution (512120)

SIC

Services-Allied To Motion Picture Production (7819), Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)

akta.pro primary industry

Music Rights Administration & Royalty Processing (Admin, Accounting, Statements) (MPAIAKAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Neighboring Rights (Master Performance Rights) Administration (MPAIAAAH), Performance Rights Administration (PRO Affiliation, Cue Sheet/Setlist Processing) (MPAIABAE), Public Performance/Neighboring Rights for AV Uses (Cue Sheet & Reporting Services) (MPAIALAK), Global Rights Representation & Sub-Publishing/Reciprocal Collection Services (MPAIAKAI), Performing Rights Organizations (PROs) & Public Performance Licensing (MPAIAKAA)

Keywords

• Neighboring rights management
• Collective rights management
• Royalty distribution services
• Music rights licensing
• Performer rights administration

Headquarters

HQ city

Zürich

HQ country

Switzerland

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. Tariff-based Licensing (Neighbouring Rights Royalties): SWISSPERFORM collects neighbouring rights royalties from broadcasters, streaming platforms, cable operators, and other users of recorded performances. Fees are negotiated as tariffs with user groups and their associations. Revenue is distributed to members (performers and producers) after deducting administration costs.
2. Video on Demand Tariff (TC 14): Since January 2022, a new common tariff (TC 14) obligates streaming platforms (Netflix, Playsuisse, etc.) to pay royalties for audiovisual works. SWISSPERFORM collects and distributes these royalties to performers and producers involved in Swiss productions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Swissperform administers the neighboring rights (Leistungsschutzrechte) of performers and phonogram/video producers in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It grants licenses for the use of protected music and audiovisual performances to commercial users such as broadcasters, streaming platforms and public venues, and it collects tariffs and redistributes the resulting royalties to its registered rights-holder members.

Product overview

SWISSPERFORM is a collective management organization for neighboring rights ( Leistungsschutzrechte) operating in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It manages the rights of two artist groups — audiovisual performers (actors, dancers, speakers, etc.) and phonogram performers (musicians, conductors, singers) — as well as phonogram producers and audiovisual producers. The organization negotiates tariffs with rights users, collects royalties, and distributes them to rights holders. Its product portfolio centers on the myswissperform member portal (the primary digital gateway for members to access statements, submit registration data, and communicate electronically with SWISSPERFORM) and the Apollon distribution system (the modernized backend for allocation and royalty payments). Members use Discography and Filmography forms (online and Excel-based) to register their performances and recordings. Complementary services include Cultural and Social Funds (approximately CHF 5.7M annually in project support), the respect ©opyright! school awareness campaign, and a Music Business section.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Neighboring rights licensing (collective license to commercial users)
• Royalty collection and distribution to rights-holder members
• myswissperform member portal
• Apollon distribution system

Quantifiable outcome

• CHF 59.2 million in gross tariff revenues collected and distributed in 2020, with a net administration cost ratio of only 8.68%
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and regulatory.

• Peermusic / Global Master RightscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 March 2023SWISSPERFORM engaged Peermusic (through Global Master Rights) as the international claiming agency for phonogram producers, to pursue royalty claims for Swiss producers from foreign usages of their sound recordings.
• PPL (Phonographic Performance Limited, United Kingdom)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 March 2023PPL is the UK collective management society for phonogram producers. SWISSPERFORM signed its first reciprocal agreement in the phonogram producers sector with PPL in early 2023, enabling the mutual exchange of royalties for uses in each other's territories, effective retroactively from the 2022 usage year.
• NUOVOIMAIE (Italy)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 January 2023NUOVOIMAIE is the Italian collective management society for audiovisual performers. A new reciprocal agreement was concluded immediately before the 2022 holiday season, enabling mutual exchange of royalties for audiovisual performances between Switzerland and Italy.
• SCAPR (Swiss Council for Artists' Rights – Global Umbrella Organization)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSCAPR is the worldwide umbrella organization of collective management societies managing performers' rights. SWISSPERFORM is a member and was represented at the 50th SCAPR General Assembly in Ljubljana in May 2025. SCAPR coordinates international standards including the VRDB (Voice Repository Database) initiative, which SWISSPERFORM hosted a workshop for in March 2023.
• SIS – Schweizerische Interpretenstiftung (Swiss Performers Foundation)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSIS is a Swiss foundation supporting performing artists. SWISSPERFORM collaborates closely with SIS, including co-funding the SWP-Nothilfefonds (COVID-19 emergency fund) for performers impacted by the pandemic, and co-running the 'Zweites Standbein' (second income stream) continuing education programme and the 'Retour sur scène' (back on stage) initiative to support artists post-pandemic.
• IGE – Eidgenössisches Institut für Geistiges Eigentum (Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property)regulatoryOthersIGE is the Swiss federal authority for patents, trademarks, geographical indications, design protection, and copyright. SWISSPERFORM collaborates with IGE on policy matters including the CLTR (Creative Licensing, Technology and Rights) conference series addressing AI and platform economics, and co-sponsored the CLTR 2024 event at Congress Center Basel.
• Suissimage (Swiss Cooperative Society for Audiovisual Rights)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSuissimage is the Swiss collective management society for audiovisual authors' rights. SWISSPERFORM works with Suissimage for the distribution of audiovisual neighbouring rights royalties, with distribution calculations based on Suissimage's broadcast data. Audiovisual producers declare their works to Suissimage for SWISSPERFORM royalty purposes.
• IRF – Interessenverbund Radio und Fernsehen (Radio and Television Interest Group)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorIRF is the association of national and foreign radio and television broadcasters in Switzerland. SWISSPERFORM has a management contract with IRF, under which IRF handles the assertion, collection, and distribution of rights and royalties on behalf of its member broadcasters, while members retain their statutory membership rights with SWISSPERFORM.
• SUISA, SSA, ProLitteriscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOther Swiss collective management societies covering authors' rights (SUISA for music composers/writers, SSA for dramatic authors, ProLitteris for visual arts and literature). SWISSPERFORM works alongside these societies for the video-on-demand tariff TC 14, where authors' royalties are managed by Suissimage, SSA, and ProLitteris respectively, while SWISSPERFORM handles the performers' share.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Adami: French collective management society for performing artists in audiovisual and recorded music. Functionally analogous to SWISSPERFORM for neighbouring rights collection and distribution across performer and producer categories in France.
• PlayRight: Belgian collective management society for performers' neighbouring rights. Comparable to SWISSPERFORM as a Benelux CMO with both audio and audiovisual performer mandates, operating under a similar EU-aligned copyright framework.
• GVL (Gesellschaft zur Verwertung von Leistungsschutzrechten): German collective management organization for neighbouring rights, covering both performers and producers. The largest DACH analogue to SWISSPERFORM and the natural regional comparable for scale, scope, and tariff-based licensing model.
• LSG (Leistungsschutzrechte Vergütungsgesellschaft): Austrian collective management organization for neighbouring rights. The closest geographic and German-language-speaking peer to SWISSPERFORM, comparable in mandate, member base structure, and tariff negotiation process.
• Spedidam: French collective management society dedicated to performers' neighbouring rights (particularly for music and audiovisual). Comparable to SWISSPERFORM in mandate scope (performers only) and regulatory oversight by French authorities.
• NUOVOIMAIE: Italian collective management society for audiovisual performers. Concluded a reciprocal agreement with SWISSPERFORM for audiovisual neighbouring rights exchange between Switzerland and Italy; operates the same CMU-style mandate structure for performers in its home market.
• PPL (Phonographic Performance Limited): UK-based collective management society for phonogram producers and performers. Direct counterpart to SWISSPERFORM for phonogram neighbouring rights; SWISSPERFORM signed its first reciprocal phonogram-producers agreement with PPL in 2023, making it the most directly comparable peer in structure and function.
• Sena: Dutch neighbouring rights society for performers and producers in recorded music. Direct structural analogue to SWISSPERFORM with a tariff-based licensing model and reciprocal agreements across Europe.

Others

• Suissimage: Swiss cooperative for audiovisual authors' rights (directors, screenwriters). Partner rather than competitor; SWISSPERFORM works with Suissimage for distribution of audiovisual neighbouring rights, with Suissimage providing broadcast data used for SWISSPERFORM's royalty calculations.

Broad incumbents

• SCAPR (Societies' Council for the Collective Management of Performers' Rights): Global umbrella organization of collective management societies managing performers' rights, of which SWISSPERFORM is a member. Not a CMO itself but the coordinating body for VRDB and reciprocal exchange standards across all performer CMOs.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@swissperform_ch
• Facebookfacebook.com/SWISSPERFORM
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/swissperform-ch
• Instagraminstagram.com/swissperform

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Swissperform