‘Tidy up the ship’: Calls for new inquiry into Buma

A coalition of musicians, songwriters, lawyers and accountants have called for further investigation into the accounts of embattled Dutch performance rights organisation (PRO) Buma/Stemra, in order to “heal the wounds” left by years of alleged financial mismanagement.

Buma/Stemra CEO Wim van Limpt in August announced a slate of reforms he said would transform the PRO into a more “market-oriented, viable and transparent organisation” after law firm NautaDutilh discovered €6m of irregularities in its 2015–16 books.

That, however, doesn’t go far enough, says KleanMusiK, a collective that assists songwriters in disputes with their publishers or PROs. Under the banner ‘Schoon schip maken’ – a Dutch idiom meaning to put one’s house in order (literally “tidy up the ship”) – the organisation has written a petition it intends to present to the Buma/Stemra board at the latter’s general meeting on 30 October, outlining nine motions it says, if adopted, would go some way towards regaining public trust in the PRO.

The motions include Buma sharing reports and financial data with members, appointing an external auditor to look into its accounts, answering members’ questions on the society’s financial status and providing data on royalty pay-outs.

More than 80 people have already signed the petition.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Read More Like This

News|22 Mar 2024

Canadian live industry calls for urgent support

The CLMA warns that many small music venues, festivals and events in the country are at risk of disappearing forever

News|26 Mar 2024

Artists and managers back calls for UK ticket levy

Division across the live music sector marked today’s select committee inquiry, while calls for a mandatory ticket levy grow

News|17 Nov 2023

Judge rejects lawsuit against TicketSwap

Amsterdam-based promoter Free Your Mind went to court in its bid to ban the platform from reselling tickets for its events

News|15 Dec 2023

ESNS unveils conference programme, EFA nominees

Former ESNS team member and IFF co-founder Ruud Berends will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the EFAs

News|26 Jan 2024

Awakenings announces ‘intimate’ new festival

The Dutch techno brand has unveiled Awakenings Upclose, adding to a raft of new festivals announced for 2024