Swedish live music trade body Svensk Live has announced it has reached a new agreement with national performance rights organisation Stim.

The deal involves a price model with a fixed percentage of the ticket price, and will see event organisers pay music creators a share of 4% of revenue from tickets priced up to SEK 650 (€56), and 3% for tickets priced SEK 651 and over.

The agreement, which applies to one-day tickets, will come into force in January 2025, with an entry-level model in place for 2024. The cut-off point of SEK 650 will then be index-regulated every year according to the CPI.

“We have arrived at a price model that is simple, clear and long-term sustainable,” says Svensk Live operations manager Joppe Pihlgren. “This has taken time and effort, so it’s nice to be at the finish line.”

“This is a good settlement for Swedish songwriters and composers, and we are happy to have it in place”

Not-for-profit organisation Stim represents 100,000 music creators and publishers.

“This is a good settlement for Swedish songwriters and composers, and we are happy to have it in place,” says Stim CEO Casper Bjørner. “The new model is also beneficial for smaller concert organisers who receive a lower fee than before. They face big challenges and have been having a tough time for a long time.”

In a further statement, Svensk Live adds: “We have managed to resist increases for a very long time, which has benefited the members of Svensk Live. Now, the time was ripe for a new agreement that lowers the cost of the cheapest tickets, but increases the cost of more expensive tickets.”

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Australian collection society APRA is to delay the implementation of its new royalty rate.

The proposed change to the distribution practice was announced in May, whereby songs performed by a support act at major concerts in Australia and New Zealand will be allocated a fixed 20% of APRA royalties from the concert, compared to the headliner’s 80%.

The plans were originally due to be brought into play in November, but have now been pushed back to next June as they had not taken into account “negotiations on guaranteed fees for support acts that were underway prior to the announcement”.

Currently, the split is roughly 66/33 in favour of the headliner, although that can shift in certain situations such as when there are multiple support acts. While the move will bring the territory into alignment with other countries and collecting societies, one artist manager told The Music Network that the changes would mean a “massive difference” in the performance royalties generated by Aussie support acts.

An amendment was approved for a new start date for the changes to the distribution practice for major concerts to be effective for all setlists provided after 1 June 2024

TMN understands that one of the sticking points was Australian pop star’s Tones and I’s upcoming support slot for Pink, produced by Live Nation. Since the activation date for the new split has now been deferred, APRA will apply equal weighting to the tour.

“Following the announcement, discussions continued with members and managers to further understand the implications of the proposed changes,” says an APRA statement. “We’ve taken this feedback on board and acknowledge the proposed November 2023 rollout did not take into consideration negotiations on guaranteed fees for support acts that were underway prior to the announcement.

“At the August APRA board meeting, an amendment was approved for a new start date for the changes to the distribution practice for major concerts to be effective for all setlists provided after 1 June 2024.”

The proposed changes do not apply to music festivals licensed by APRA.

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