Sociedad General de Autores y Editores
_07.jpg) SGAE's headquarters are based in the Palacio Longoria building, in Madrid. |
Spanish Society of Authors and Publishers (Sociedad General de Autores y Editores, SGAE) is the main collecting society for songwriters, composers and music publishers in Spain. It is similar to AGADU, ASCAP, GEMA, SADAIC, and SAYCO. The philologist, poet, composer, scriptwriter, movie and television director and producer Antón Reixa (1957) is the Chairman of the Board of Directors since May 2012. SGAE was founded in 1889 as Society of Authors of Spain. In 1995, its name changed to Society of Authors and Publishers, seeking to accommodate cultural editors.
SGAE comprises more than 100,000 music, audiovisual and dramatic creators. Created in 1899, its main mission is the protection of its members' rights for the use of their works throughout the world. These uses include mechanical reproduction, public performance, synchronization and many other forms of musical distribution. This process culminates in the collection and subsequent royalty distribution to its members.
With over 430 employees, more than 200 representatives in Spain, plus offices in the USA, Brazil, Mexico, Cuba and Argentina, SGAE protects the rights of more than two million members from all over the world. It does so through reciprocal representation agreements entered into with 150 foreign societies which, in turn, administer and protect its members rights in their respective territories.
SGAE is not only an organism for the management of rights. Through its Fundación Autor, or in collaboration with cultural institutions, SGAE enhances its compromise to promote the continuous formation of its members and the diffusion of their works around the world, aiding for their well-being, including the start-up of an assistance program with multiple features and social benefits.
One of the main activities of the SGAE is the collection of a blank media tax called “canon”. This tax is aimed to compensate authors for private copies of their work and was incorporated into Spanish law by Law 22/1987 of November 11, Intellectual Property. This law recognized the right of users to make private copies. The fee was intended to levy countervailing audio and video devices such as tapes, stereos or televisions. Its latest version, called “digital canon”, placed the SGAE in the middle of a controversy when trying to extrapolate this charge to digital devices such as CD, DVD, external hard drives and cell phones capable of playing music. The amount payable ranges from 0.17 euros on the price of a CD-R up to 227 euros to be paid to purchase a copier.
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