Part 1 of the series examined the collection of song royalties in Romania within the “ambiental” category (background music in public spaces). Today, we’ll explore how revenue flows from other categories, including TV, cable, live events, and radio.

_{Listen to the podcast version of the series at the bottom of this page.}

ROYALTIES FROm TV (21.1%)

Television is the second-largest source of royalty income for Romanian composers, with approximately 7.25 million USD deposited into UCMR-ADA accounts last year.

UCMR-ADA, Romania’s Collective Management Organization (CMO), identified 74 TV stations and successfully collected royalties from 54 of them in 2023.

20 stations are sued for missing or ignoring payments.

Of the 54 stations that paid royalties, 48 provided valuable information, such as playlists, to assist UCMR-ADA in ensuring fair distribution of the funds.

Of the 7.52 million USD collected in 2023, 3.19 million USD (about 42%) were distributed to a total of 2,904 members (approximately 25% of total membership).

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Royalties from cable (13%)

Cable TV operators also pay royalties to song composers. The methodology focuses on monthly reports about the radio and TV stations included in the cable package, rather than on specific playlists.

OTHER CATEGORIES

Radio generates less than 8% of revenue, making it a minor player in terms of profitability. Romanian music struggles for airtime due to competition with imported tracks. A potential strategy could involve concentrating on the seven radio stations that contribute to the Ambient category.

Live music events (concerts, festivals) account for about 9.5% of the revenue collected by UCMR-ADA in 2023. 700 promoters paid royalties last year, and 538 of them sent playlists so the distribution is made easier for the CMO. The category is improving (was about 6.8% in 2022) and rewarded a solid 2,357 number of members.

In 2023, Internet-related categories represent around 10.5% of royalties. This is likely due to the limited share of the online market held by Romanian composers affiliated with UCMR-ADA.

Finally, a consistent revenue slice for the Romanian CMO is…interest on bank deposits. Like many other CMO’s and PRO’s, UCMR-ADA struggles to deal with distributing amounts unaccountable by standard methods. It also keeps bank deposits for members with missing information on file, or for deceased members with unknown survivors.

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CONCLUSION: Ambiental + Tv + Cable = 61.5% of total revenue

If the above figures are to inform a strategy for Romanian composers, several key lessons emerge:

• To capitalize on the Ambiental category, which represents the largest share of royalties, composers should prioritize getting their music played by the seven radio stations and four TV stations that form the basis for distribution calculations.
• Music distributed through television remains significant; song creators benefit from artists who invest in music videos or make appearances on TV shows.

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