Films on audiovisual carriers
Apply for a licence
Licence to reproduce protected music on audiovisual carriers
Are you planning on making available a film with music on DVD, BluRay, or on other audiovisual carriers? You can obtain the licence to reproduce protected music on audiovisual carriers from SUISA.
Documentary and feature films
Tariff VI applies to the recording of music on audiovisual carriers intended for the public, i.e. audiovisual recordings designed to be sold, given away for free, or used for advertising purposes. This tariff applies to audiovisual recordings which do not mainly consist of music (e.g. documentary films and feature films, etc.).
Who is responsible for declaring the audiovisual carrier?
The producer or the principal is responsible for declaring the audiovisual carrier. The principal is the person or company that finances the production of the audiovisual carrier and has the right of disposal over it.
Tariff VI distinguishes between single transactions and standard productions customers:
Documents
Häufig gestellte Fragen und Antworten
-
Yes. You can only record protected music on audiovisual carriers if the author or rightholder (generally the publisher) has permitted you to do so. Without such permission (known as a synchronisation licence), audiovisual carriers may not be reproduced, distributed or projected in public.
SUISA cannot as a rule grant such licences. You must have a synchronisation licence for
- setting films to music or reproducing films with music for purposes other than private use
- projecting films with music outside a close circle of friends and family.
NB: You must also obtain permission for projections at club or association events, for training purposes, for hotel-video services. The permission must be obtained in advance.
-
Productions must always be registered before the audiovisual recording is produced.
-
SUISA represents the world film music repertoire in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Abroad, authorisation must be obtained from the copyright collecting society of the country where you want to produce and/or show the audiovisual recording.
-
If you combine music with other works (pictures, dialogues etc.) on the audiovisual recording, or make the audiovisual recording for alien purposes (advertising, sales promotions or public relations), you may be going against the author’s principles or intentions. In principle, to protect the author's moral rights, SUISA only issues a licence to record music with the author's consent (e.g. evidenced by the "sync" licence).