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Company and association events

Apply for a licence

Apply here for a licence to use music at company and association events

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Office Christmas parties, trade association events, or general meetings – no matter the event, SUISA licenses the use of music. In these cases, Common Tariff Hb applies.

Company or an association events do not qualify as private use.  If music is involved, the event must be reported to SUISA and licence fees are due.

Music use is only considered private when it takes place within a small circle of people with close ties to each other, like relatives and close friends. This is not the case with corporate events. That is why, for copyright purposes, these events do not qualify as private use – a licence (permission) to use music must therefore be obtained from SUISA.

If you play commercially available sound recordings (CDs, MP3s, Streaming, etc.), we charge you a fee on behalf of SWISSPERFORM for the neighbouring rights of the performing artists and producers.

Licences

The licence fee is calculated on the basis of the Common Tariff Hb. The licence fees are generally a percentage of ticket revenues. For small events (admission price under CHF 17 and location capacity of up to 400 persons), a flat rate applies.

If no revenues are generated or the revenues do not cover costs, the fee is calculated on the costs of the music use (artists fees, the cost of travel and accommodation for the musicians, rental cost for instruments, PA system and the venue). For more details, please consult the relevant fact sheet and the Tariff. 


Reductions for contract customers

If you conclude a contract with SUISA for your events, you can claim reductions of up to 15% provided you comply with the contractual terms and conditions.

How to proceed:

Send us the duly completed questionnaire together with your list of works. We will then issue the licence and invoice. Once your payment is received, we distribute the remuneration to the beneficiary composers, lyricists, and publishers.

FAQ: Frequently asked questions

  • When SUISA receives the programme list, it will as a rule distribute the money to the authors of the listed works. If SUISA does not request the programme to avoid excessive costs, it will distribute royalties on a «lump sum» basis.  Entertainment events with recorded music are always settled based on a statistical sampling method (hit boxes). 

  • Copyright law applies a very restrictive definition of the term "private". Under the Copyright Act, private events are birthdays, weddings and similar parties which take place in a close circle of family and friends. Events organised by clubs or associations do not qualify as private events and must  therefore pay licence fees for the use of music.

  • As a rule, the organisers of an event with music are responsible for paying the copyright remuneration. If you organise an event, then you are responsible for the payment.

The following might also be of interest to you:

  • Corporate events with music: what and how much is payable in licence fees?

    Christmas dinners, team events and New Years’ cocktail parties – winter is the peak season for corporate events. If music is involved, the event must be reported to SUISA and licence fees are due.

    Read the blog article