New Tariffs in 2025

The Federal Arbitration Commission for the Exploitation of Copyrights and Related Rights (FACO) handed down two rulings, on 23 January and 15 October respectively, introducing two new tariffs effective on 1 January 2025. The tariffs in question are Common Tariff K (CT K 2025 to 2029) and Common Tariff 4i (CT 4i 2025 to 2026).

Common Tariff K

CT K regulates music in concerts and concert-like performances, shows, ballet and theatre. Since agreement could not be reached in the extensive negotiations, the collective management organisations submitted the disputed tariff to the FACO for approval (see blog article of 20.02.2024). 

On 23 January 2024, the FACO heard the arguments on all sides. Based on these hearings, it made a few amendments and then approved this version of the tariff. The SMPA lodged an appeal against the FACO tariff ruling with the Federal Administrative Court; since the appeal does not have suspensive effect, the Tariff comes into force as approved on 1 January 2025.

Overview of the main changes effective in 2025:

• In the case of live public performances simultaneously disseminated in livestream on the internet, the new CT K also covers the relevant licence.
• Concerts in venues with a capacity of less than 1,000 persons still qualify as small concerts provided they do not exceed a cap of CHF 22,000 in ticket receipts (the maximum limit for small concerts was hitherto CHF 15,000).
• Only the ticket and value-added taxes actually paid are deductible from gross income. Advance booking fees paid to external ticketing offices can no longer be deducted. On the other hand, services included in the admission fee (point 12) remain deductible in line with current practice.
• To compensate the loss of the advance booking fee deduction, the FACO has adjusted the remuneration calculation. The percentages applied to the calculation basis (point 14) have been reduced by 0.5% for copyright and 0.15% for neighbouring rights respectively.
• Moreover, existing practice under the current tariff has been explicitly included in several places in the new Tariff, for example with regard to the handling of VIP tickets or the billing of DJ tents at open-air festivals.

The new Tariff is available here.

Common Tariff 4i

CT 4i governs the levy for storage media and hard disk drives built into digital devices. Agreement was reached on this Tariff during the negotiations with the user federations. In terms of its structure and underlying logic, the new Tariff does not deviate from the previous version, however, the levy rates have been partially reduced. The remuneration was set relying on market data relating to the pricing of the digital devices as well as the findings of a survey on user behaviour. The starting point for calculating the levy is the price of the device, while the survey provides data on the private-copying share of device usage.

Overview of the main changes effective in 2025:

• The levy rates under point 4.2 CT 4i have been reduced by 5% compared with the existing tariff. The levy rates for storage media in audio devices (MP3/MP4 players) under point 4.1 CT 4i, on the other hand, remain unchanged.
• The standard levy under point 4.2 CT 4i will continue to apply to external hard disks, but the maximum levy (“cap”) is reduced from CHF 4.50 to CHF 3.80.
• The new Tariff is valid for two years (2025 and 2026), with a possible one-year extension to the end of 2027.
• Furthermore, for legal reasons, several clarifications and corrections had to be made but do not affect the implementation of the Tariff.

The new Tariff is available here.