Luxembourg copyright agency Sacem doesn’t levy fees from businesses closed because of the pandemic, resulting in losses of revenue between 40 and 80%, depending on the sector.
Hospitality federations in Belgium are opposing having to pay for licences to broadcast music that fail to take into account government-mandated closures. The issue doesn’t concern Luxembourg, where Sacem already last year decided to waive fees.
“From the first lockdown, we spoke with Sacem in France and Germany and it seemed obvious to stop billing. That’s what we did. We recalculated the annual royalties and set up credit for anyone who had paid too much,” said Sacem general manager Marc Nickts.