Covid-19: Sacem opens rescue fund as it rolls out emergency measures totalling as much as €43 million

Faced with the gravity of the health crisis and its dramatic consequences for its members, Sacem is launching a raft of emergency measures amounting to as much as €43 million. As of Thursday, April 2, authors, composers and publishers of music in need of emergency funds were able apply for grants on sacem.fr.

A PLAN FOR EMERGENCY MEASURES

Sacem, along with all of its teams, has been completely mobilized since the beginning of this crisis to remain operational and support its members during this unprecedented emergency. The Sacem board met on Thursday, March 26 and decided to put into place a plan for emergency measures to help its members.

The plan is built around three aid mechanisms:

• A €6 million rescue fund
  This rescue fund is for the authors, composers and publishers who are most in distress and can no longer meet their own basic needs. Grants will amount to €1500, €3000 or €5000, depending on the situation. The rescue fund will be managed jointly by the Sacem members’ Comité du Coeur and by the social affairs department at Sacem. 
   
• Up to €36 million in exceptional royalty advances.
  Sacem members will be hit doubly hard by this crisis.
  The immediate impact is the cessation of activities of every kind, which makes it impossible for them to work and so has an immediate effect on revenue.
  The impact will be even harder in the medium term. While the economic recovery will have started, because the current collapse of economic activity is causing a loss of royalties collected, there will be a sharp drop in royalties paid out, notably starting in January 2021. Indeed, unlike most other forms of artistic remuneration, royalties are only paid after the works have been made available and disseminated.
  
  These exceptional advances of royalty payments can be requested over a year, and their reimbursement will be deferred beyond 2021 and may be spread out over a maximum of 5 years.
  If all the eligible members take advantage of the proposed advances, the total amount paid out could reach €36 million. 
   
• A €1 million reinforcement of our support program for publishers
  The existing aid program run by Sacem’s cultural action team and earmarked for music publishers will get additional funding of €1 million and will broaden its criteria in an effort to see them through the crisis period and support their recovery.

The operational arrangements for the emergency fund are active as of today, Thursday, April 2. Sacem members can access them via their membership area on sacem.fr. The first support payments will be able to be made next week.
 

“Solidarity is at the heart of Sacem’s values. Since its founding, Sacem has been with its members at every stage of their lives, not only in distributing the royalties it collects, but also through its cultural action and solidarity networks. In these difficult times, the meaning of this commitment shines through. We can be proud of our collective strength in the service of creation, authors, composers and their publishers. More than ever, in times of crisis, our purpose is: Together, let’s make music happen!”

“Sacem is totally mobilized for its members. Our business continuity plan, thanks to all of our teams’ working from home, is allowing us to remain available remotely. The April 6 distribution of royalties will happen on schedule. Today, we are taking a series of strong, urgent measures to help our members as best we can in a situation of unprecedented gravity. We are also calling on public authorities to take into account, in the measures they are putting into place, the specific nature of the professions of authors and composers, who are not salaried employees and should be able to benefit from the kinds of measures the self-employed are getting, and of the music publishers as well, who are usually classified as Very Small Enterprises (TPE in French), but whose economic model does not correspond to the programs already announced.”