Sacem announces the creation of new licensing, international and operations division to be led by Cécile Rap-Veber

SACEM, the Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music announces the integration of its Licensing, International, and Operations divisions into one department to adapt to the evolution of the music market and consolidate its expertise.

• SACEM announces its new organisation adapted to the evolution of the market
• New division to help consolidate SACEM’s strong results by generating more value for members
• Structure will offer a simplified end-to-end process to optimise distribution of royalties

The newly formed division headed by Cécile Rap-Veber will create a streamlined end-to-end solution to the identification, collection and distribution of royalties in order to ensure greater levels of transparency and value for its members.

Cécile Rap-Veber, previously SACEM’s Director of Licensing and International, will be Executive Director of Licensing, International and Operations. She will lead the integrated division incorporating almost 300 SACEM employees. The new structure, which became effective on 1 January 2019, will ensure that all of SACEM’s activities are informed by its unified global vision, from the inception of each agreement through to the distribution of royalties worldwide.

© Jean-Baptiste Millot

Since joining SACEM in 2013, Cécile Rap-Veber has played a major role in the growth of revenues and driving technological developments such as URights, to meet the challenges and opportunities presented by the rise of streaming, subscription services, and the continued growth of online music.

Furthermore, she has been instrumental in some of SACEM’s most important mandates and international deals, including the first multi-territorial YouTube agreement with UMPI, deals with Netflix and Facebook and  the Warner/Chappell Music partnership. More recently she developped SACEM’s partnerships with IMPEL, PEN Music Group and Music Sales, thereby establishing SACEM as the partner of choice for independent music publishers internationally.

The new organisational structure has also been designed to enhance the value SACEM can deliver to its members. In recent years, SACEM’s collections have increased significantly with France now ranked the highest in the world in terms of royalty collections[1] with €969.8m distributed in 2017 (+2.1% VS 2016)[2].
Through streamlining its management of authors’ rights, SACEM is confident this new structure will enable the organisation to continue to excel in terms of maximising value for its members.

Jean-Noël Tronc, CEO of SACEM, said: "This new structure will better equip SACEM to provide fair and transparent distribution of royalties and ensure a sustainable future for the creative sector, as the digitalisation of both music and audiovisual content continues to increase.
“Cécile brings significant experience, expertise and commitment to her new role as Executive Director of Licensing, International and Operations at SACEM. She has played a major part in driving technological development and innovation at SACEM and a key contribution to many of SACEM’s most significant agreements in recent years. This new organisation will ensure further progress in our mission to protect the rights of all SACEM’s members worldwide, and to optimise their remuneration.”

Cécile Rap-Veber Executive Director of Licensing, International and Operations at SACEM, said: “SACEM has long been at the forefront of anticipating change in the industry and innovating its own approach and service to meet the demands of a rapidly changing music and audiovisual landscape. “I’m delighted to be leading SACEM’s new division, driving change within the industry by integrating these three departments to form one collaborative team which will deliver an enhanced and streamlined service for our members.”
 

[1] Music & Copyright newsletter, October 2018

[2] SACEM Annual Report 2017