If you organise music events in Spain, copyright is one of the most opaque and least understood costs in the budget. Almost no organiser fully understands what is paid, why, to whom and when. As a result, many events overpay, others underpay (risking a later audit and penalty), and almost all of them deal with it at the last minute, when there is nothing left to negotiate.
Rights management is not optional. Any event that plays music in public (live or recorded) must notify the relevant collecting societies of that use and pay the applicable tariffs. Failing to do so does not mean you don't have to pay: it means you will pay later and, in all likelihood, outside the terms of the published tariff.
This guide explains how SGAE, AGEDI and AIE work at music events, what each body collects, how tariffs are calculated in general terms, which formalities are mandatory and which mistakes cost the most. It is not personalised legal advice: for specific cases, consult a copyright specialist or the relevant collecting society directly.
Who's who? The three bodies involved
In Spain, three collective management organisations can be involved in a music event:
SGAE (Sociedad General de Autores y Editores)
SGAE manages the rights of authors: composers, lyricists and music publishers. When a song is played at your event, its creator is entitled to compensation. That is what SGAE collects and distributes. The right being used is the right of communication to the public under article 20 of the consolidated text of the Intellectual Property Act (Royal Legislative Decree 1/1996).
It applies whether the music is played live (a band performing its own songs or covers) or reproduced (DJ, background music, ambient sound). Any public use of musical works in its catalogue creates an obligation to pay.
AGEDI (Asociación de Gestión de Derechos Intelectuales)
AGEDI manages the rights of phonogram producers: the record labels that published the recordings. When you play a commercial recording (an album, a single, a digital track), you are not only using the song (which SGAE collects for) but also the specific recording of that song (which AGEDI collects for).
AGEDI does not apply to music played live, because there is no recording being reproduced. It almost always applies when there is a DJ, background music, music between performances or any playback of recordings. The legal basis is article 116.2 of the consolidated text of the Intellectual Property Act: anyone who uses a phonogram published for commercial purposes for any form of communication to the public must pay «una remuneración equitativa y única» (a single equitable remuneration) to producers and performers.
AIE (Artistas Intérpretes o Ejecutantes)
AIE manages the rights of performing artists: the singers and musicians who played on the recordings. Its logic runs parallel to AGEDI's: when you play a commercial recording, the artists who performed it are also entitled to compensation.
The counterpart on the performers' side is article 108.4 of the same consolidated text, which describes exactly the same single equitable remuneration: it is one payment that is then shared between producers and performers, in equal parts if they have not agreed otherwise.
That is why AGEDI and AIE act together: management and payment go through agedi-aie.es, their joint portal.
Practical summary by type of event
| Type of event | SGAE | AGEDI/AIE |
|---|---|---|
| Live concert by a band | Yes | No |
| Festival with several live bands | Yes | Yes, if there is a DJ or music between performances |
| DJ set with recorded music | Yes | Yes |
| Nightclub with a DJ | Yes | Yes |
| Event with background music played back | Yes | Yes |
| Cover or tribute band (other people's songs) | Yes | No |
When and how does the obligation apply?
The test: "communication to the public"
The obligation is triggered when there is communication to the public of musical works. Article 20.1 of the consolidated text of the Intellectual Property Act defines it as «todo acto por el cual una pluralidad de personas pueda tener acceso a la obra sin previa distribución de ejemplares a cada una de ellas» (any act by which a plurality of persons may have access to the work without prior distribution of copies to each of them). In practice, this happens at any event open to the public, free or paid, where music is played. The threshold is very low: it doesn't have to be a major festival; a private corporate event with 100 attendees and background music can also fall within it.
The only exception that article 20.1 itself contains is narrow: «no se considerará pública la comunicación cuando se celebre dentro de un ámbito estrictamente doméstico que no esté integrado o conectado a una red de difusión de cualquier tipo» (communication shall not be considered public when it takes place within a strictly domestic setting that is not integrated into or connected to a broadcasting network of any kind). Outside that, what remains is repertoire not covered by collective management (more on this below). For the vast majority of commercial events, the obligation applies in full.
Who pays
The party liable to pay is the event organiser. That means the individual or company that bears the risks and receives the income of the event. Not the artist's promoter, not the catering company, not the venue (unless it is the one organising). Identifying the organiser correctly matters because communications, invoices and, where relevant, claims are addressed to that party.
How are tariffs calculated? (without going into specific figures)
The tariffs of SGAE, AGEDI and AIE are officially published and change periodically. That is why this guide does not include specific percentages: any figure given today could be out of date tomorrow. What we can describe is the general logic that applies to most events.
Common variables that affect the tariff
- Capacity: the number of people who can be at the event.
- Average ticket price: a single price or the weighted average of tickets sold.
- Total ticket revenue (gross box office): in many cases this is the base on which a percentage is applied.
- Type of event: festival, concert, session, club, private event.
- Duration: tariffs are usually different for a single day than for a season.
- Repertoire coverage: what percentage of the repertoire used belongs to each collecting society.
The formula combines these variables with criteria set out in the official tariff schedules. For a ticketed event, the most widespread model is a percentage of box office with minimums by capacity. For free events, it is usually a fixed amount by capacity and duration.
Where to check current tariffs
Their publication is not a courtesy on the part of the societies: article 164 of the consolidated text of the Intellectual Property Act requires them to set general tariffs that are «simples y claras» (simple and clear) and accompanied by an economic report, and article 185.e) requires them to publish them on their website, with the report and the discounts, within ten days of their being set or amended.
Where to find them:
- SGAE: the event licence configurator calculates the amount from capacity, ticket price and expenses budget, and the concerts and recitals licence page lists the discounts that apply.
- AGEDI: tariff catalogues in its users area.
- AIE: general tariff catalogue, which for communication to the public of phonograms refers to the joint AGEDI-AIE portal.
In addition, article 168 requires the societies to take part in a single billing and payment window accessible online, where users can see an up-to-date breakdown of the individual and total amounts they owe to all of them. For recurring events, framework agreements can be more efficient than settling event by event.
What is prior notification and why does almost nobody do it properly?
What it is and why it matters
Before the event, the organiser must notify the collecting societies that an event using music will take place. This notification is a formal step that records: date, venue, capacity, type of event, planned artists, format (live, DJ, mixed), ticket price and the organiser's details.
Prior notification is not optional. Not doing it does not exempt you from payment: it means the settlement will be calculated afterwards, with less room for negotiation and, at times, with surcharges. It also makes proof harder if there is a dispute over what was actually used at the event.
Usual deadlines
The deadline is not set by law: each society sets it in the terms of its licence. In SGAE's case, its own event licence configurator states it in a footnote to the calculated tariff: «Esta tarifa es aplicable a solicitudes realizadas con una antelación mínima de 30 días, y siempre y cuando el organizador, una vez realizado el espectáculo, envíe la documentación necesaria para el cálculo de los derechos» (This tariff applies to applications made at least 30 days in advance, provided that the organiser, once the event has taken place, sends the documentation needed to calculate the rights). In other words, the 30 days and the later documentation are the two conditions for the published tariff to apply; applying later takes you out of it.
Repertoire: the list of works
For live events, the societies usually require the list of works performed: the songs each band played. This list is submitted after the event as part of the settlement. It matters because the money collected is distributed among authors and publishers according to which works were actually used, not by estimate.
For events with a DJ or recorded music, the list of works is operationally more complex. The societies accept approximate declarations or estimated percentages, but it is wise to keep reasonable records of what was played (most modern DJ software generates an automatic log that serves this purpose).
What repertoire falls outside collective management?
Free music and Creative Commons
Not all music is managed by SGAE/AGEDI/AIE. There are works under Creative Commons licences or in the public domain that create no obligation to these societies. There are also artists who have expressly opted out of collective management and work with direct licences.
If your event uses only free repertoire, in theory it creates no obligation to the societies. In practice, proving it requires detailed documentation (a list of works with their specific licence) and even then the societies may ask for verification. For a one-off event with a single free-music artist, this is manageable; for a festival with multiple performances, it is usually unworkable.
Music commissioned from the artist
If you commission an artist to write an original work specifically for your event, and that artist has not assigned the rights to a collecting society, there is no obligation to the societies for that work. But the contract with the artist must be clear on this and, if the artist later assigns those rights, the situation changes for future uses.
What does settlement look like after the event?
The process
After the event, the organiser submits the settlement: documentation showing actual revenue, actual attendance, the real duration of the event and, where applicable, the list of works. The final tariff is calculated on that documentation and may match the earlier estimate or be adjusted up or down.
If tickets are issued digitally, the revenue documentation is trivial: your ticketing platform generates a certified report showing actual sales. If sales are made at the box office in cash without a system, the organiser must document revenue with their own records, which is considerably more laborious and open to dispute.
Deadlines and payment methods
The societies usually allow payment in full, in instalments or, for recurring organisers, on an open-account basis. For one-off events, payment is usually settled within a few months of the event. Late payment incurs surcharges.
Special cases
Festivals with several stages
Each stage is, for management purposes, a separate unit of communication to the public. The final tariff takes the whole event into account, but the documentation includes what was played on each stage and at what time. For medium and large festivals, this requires an operating system that records performances in a traceable way.
Cover bands and tributes
A cover band plays songs by other authors. The obligation to SGAE applies in full because the works still belong to the original author and the society manages them on their behalf. The exception would be bands that play only public-domain works, which is very rare in a commercial repertoire.
DJs
A DJ set with recorded music creates an obligation to all three societies: SGAE (author of the song), AGEDI (producer of the recording) and AIE (performers on the recording). If the DJ produces their own mixes and doesn't use commercial recordings, the situation changes, but these cases are a minority.
Private corporate events
Even if an event is closed to a specific audience (employees, clients), it counts as communication to the public if it brings together a group that is not strictly family or friends. Corporate events, presentations, company dinners with music: all of them create an obligation, although tariffs may be treated differently from events open to the public.
What are the most common mistakes and their consequences?
Not notifying and waiting to see what happens
If your event takes place and you haven't notified it, the debt doesn't go away: it is simply settled later and without the tariff conditional on the deadline. And disputing it doesn't suspend payment: article 164.5 of the consolidated text of the Intellectual Property Act requires anyone who challenges a tariff «de cualquier forma o en cualquier vía, incluida la mera negativa a pagarla» (in any way or by any route, including the mere refusal to pay it) to pay on account 100% of the last tariff agreed or, if there is no earlier agreement, 50% of the general tariff in force, until the dispute is resolved. The "don't notify and see what happens" strategy doesn't work and ends up costing more.
Underestimating capacity or revenue
Some organisers report a lower capacity or revenue than the real figure to reduce the tariff. If the society detects the discrepancy (and monitoring systems are increasingly sophisticated), regularisation means paying the difference plus surcharges and, in serious cases, administrative penalties.
Confusing SGAE with AGEDI/AIE
Paying only SGAE in the belief that this covers everything is a common mistake among new organisers. If your event has recorded music, AGEDI and AIE also apply. Paying SGAE but not AGEDI/AIE does not release you from your obligation to the latter.
Not identifying the organiser correctly
When the organiser is a company but the event is notified in the name of an individual (or vice versa), invoices don't match and later regularisation can be tedious. Identifying the liable party correctly from the prior notification avoids problems.
Not keeping documentation
Event documentation (poster, list of works if applicable, prior notification, payment receipts) should be kept for years. If a later audit asks you to prove you complied, having everything in order is the difference between five minutes and five weeks of paperwork.
How can you plan for copyright through ticketing?
A professional ticketing platform makes copyright compliance easier in four ways:
- Certified revenue data: your platform's sales report is the cleanest documentation for settlement. The societies trust this format because it is objectively verifiable.
- Actual attendance recorded: the count of door validations shows the event's real attendance, which may differ from the venue's legal capacity.
- Documented ticket categories: the calculation base is actual revenue, not the maximum price.
- Time traceability: the event's actual duration (when it started, when it ended) is recorded and lets you adjust tariffs that depend on this variable.
Read more about tax on ticket sales in Spain, which is related to copyright but not the same thing, in our dedicated guide.
Conclusion
Copyright at music events is a real, predictable and manageable cost if you plan for it from the start. What turns it into a problem is ignoring it, notifying late or trying to minimise it with inaccurate documentation. None of those strategies works in the medium term.
The practical rule is simple: include the SGAE/AGEDI/AIE estimate in your budget from the first draft, notify the event on time, keep the documentation and work with certified data from your ticketing platform. Do that and compliance becomes routine, not a headache.
Does your ticketing platform generate the documentation you need to settle rights without friction? Request a Futura Tickets demo and we'll show you how integrated reporting simplifies compliance with SGAE, AGEDI and AIE for any type of event.
Sources
All links were checked on 31 August 2026. Tariffs and licence terms are revised by the societies themselves, so always confirm the current version before budgeting.
- Real Decreto Legislativo 1/1996, consolidated text of the Intellectual Property Act — art. 20 (communication to the public), art. 108.4 (performing artists), art. 116.2 (phonogram producers), art. 164 (general tariffs and payment on account), art. 168 (single window), art. 185.e) (mandatory publication of tariffs)
- SGAE · event licence configurator — minimum 30 days' notice
- SGAE · concerts and music recitals licence
- AGEDI · users area and tariff catalogues
- AIE · general tariff catalogue
- AGEDI-AIE · joint portal
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*This guide describes the general operation of collecting societies in Spain for information purposes. It does not constitute legal advice. For specific cases, consult a copyright specialist or each society directly.*
Related: before the SGAE licence, your event needs its municipal or regional licence.