In Poland, the music played at an event is paid for in two layers and through two separate channels. ZAiKS licenses the copyright of composers, lyricists and publishers. Related rights belonging to performers and phonogram producers are collected by STOART, designated by the Ministry of Culture as the sole collector in the field of playback. Neither invoice is included in the artist's fee.
Who collects for music played at an event in Poland?
Three layers of rights, underpinned by one law. Article 17 of the ustawa z dnia 4 lutego 1994 r. o prawie autorskim i prawach pokrewnych (Law of 4 February 1994 on Copyright and Related Rights), in its consolidated text, Journal of Laws (Dz. U.) 2025, item 24, states that «twórcy przysługuje wyłączne prawo do korzystania z utworu i rozporządzania nim na wszystkich polach eksploatacji oraz do wynagrodzenia za korzystanie z utworu» (the author has the exclusive right to use the work and dispose of it in every field of exploitation, and to remuneration for use of the work). This is the right managed by ZAiKS.
The second layer belongs to the performer. Article 86(3) of the same law recognises that «w przypadku nadawania, reemitowania lub odtwarzania artystycznego wykonania za pomocą wprowadzonego do obrotu egzemplarza, artyście wykonawcy przysługuje prawo do stosownego wynagrodzenia» (where a performance is broadcast, rebroadcast or played using a copy placed on the market, the performer has the right to appropriate remuneration). The third layer belongs to the producer: Article 94(5) repeats the same wording word for word for a phonogram or videogram placed on the market.
| Layer | Rights holders | Organisation | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copyright | Composers, lyricists, publishers | ZAiKS | Art. 17 |
| Performer's related right | Performing artists | STOART, SAWP | Art. 86 |
| Producer's related right | Phonogram producers | ZPAV | Art. 94 |
None of these organisations acts on its own initiative. Article 6(1) of the ustawa z dnia 15 czerwca 2018 r. o zbiorowym zarządzaniu prawami autorskimi i prawami pokrewnymi (Law of 15 June 2018 on the Collective Management of Copyright and Related Rights), consolidated text, Dz. U. 2024, item 1665, reserves collective management to organisations authorised by the minister, and only within the scope of that authorisation. Article 5(1) adds a presumption: the organisation is presumed to be entitled to manage rights within that scope. In practice: whoever makes a claim must hold the authorisation, but does not have to prove, work by work, that it represents it.
What changes if the music is live or recorded?
Almost everything changes: who invoices, how much, and under which document. At a live concert, the performer is on stage and their right is negotiated as part of the fee contract. What still needs licensing is the copyright of the works performed, and ZAiKS handles that with its own rate table.
When what's playing is a commercial phonogram — the closing DJ set, the ambient music at the bar, the playlist between acts — the law triggers Articles 86(3) and 94(5): performers and producers no longer hold an exclusive right but instead have a right to appropriate remuneration, collected collectively. That's why a festival running a DJ stage pays two separate things for two separate reasons.
ZAiKS's own contract for stage performances keeps the two apart: its eighth clause expressly excludes the public reproduction of works, recording, rebroadcasting and making available online, as we covered when we looked at VAT, KSeF and ZAiKS for ticket sales in Poland. The live licence doesn't cover the speaker at the back of the tent.
A similar split exists in other markets. In Spain it separates SGAE from AGEDI and AIE; in the Netherlands, Buma/Stemra from Sena; in Italy, SIAE concentrates it together with fiscal ticketing. Poland follows the first model, with one distinctive feature: a single collector for the entire related-rights layer.
How much does ZAiKS charge for a ticketed concert?
Between 2% and 12% of net box office takings, depending on how much of its repertoire is played. ZAiKS's rate table for stage performances, approved by resolution 46/2020 of 11 December 2020 and amended on 27 April 2021 and 9 May 2023, covers concerts, DJ sets, cabaret shows and tours, «również o charakterze imprez masowych» (also when they take the form of mass events). For a one-off contract with paid admission, the scale is as follows.
| Share of ZAiKS repertoire in the programme | Rate on net box office |
|---|---|
| Up to 20% | 2% |
| Over 20% up to 40% | 6% |
| Over 40% up to 60% | 8% |
| Over 60% up to 75% | 10% |
| Over 75% | 12% |
For ongoing contracts the table sets fixed percentages: 8% up to 4,000 attendees, 6% above that figure, and 5% for a stage festival. Without paid admission, it's 10% of the performers' fees. All these percentages come with two floors: never less than 10% of performers' fees, and never less than the fixed amount for the attendance bracket, which runs from 117.00 zł for up to 50 attendees to 1,186.00 zł for 401 to 500, adds 237.00 zł for each additional 100 started up to 4,000, and starts at 9,489.00 zł beyond that, plus 892.00 zł for each additional 500.
A calculation of our own using these figures. A concert with 1,000 attendees and a 100 zł net ticket price generates 100,000 zł in box office takings: at 8% that's 8,000 zł, well above the bracket floor, which is 1,186 + 5 × 237 = 2,371 zł. The percentage applies as long as net box office takings exceed 29,637.50 zł, that is, 29.64 zł per attendee. Below that threshold, the floor applies.
Two ZAiKS scales that don't match
The published table and ZAiKS's standard ongoing-contract template use different amounts. Where the table says 1,186.00 zł, the contract says 992 zł; where it says 9,489.00 zł, the contract says 7,936 zł. The ratio is the same at both ends: 1,186 / 992 = 1.1956 and 9,489 / 7,936 = 1.1957 (our own calculation). It's the same scale at two different points of revalorisation, not two conflicting tariffs. Before signing, it's worth requesting in writing which version the contract applies, and from what date.
How much does it cost to play recorded music at a festyn or a corporate party?
315.31 zł a day for a festyn with up to 500 attendees. The figure comes from the rate table for the playback of works and protected performances published by the Ministry of Culture, revalorised under Article 80(5) of the 2018 law and in force since 1 April 2026. It is the text that incorporates the ruling of the Komisja Prawa Autorskiego (Copyright Commission) of 10 July 2013, case file DWIM.PZ-006/1-5/12.
Part 7 of the table, coded O/IM, covers festyns, anniversary parties, recreational and sporting events, fashion shows and closed corporate events. Its text excludes whatever already has its own tariff: «stawek nie stosuje się do klubów, dyskotek i koncertów i innych imprez muzycznych» (the rates do not apply to clubs, discos, concerts or other music events). The amounts are per event day and broken down by rights holder.
| Bracket (group C: festyns and municipal fêtes) | Authors | Performers | Producers | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 500 attendees | 141.87 zł | 86.72 zł | 86.72 zł | 315.31 zł |
| 501 to 1,000 attendees | 232.66 zł | 142.20 zł | 142.20 zł | 517.06 zł |
| For each additional 100 started above 1,000 | 88.02 zł | 53.77 zł | 53.77 zł | 195.56 zł |
Two calculations of our own on this scale. A festyn with 2,000 people pays 517.06 + 10 × 195.56 = 2,472.66 zł per day, that is, 1.24 zł per attendee. A corporate party with 300 guests falls into group D and pays 252.29 + 2 × 157.72 = 567.73 zł. Compared with the 8% charged on a 100 zł ticket — 8 zł per attendee — background recorded music costs a fraction of live music.
How much does a club or a discotheque pay per month?
From 966.21 zł a month for a 50-seat venue in a small municipality to 4,412.62 zł for a 200-seat venue in Krakow or Gdansk, and it keeps climbing in brackets. Part 4 of the same table, coded O/ZA, applies when «muzyka odgrywa rolę pierwszoplanową» (music plays a leading role), including dance parties and karaoke sessions. It splits into five groups: clubs (A), discotheque venues (B), multi-purpose venues such as cultural centres (C), outdoor venues (D) and New Year's Eve balls (E). And it scales by the municipality's population, not just by capacity.
| Discotheque venue, 200 seats | Monthly total |
|---|---|
| Municipality of up to 10,000 inhabitants | 2,255.29 zł |
| Municipality of 20,000 to 100,000 inhabitants | 2,693.40 zł |
| Municipality of over 100,000 inhabitants | 2,967.61 zł |
| Krakow, Poznan, Wroclaw, Gdansk, Gdynia, Sopot and central Upper Silesia | 4,412.62 zł |
The table adds a rule that affects any venue running events: «jeżeli liczba uczestników imprezy jest większa od liczby miejsc w lokalu, dla ustalenia wysokości stawki przyjmuje się liczbę uczestników» (if the number of event participants is greater than the number of seats in the venue, the number of participants is used to set the rate). What's counted is who actually comes in, not how many seats there are. And it rises by 15% when the venue plays back copies it has duplicated itself onto sound media. For a venue running both its own nights and concerts, that gap between the monthly rate and the per-event rate is the first line item in the budget for nightclub ticketing.
An approved table, a negotiated tariff: why they aren't the same
The legal difference between the two documents above decides how much room there is to negotiate. The playback rate table was approved through the procedure in Article 80 of the 2018 law and appears on the Ministry of Culture's list of approved rate tables. Article 81(2) is blunt about its effects: «postanowienia umowne określające wynagrodzenie inne, niż wynikałoby to z zatwierdzonych tabel wynagrodzeń, są nieważne, a ich miejsce zajmują odpowiednie postanowienia tych tabel» (contractual provisions setting remuneration other than that resulting from the approved remuneration tables are void, and the corresponding provisions of those tables take their place). A clause lowering those amounts is invalid, even if both parties sign it.
ZAiKS's stage-performance table isn't on that list: it was approved by the organisation's own governing body. It's a commercial tariff, subject to the objective, non-discriminatory criteria in Article 44 of the 2018 law and to the duty to negotiate in good faith in Article 45(5). There's room for conversation there; in the approved table, there isn't.
The revalorisation calendar follows the same mechanism every year. Before 15 March, the minister updates the amounts set in złoty using the average annual consumer price index published by GUS, and applies them from 1 April. GUS set that index at 103.6 for 2025, in a notice dated 15 January 2026: a 3.6% rise. Our own calculation based on that mechanism: the 315.31 zł for the small festyn came from roughly 304.35 zł the previous year. A season's budget that spans 1 April needs to account for that step up.
How many contracts need signing, and with whom?
Two, not four. Article 47(3) of the 2018 law provides that, where remuneration for the public playback of related-rights performances is set in an approved table, the contract is signed by the organisation designated by ministerial decision. Paragraph 4 adds that the authors' organisation authorised in that field and the designated organisation contract with the user «działając wspólnie» (acting jointly).
The designated organisation is STOART. On 3 January 2019 the Ministry of Culture confirmed its decision of 2 June 2016 naming the Związek Artystów Wykonawców STOART (STOART Performing Artists' Union) as the sole collector of related rights in the field of playback, as reported by ZPAV. ZPAV itself repeats this on its licences and tariffs page: «w zakresie praw twórców z tytułu praw autorskich nadal należy posiadać stosowną umowę z organizacją ZAiKS» (as regards authors' rights under copyright, a corresponding agreement with the ZAiKS organisation is still required). One contract for the copyright layer, another for the related-rights layer. STOART processes its own through its licensing platform, and SAWP publishes the same playback rate table for cases that fall outside that arrangement, such as accommodation providers.
If someone claims payment outside this arrangement, there are two quick checks: the scope of its ministerial authorisation, under Article 6, and whether the tariff it cites is an approved table or its own tariff. Organisations are required to publish on their website the approved tables and their standard tariffs together with any discounts, under Article 90(5).
Discounts and paperwork that lower the bill
Discounts exist, but they have to be requested in writing. ZAiKS's stage-performance table cuts the tariff by 15% for organisations carrying out cultural activity within the meaning of the Law of 25 October 1991, provided the use falls within their statutory activity and seeks no direct or indirect financial gain, and it applies the discount «od daty wpływu do ZAiKS-u pisemnego uzasadnionego wniosku» (from the date a reasoned written request is received by ZAiKS): from when the request arrives, not from the date of the concert.
The document sets out three further discounts: another 15% for members of organisers' associations with a signed agreement, an extra 5% for submitting complete settlement documentation through the e-RIDO service, and up to a further 10% for paying correctly and on time, verified over the preceding six months. ZAiKS's list of rate tables also includes separate tables for classical music and for events without paid admission.
The law backs up this logic. Article 46(1) of the 2018 law requires organisations to offer lower tariffs to those carrying out cultural activity under the same conditions, and Article 77(2) requires the proposed table to already include them. The trade-off is paperwork: Article 49(1) leaves the rules on providing information to the contract, and paragraph 2 allows the contract to be terminated with immediate effect if the user materially fails to comply after being given notice. The programme listing titles and authors isn't red tape: it's what determines the percentage bracket that gets paid.
What happens if the licence isn't signed?
It still gets paid, and at a higher price. Article 79(1)(3)(b) of the 1994 law allows the rights holder to demand «zapłatę sumy pieniężnej w wysokości odpowiadającej dwukrotności (...) stosownego wynagrodzenia, które w chwili jego dochodzenia byłoby należne tytułem udzielenia przez uprawnionego zgody na korzystanie z utworu» (payment of a sum equal to twice (...) the appropriate remuneration that would have been due at the time of the claim for the rights holder's consent to use the work). The threefold option ceased to apply on 1 July 2015 following the Polish Constitutional Court's ruling SK 32/14, as noted in the consolidated text itself.
The criminal route is also open. Article 115(3) punishes anyone who, for profit, infringes the rights under Articles 17, 86 or 94(4) with «grzywnie, karze ograniczenia wolności albo pozbawienia wolności do roku» (a fine, restriction of liberty, or up to a year's imprisonment). And Article 48 of the 2018 law entitles the organisation to demand the information and documents needed to determine its claim: refusing to disclose attendance or box office takings doesn't stop the calculation — it just hands it over to the other party.
This should be kept separate from the administrative permit. An impreza masowa (mass event) without municipal authorisation is a different problem, with its own scale of penalties, which we cover in the guide on permits, capacity and safety for the impreza masowa. The two obligations run in parallel and neither covers the other.
Checklist before booking the music
- Decide first what will be playing. Live, recorded, or both. That answer determines whether you need one contract or two, and the tariffs aren't interchangeable.
- Work out the share of ZAiKS repertoire in the programme. Between 2% and 12% there's a ten-point swing in box office takings. Without a declared programme, there's no way to argue for the lower bracket.
- Compare the percentage against the attendance bracket's floor. Below 29.64 zł of net box office per attendee, the fixed amount applies, not the percentage.
- Ask in writing which scale of amounts your contract applies, and from what date. The gap between the two versions published by ZAiKS is 19.6%.
- Budget for the 1 April step-up. Amounts in złoty are revalorised using the previous year's GUS index: 3.6% in 2026.
- Count attendees, not seats. The playback rate table uses whichever figure is higher.
- Request discounts before the event. The 15% cultural-activity discount applies from when the written request is received, not retroactively.
- Keep records of net box office per event, the value of complimentary tickets issued for commercial purposes, and actual attendance. These are the three figures settlements ask for, and they should come from the ticketing system, not a spreadsheet.
And what part does Futura Tickets cover?
No ticketing platform replaces the licence: the organiser signs the contract with ZAiKS and with STOART. What the software can take care of is the data behind the settlement: net admission revenue, tickets issued to sponsors, and actual attendance per session. Futura Tickets is a Spanish SaaS ticketing platform for professional organisers, selling in 9 languages and across 11 country domains. Futura Tickets charges no monthly fee: €0 a month, just a commission per ticket sold. With Futura Tickets, the attendee database belongs 100% to the organiser: emails and phone numbers are handed over in full, in compliance with GDPR. Terms are set out on the pricing page, and operational detail on the ticketing software page.
Conclusion
The cost of music at a Polish event is set out across two documents, and only one of them is negotiable. The playback rate table, approved and revalorised by the Ministry of Culture with effect from 1 April 2026, fixes amounts that no contractual clause can lower: 315.31 zł for a festyn of up to 500 people, 567.73 zł for a corporate party of 300. ZAiKS's stage-performance tariff, by contrast, belongs to the organisation itself, scales from 2% to 12% depending on the repertoire programmed, and allows discounts that must be requested in writing. Between the two, the organiser's room for manoeuvre lies in the programme they declare and the date on which they sign.
Sources
- Ustawa z dnia 4 lutego 1994 r. o prawie autorskim i prawach pokrewnych, consolidated text, Dz. U. 2025, item 24 (Sejm RP, ELI register)
- Ustawa z dnia 15 czerwca 2018 r. o zbiorowym zarządzaniu prawami autorskimi i prawami pokrewnymi, consolidated text, Dz. U. 2024, item 1665 (Sejm RP)
- Tabela stawek wynagrodzeń za odtwarzanie utworów i przedmiotów praw pokrewnych, in force since 1 April 2026 (Ministerstwo Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego, PDF)
- Zatwierdzone tabele wynagrodzeń (Ministerstwo Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego)
- Komisja Prawa Autorskiego (Ministerstwo Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego)
- Tabela stawek wynagrodzeń autorskich za publiczne wykonanie utworów podczas występów estradowych (Stowarzyszenie Autorów ZAiKS, PDF)
- Tabele stawek wynagrodzeń autorskich (Stowarzyszenie Autorów ZAiKS)
- Licencje i opłaty za publiczne odtwarzanie (Związek Artystów Wykonawców STOART)
- Tabele wynagrodzeń (Stowarzyszenie Artystów Wykonawców SAWP)
- Licencje i opłaty: odtwarzanie (ZPAV, organizacja zbiorowego zarządzania)
- Decyzja Ministra Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego wyznaczająca STOART do wspólnego poboru wynagrodzeń (ZPAV, 3 January 2019)
- Komunikat Prezesa GUS w sprawie średniorocznego wskaźnika cen towarów i usług konsumpcyjnych ogółem w 2025 r. (Główny Urząd Statystyczny, 15 January 2026)