Germany-based collection society GEMA paid out EUR €1.15 billion (USD $1.30 billion) to rightsholders in 2025, up 1.4% YoY, according to the organization’s newly released annual report.
The organization’s total revenues for the year increased by 0.4% YoY to €1.34 billion ($1.51 billion at the average annual exchange rate published by the IRS).
GEMA’s cost ratio improved to 14.1%, down from 14.9% in 2024.
In Germany, GEMA represents the copyright interests of more than 100,000 members (composers, lyricists, and music publishers), as well as over 2 million owners of intellectual property rights worldwide.
GEMA reported a 5.6% YoY increase in live and background music revenues to €530 million ($598m), driven by smaller and regional events rather than major concerts.
The society said it collected fees from roughly 85,000 more small and medium-sized events than in 2024, thanks to improved processing workflows — helping to offset a decline in stadium shows and the absence of the one-off boost provided by the 2024 European Football Championship, hosted by Germany.
Collections from online music rose 5.7% YoY to €328 million ($370m), boosted by new agreements with platforms including Spotify and Amazon Music. Radio/TV collections fell 5.0% YoY to €293 million ($331m), down from €308 million.
Reproduction rights revenue fell 42% YoY to €26 million ($29m), driven by contractual restructuring in its collection mandate agreements and the continued decline in physical formats.
International revenues rose 2.9% YoY to €90 million ($102m).
Within GEMA’s transparency report, published alongside its annual report on Monday (March 30), the society classifies the development and use of AI-generated music as a “high risk” to its revenues. However, it also identifies its landmark court ruling against OpenAI as a “high opportunity” to generate additional income and establish a sustainable licensing market for AI use of creative works.
GEMA sued OpenAI in November 2024 over the alleged unlicensed reproduction of song lyrics by ChatGPT, and won the ruling in November 2025. The society has also taken legal action against AI music generator Suno for alleged copyright infringement.
Holzmüller said the OpenAI ruling showed GEMA is “building the foundations of a sustainable licensing market and ensuring that use of our members’ creative work is fairly remunerated, even in entirely new contexts.”
Separately, GEMA has deployed AI-powered tools internally to speed up processing times and payouts as part of a broader cloud migration and digitisation programme completed during the year.
MBW reported in September that GEMA also plans to cut its commission on on-demand music distribution from 10% to 7% by 2027, a move expected to boost annual payouts by more than €6 million ($7m).
“The music market is experiencing profound changes, and GEMA is actively shaping this transformation.”
Dr Tobias Holzmüller, GEMA
Commenting on the organization’s 2025 results, GEMA CEO Dr Tobias Holzmüller said: “The music market is experiencing profound changes, and GEMA is actively shaping this transformation. “We’re modernizing our structures, showing how reliable we are as a partner to our members, and steadily expanding our international network.
“At the same time, we’re systematically championing our members’ rights — as demonstrated by the court ruling against OpenAI in November 2025, which represented our first success in the AI marketplace. It also shows how we’re building the foundations of a sustainable licensing market and ensuring that use of our members’ creative work is fairly remunerated, even in entirely new contexts.”
“While our figures show a decline in sectors such as the advertising market and physical audio recordings, the positive trends in the live music and online business sectors more than offset this shortfall.”
Lorenzo Colombini, GEMA
GEMA said it completed a cloud migration project during the year as part of what it called a “service-focused development strategy,” and introduced AI-powered tools to speed up processing times and payouts.
“2025 was not an easy year for the economy as a whole. So it’s all the more gratifying that GEMA achieved such an excellent set of financial results yet again,” added Lorenzo Colombini, CFO of GEMA. “While our figures show a decline in sectors such as the advertising market and physical audio recordings, the positive trends in the live music and online business sectors more than offset this shortfall. What’s more, GEMA is steadily growing its international business, representing the rights of numerous creative rights-holders abroad – an area in which we see plenty of future potential for growth.
“Our goals for 2026 remain clear: to preserve GEMA’s financial stability and so guarantee the best possible payouts for our members.”
GEMA’s transparency report also noted that the society completed the sale of its digital distribution subsidiary Zebralution to New York-based private equity firm Insight Holdings Group in December 2025, describing the divestment as part of its “strategic development.”
The sale, which had no material impact on GEMA’s 2025 financials, came just over five years after the society acquired a majority stake in the Berlin-based company. Zebralution has since been folded into Insight-backed Bookwire.
Elsewhere in Germany, the country’s recorded music market grew 2.3% YoY in 2025 according to figures published by the German Music Industry Association, BVMI, earlier this month. As MBW noted at the time, that 2.3% figure only marginally outpaced Germany’s average inflation rate of 2.2%.Music Business Worldwide