Receiving royalties should be a given, not a question.
Authors’ unwaivable right to remuneration and collective management was first recognised in the early 1990s, with the directive on rental and lending rights and on cable and satellite (see our timeline of key EU directives). 30 years later, all European authors are fairly remunerated for when their works are shown on TV channels, copies are made for personal use on devices or media and films are watched on streaming platforms, right? No, unfortunately not.
Authors do not enjoy the same rights in all EU countries. EU directives are implemented differently, and the market is fragmented. Whether filmmakers receive royalties depends on which media and in which country the audiovisual works are exploited. That is why, since 2010, the SAA has been working towards a harmonised market where audiovisual authors have equal right to fair and proportionate remuneration for the exploitation of their works in all EU countries.
Audiovisual authors’ earning comes mainly from the fee for writing the script and directing films and from royalties on the exploitation of the works. Most authors are freelancers, the nature of their work and the industry practices are such that much of their working time is unpaid. A feature film writer will often work for months on a script, only to be paid if and when a producer buys the rights and financing is secured. The director develops a production, making decisions about style, locations and casting to attract investors - with no guarantee of payment for the time they have invested. Where they are in place, screenwriters and directors often rely on the exploitation royalties from finished works to make a living while they develop the next film or programme.
Why remuneration is so important is a question that should no longer need to be answered, as the principle of appropriate and proportionate remuneration is now recognised in EU law (Art. 18 of the 2019 Copyright Directive). However, in most countries this principle has not yet led to any legal mechanism ensuring that authors receive their fair share.
The SAA’s 33 members in 25 countries collect and distribute royalties to European screenwriters and directors. In 2023, they collected a total of €722,72 million of royalties (SAA, 2024). At the global level, it is mainly European and Latin American countries that grant creators an unwaivable right to remuneration (CISAC, 2024).
Most of the royalties collectively managed by SAA members for audiovisual authors come from the broadcasting of their works on a TV channel (37%). The second largest source is from retransmission (24%). In simple terms, this is when an aggregator of channels distribute channels with authors’ works to more people. A smaller part (15.5%) of the royalties comes from private copying, i.e., when we make a private copy of a film or series on our computer or phone to watch it later. Finally, less than 11% comes from the streaming services on platforms such as Netflix. Another 12.5% include among other collections such as cinema exploitation, educational uses and video sales (SAA, 2023).
So, royalties correlate with the concentration of the European audiovisual media sector, i.e. where most European films, series and documentaries are available, right? Not exactly.
Let’s break it down. The European audiovisual media sector is worth €130 billion (€95 billion for the EU), according to European Audiovisual Observatory. In Europe alone, there are 9 349 TV channels and 3 315 VOD services and video-sharing platforms (Yearbook 2023/24, EAO). Most TV shows and films from Europe (commissioned European fiction titles) are financed by public (55%) or private (32%) broadcasters. CISAC reports a continued slight plateau in collections for traditional radio and TV income. Royalties are most affected by the decline in TV viewer numbers and advertising income (CISAC, 2024).
While viewers may be watching less content on TV, European broadcasters still finance the bulk of European fiction titles. On the other hand, global streaming platforms who only commissioned 12% of these European works capture the audience: 85% of the time people spend on watching films and series on video-on-demand services is on just three services: Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+. In Europe, US companies form by far the largest group in terms of revenues (EAO).
What does this mean? Well, US players dominate the European audiovisual market and impose their model.
US studios and platforms work according to a different copyright system than ours. The US model is based on the “work-for-hire” model, where the screenwriters and directors are considered employees and have no authors’ rights as such; the copyright belongs to the employer (the producer). This contrasts sharply with the European model, which is based on the co-authorship of the audiovisual works by their natural creators. Producers finance the making of the work from different sources by securing exclusive exploitation rights for a period of time.
Unfortunately, only in a few countries have CMOs managed to conclude agreements with US streaming platforms. In these cases, collections increased significantly. CMOs in France, Italy and Spain collected the most royalties for audiovisual authors for online uses in 2023 (SAA).
So, what can be done to level the playing field and promote the diversity of European works?
First and foremost, enforcement of EU copyright law is an integral part of the solution. The 2014 Collective Rights Management Directive and 2019 Copyright Directives provide the basis for defending the principle of fair - and unwaivable - remuneration and promoting collective management. This might however not be sufficient. Audiovisual authors need a statutory right to remuneration to be put in place all over Europe, so that CMOs would have the necessary leverage to require streaming platforms to pay royalties in line with European values and its authorship model.
Last but not least, the EU’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMS) also plays a key role in addressing the imbalance. It supports film and TV creation and local audiovisual ecosystems. On-demand media service providers under the jurisdiction of EU countries should ensure a minimum of 30% share of European works in their catalogues and give prominence to these works. In addition, most EU countries require media service providers under their jurisdiction or targeting their territory to contribute financially to the production of European works. Either through direct investment in the production and acquisition of rights to European works, a levy to a fund or a combination of these measures. The Directive should be evaluated by 2026. The SAA will prepare its possible revision with its cultural diversity objective in mind, as well as the interests of European screenwriters and directors.
Read about how to advance audiovisual authors’ rights in Europe.
Public Affairs and Communication Director, SAA