Music royalties due at French funerals as public events, rules court
Funeral company claimed they are private events and therefore exempt but officials said they were able to attend a funeral like a public event
Royalties must be paid for music played during funeral services
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The largest funeral company in France, OGF, has lost a court case over a €3.33 per service fee for the right to play music at its services.
The company, which owns Pompes funèbres générales, had baulked at a price increase from €1.93 per service imposed by the Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique (Sacem), which is charged with collecting copyright dues for music in France.
It took Sacem to court insisting that funerals were not public events, and should therefore be exempt.
Read more: Advice for the newly bereaved in France and English-speaking help
Overruled
However, judges at the tribunal judiciaire de Paris rejected the argument, notably because Sacem was able to show that its agents were able to attend funerals as if they were public events, and that music was played at most of them.
OGF was ordered to pay €70,000 in estimated fees not paid since the 2019 price hike, €10,000 in legal costs, and another €36,000 to a company called Spré, used by Sacem to administer payments.
In 2022, Sacem hit headlines when it sent letters to owners of B&Bs, gîtes and holiday lets in France demanding €198.01 before tax (€223.97 after tax) annually for music played on the premises.
It stated: “If you have a broadcasting device you must sign up to pay our annual fee for tourist accommodation to be in line with the rules.”
