Sony: GEMA is costing us millions in Germany


Edgar Berger, Sony Music’s CEO of international business has admitted that GEMA is hurting them financially by restricting access of digital content online.

Because of GEMA, thousands of music videos are blocked on YouTube in Germany.

Sony: GEMA is costing us millions in Germany

Berger spoke about the disruption caused by the internet for the music industry:

There is absolutely nothing to complain about. The Internet is a great stroke of luck for the music industry, or better: the Internet is a blessing for us. You can not blame the Internet for harmful excesses. On the contrary. It has brought us tremendous new opportunities.

He spoke about GEMA:

It’s not because of us. You must direct this question to the German collecting agency GEMA, they licensed the copyright very restrictively.

He added:

We want to see streaming services like Vevo and Spotify in the German market. [These platforms] must not be blocked by GEMA any longer. Artists and music companies are losing sales in the millions.

Apparently, GEMA is asking for too much money for the rights to broadcast music and videos in Germany which makes little financial sense for companies like YouTube. And as a result they are blocked.