Collective management in Spain works on two levels. Some payments can only be made to an authorised collective management organisation (CMO), such as the equitable remuneration owed for playing commercial recordings in public or the private copying levy on devices. Other uses, such as music commissioned for an advert or content licensed straight from its owner, can be cleared directly with the rightholder. This guide is for foreign retailers, hotel and restaurant groups and digital platforms opening in Spain.
Key takeaways
- A CMO established in Spain needs authorisation from the Ministry of Culture and Sport, published in the Official State Gazette (BOE), under Article 147 of the Spanish Copyright Act (TRLPI).
- Some rights can only be exercised through CMOs, notably the equitable remuneration for public use of commercial phonograms (Articles 108.6 and 116.3 TRLPI). This is mandatory collective management: a direct licence does not replace it.
- Exclusive rights can often be licensed directly, because rightholders choose which rights, works and territories they entrust to a CMO (Article 157).
- If you dispute a tariff, you must still pay on account: 100% of the last agreed tariff or, failing that, 50% of the current general tariff (Article 164.5).
- Online music services can obtain licences covering several EU countries at once under Title III of Directive 2014/26/EU.
What is collective management and who regulates it in Spain?
A CMO manages copyright or related rights on behalf of many rightholders. In Spain the rules sit in Book III, Title IV of the Revised Text of the Intellectual Property Law (TRLPI, Royal Legislative Decree 1/1996, consolidated text in the BOE), largely rewritten in 2018 and 2019 to transpose Directive 2014/26/EU on collective management.
Three types of operator can appear on the other side of the table:
- CMOs established in Spain: they must obtain authorisation from the Ministry of Culture and Sport, published in the BOE. They are owned by their members, cannot make a profit and collect the remuneration rights the law reserves to them (Article 147).
- CMOs established abroad that provide services in Spain: they must notify the Ministry before starting and comply with the same core obligations towards users (Article 151).
- Independent management operators: for-profit entities that manage rights for several holders under contract; they must also notify the Ministry (Article 153).
An authorised CMO can sue simply by producing its statutes and authorisation, and the defendant can only object lack of representation, the rightholder’s authorisation or payment (Article 150). Written licences and payment records are therefore your main defence.
When must a business pay a collective management organisation in Spain?
The question is not whether you deal with a CMO, but which right is at stake. This table summarises the uses that most often concern companies entering Spain.
| Use | Right involved (TRLPI) | Can you license directly? |
|---|---|---|
| Background music from commercial recordings in shops, bars, hotels or gyms | Authors’ exclusive right of public communication (Art. 20) plus equitable remuneration for performers and phonogram producers (Arts. 108.4 and 116.2) | The authors’ right, yes, if the holder licenses you. The remuneration, no: it is collected only through CMOs (Arts. 108.6 and 116.3) |
| Screens showing films or audiovisual recordings in premises open to the public | Remuneration for performers and audiovisual producers under the CMO’s general tariffs (Arts. 108.5 and 122.2) | No for the remuneration, which is exercised through CMOs (Arts. 108.6 and 122.3) |
| Manufacturing in Spain, or importing for sale, phones, tablets, memory and other copying devices | Private copying compensation (Art. 25); distributors and retailers are jointly liable unless they prove it was paid (Art. 25.3) | No. CMOs run a joint body for exemptions, refunds and invoicing (Art. 25.10) |
| Cable retransmission of broadcasts from other EU countries | Authors’ right to authorise retransmission (Art. 20.4) | No: exercised exclusively through a CMO (Art. 20.4.b) |
| Music, photos or texts commissioned for marketing | Exclusive rights of reproduction, distribution and communication | Yes, by written contract with the author or owner |
| Streaming or download services | Reproduction and making available online | Partly: online rights may sit with CMOs, publishers or both |
CMOs must negotiate in good faith with any user who asks for a non-exclusive licence (Article 163). Once licensed, you must report usage within 90 days unless otherwise agreed (Article 167).
When can you license directly instead of through a CMO?
A CMO only manages what its members entrust to it. Under Article 157, the rightholder must give explicit written consent for each right, category of rights, type of work and territory, and the CMO cannot require it to hand over all forms of use or all future works. Management contracts last at most three years and can be revoked, in whole or in part, on notice of no more than six months (Article 158). The result is that a given song, photograph or text may be managed by a CMO for some uses and licensed by its owner for others.
Three further rules open room for direct licensing:
- Article 166 excludes from the regime of non-exclusive licences, general tariffs and sector agreements both literary and dramatic works and any singular use of a work that requires individual authorisation from its holder.
- Article 169 lets rightholders grant non-commercial licences even when a CMO manages their rights.
- Article 5 of Directive 2014/26 lets rightholders pick a CMO in any Member State, regardless of nationality or establishment, so the right counterparty may not be Spanish.
Direct licensing reduces CMO payments but does not touch mandatory remuneration rights. A hotel chain that commissions its own music still owes the remuneration if it also plays commercial recordings, and a retailer that imports devices owes the private copying compensation whatever its music licences say. Our recommendation is to map each use to its right before deciding which counterparty to approach.
How does multi-territorial licensing work for online music?
Title III of Directive 2014/26 lets a CMO grant a single licence for online rights in musical works covering several EU countries, provided it can process repertoire and usage data electronically and efficiently (Articles 23 and 24). A CMO that does not offer such licences can ask another to represent its repertoire, and the requested CMO must accept if it already does so for others (Article 30). If neither happens, rightholders may withdraw their online rights for that purpose and license them directly or through another party (Article 31).
For a platform, rights in one catalogue can therefore be split between several CMOs and publishers across Europe. A service available in the EU for less than three years has one advantage: CMOs need not treat its terms as a precedent for other services (Article 16.2 of the Directive and Article 163.2 TRLPI).
What happens if you disagree with a CMO tariff?
CMOs must publish simple, clear and reasonable general tariffs. Article 164.3 lists the criteria, including the intensity of use, the breadth of the repertoire, the user’s revenue from it and comparable tariffs in other Member States.
A dispute does not suspend payment. Under Article 164.5, a user who challenges a tariff must pay on account 100% of the last agreed tariff or, if there was none, 50% of the current general tariff; that payment is a precondition for asking the First Section of the Intellectual Property Commission to determine the tariff (Articles 164.8 and 194). While talks continue, the licence is deemed granted if you pay the amount claimed under reserve or deposit it with the court (Article 163.4). CMOs must also take part in an online single window where users can see and pay the total amount due to all of them (Article 168).
What this means for your business
- List every use of protected content at each site and online: background music, screens, devices sold, apps and marketing material.
- Classify each use as an exclusive right or a remuneration right, using the table above.
- For exclusive rights, check whether the holder has entrusted that use to a CMO or licenses it directly, and in which territories.
- Request the CMO licences you need before opening, and diary the 90-day reporting obligation.
- For online services aimed at several EU countries, build a rights map that combines multi-territorial CMO licences and direct deals with publishers.
If you are opening in Spain alongside other European or Latin American markets, our copyright and digital content licensing team can map the rights and coordinate the licences from one point of contact.
Where companies get collective management wrong
- Treating a direct licence as a full exemption. A licence from the composer does not cover the remuneration for performers and producers when commercial recordings are played in public.
- Refusing to pay while disputing a tariff. Without the payment on account, the user loses the provisional licence and the route to have the tariff determined.
- Ignoring the private copying compensation when importing devices. Retailers are jointly liable if their supplier did not pay.
- Paying the wrong entity. Each CMO represents specific categories of rightholders, and a foreign CMO may hold the online rights you need.
- Signing licences that do not match the actual use. Licences are priced by type and intensity of use, so a change of format or a new site needs a review.
A single adviser who sees the CMO licences and the direct contracts together keeps them aligned, and our licensing and IP disputes team can step in if a claim arrives.
Frequently asked questions
Does every shop or restaurant in Spain have to pay collecting societies?
Only if it uses protected content in public. Playing commercial recordings triggers both the authors’ public communication right and the equitable remuneration for performers and producers, which can only be paid through CMOs. A business that plays no music and shows no audiovisual content in its premises has nothing to license for those uses.
Can I avoid CMO fees by using royalty-free or commissioned music?
You can reduce them. Music licensed directly by its owner removes the need for a CMO licence of the authors’ right, provided the owner really controls that use. The equitable remuneration for commercial recordings remains whenever such recordings are played, so the saving depends on replacing them entirely and documenting it.
Can IP Global Guard handle music and content licensing for our opening in Spain?
Yes. We audit the planned uses, identify which payments must go through CMOs and which rights can be licensed directly, review the licence terms and coordinate the contracts. Where your expansion also covers Latin America or Africa, we coordinate qualified local correspondents so the licensing strategy stays consistent across markets.
How IP Global Guard can help you license in Spain
Getting collective management right is a mapping exercise: which content you use, which right applies, and who controls it in each territory. IP Global Guard, the IP services line of META Channel Corporation Limited, handles copyright licensing, assignments and disputes with one strategy and one billing relationship across more than 25 jurisdictions in Europe, Latin America and Africa.
Tell us how many sites you are opening, what music, screens or devices they will use and whether you will offer online services. We will tell you which licences you need, which you can negotiate directly and what to budget for. Contact our copyright licensing team.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and does not replace an assessment of your specific situation.
