Mint Digital Services and SUISA Manage Online Business for AUTODIA

PRESS RELEASE

Mint Digital Services and SUISA Manage Online Business for Greek Collecting Society AUTODIA

Mint Digital Services, SUISA and the Greek copyright society AUTODIA have signed an agreement for the international online licensing and administration of composers, lyricists and publishers

Athens/Zurich/New York, 19 January 2021 – The Greek copyright society AUTODIA has entered into an agreement with Mint Digital Services, the joint venture between the US music rights organization SESAC and the Swiss copyright society SUISA. In Greece, Mint administers AUTODIA's online rights, which include millions of musical works of 2 million music authors -composers, lyricists- and music publishers, direct members of AUTODIA, as well as the repertoire of sister societies represented by AUTODIA through reciprocal agreements. In addition, Mint represents the online rights of AUTODIA's members worldwide.

Revenues from online usage of music worldwide

The cooperation is effective immediately and covers the international online usage of AUTODIA’s repertoire. As the main contractor, SUISA will conduct negotiations with international online services such as streaming platforms and download services on behalf of AUTODIA, integrating the AUTODIA repertoire into its existing and new licenses. The joint license structure allows individual right-holders access to better terms, increasing the compensation for their works and providing them access to the international music market.

Mint Digital Services will be responsible for the administration of the online usage of AUTODIA’s repertoire. AUTODIA benefits from Mint Digital Service’s state-of-the-art systems to process music usages. From the registration of musical works to the usage, billing and distribution of the revenues, Mint’s unique end-to-end approach brings full transparency to AUTODIA and its members. Mint Digital Services maintains a database with 16 million documented musical works and 96 million sound recordings, of which 25 million are linked to compositions. This is one of the world’s most extensive databases for the identification of musical works.

A landmark for Greek collective management

The agreement for multi-territory online licensing constitutes a milestone in the history of Greek collective management by introducing national repertoire monitoring on multiple global digital channels of music. With this agreement, AUTODIA enters an era of online royalty collection and distribution, as its repertoire will start generating revenue from the worldwide operation of over 50 major online music service providers in approximately 200 territories.

The Chairman of AUTODIA’s Board Nikos Antypas said: “We are very happy to have concluded this landmark agreement that will allow us to offer multi-territory online licensing, including Greece, to our members, who have been eagerly awaiting revenue from the use of their works on the largest global music platforms. Through our partnership with Mint and SUISA, we are confident that we will expand our services to our members in the most effective and transparent manner.”

Representation of Mint in the Greek market

Thanks to the collaboration between AUTODIA and Mint, the repertoires of the publishers and copyright societies represented by Mint will gain access to the Greek market.

“The collaboration with AUTODIA is an important step for Mint and SUISA”, says Fabian Niggemeier, CEO of Mint Digital Services. “We are delighted to represent AUTODIA and its members. With its prestigious repertoire, Mint can negotiate better terms with the online service providers. This brings financial benefits for the Greek rightsholders of music. Moreover, the publishers and collecting societies represented by Mint will have a direct access to the important Greek market.”

“We are thrilled with this new association with AUTODIA, and especially proud to represent their members in the complex world of online music rights,” says Alexander Wolf, President of International, SESAC and The Harry Fox Agency. “The powerful combination of AUTODIA and Mint will not only provide efficiencies within the industry, it will bring value to the creators and enable them to thrive in the dynamic landscape.”

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About Mint Digital Services AG

Mint Digital Services is the alliance between the only U.S. Music Rights Organization (MRO), SESAC, and the Swiss collective management organization, SUISA. Mint is one of the leading administrators for licenses to use musical compositions in online music services on behalf of publishers, Collective-Management Organizations (CMOs) or Independent Management Entities (IMEs).

About SUISA

SUISA is the cooperative society for composers, lyricists and music publishers in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Its 38,000 members include music professionals from all disciplines. In Switzerland and Liechtenstein, SUISA represents the musical repertoire of two million authors worldwide. It grants licences to use this repertoire to more than 120,000 customers.

SUISA Digital Licensing is a licensing unit of SUISA. The company offers to license the Performing Rights of several Anglo-American Performing Rights Organizations on a multi-territorial basis to any digital service provider. In 2017, SUISA and US performance rights organization SESAC founded the joint venture Mint Digital Services. The company manages invoicing and administration for the transnational music licensing businesses of SESAC, its subsidiary the Harry Fox Agency and SUISA with online providers, and also offers its services to publishers.

With approximately 240 employees in Zurich, Lausanne and Lugano, SUISA generates a turnover of more than CHF 160 million. As a non-profit organization, it distributes the proceeds from licenses to music authors and publishers after deducting the administrative costs. www.suisa.ch

About AUTODIA

AUTODIA, a CISAC, BIEM and GESAC member, is the Greek Collecting Society of music copyright that represents in Greece, by direct membership with Greek authors and rightsholders, and by reciprocal representation agreements with over 70 Sister Societies, more than 2,000,000 music authors and rightsholders and over 25,000,000 musical works. Also, its domestic repertoire is performed and presented in many territories internationally and especially in Greek communities all around the world. AUTODIA runs as a non-profit organization and collects and distributes royalties to its members for public performance, broadcasting, online, mechanical reproduction and private copying levy. Distributions take place twice a year, in June and December, after retaining a deduction fee for covering its operating costs. www.autodia.gr