About Grammo

The spread of music is inseparable from phonography. If the interpretation and performance of a song are not recorded and no copies are made, there can be only live performance of music. This is a duty carried out by the music industry.

Therefore, music industry comprises of the record companies which, on their own initiative and business risk, proceed to record a song, create copies of this recording that set at the disposal of the consumers, either as a physical product (cd), or over the internet. Record companies are called producers of sound carriers. When they produce videoclips, they are called producers of audiovisual carriers.

This investment of the producers is protected as a neighboring right by the law 2121/1993. This law provides to the producers various rights that are described in articles 18, 47 and 49 of the law.

There is a massive use of recorded music everywhere. On radio, on TV, at places of entertainment, through the internet. This massive use results on each producer not being able to protect his rights on his own. Furthermore, the users of music are not able to seek each and every one producer, in order to conform to the law 2121/1993.

So, the need for collective administration of rights arises. This is the duty of a Collecting and Administrating Society. Namely a union of persons that belongs to the producers and is administered by them.

The Collecting and Administrating Society of the producers of music and videoclips is GRAMMO, the sole society for the category of rightholders that represents. Established in July 1994 operates under licence of the Minister of Culture. Its legal form is a non-profit company of the civil law. Non-profit means that Grammo does not operate commercially and therefore has no profit.

Grammo is established in Greece and operates in the territories of the Hellenic Republic and the Republic of Cyprus, with no settling in the latter. Grammo administers and protects the rights of the producers of audiovisual carriers, as follows:

Α. Greece: (i.) administers the right of equitable remuneration provided by art. 18 (3) l. 2121/1993, (ii.) the right provided by art. 49 (1) l. 2121/1993 is administered by the joint society GEA (GRAMMO-ERATO-APOLLON), which attributes to Grammo the 50% of its income, after the deduction of administrative costs, (iii.) administers and protects the provided by art. 47 (1a) l. 2121/1993 power of reproduction for the scope of communication to the public which is present in and/or absent from the place of communication, (iv.) administers and protects the provided by art. 47 (1d) l. 2121/1993 power of making available to the public the sound carriers that have been legally synchronized to radio and/or television programs, from a place and at a time individually chosen by them, (v.) administer and protect the provided by art. 47 (2f) l. 2121/1993 power of broadcasting audiovisual carriers (video clips).

Β. Cyprus. Administers and protects: (i.) the provided by art. 7.-(1)(a)(vi)(a) & and by art. L. 59/76 power of communication to the public of recordings (works) and (ii.)the provided by art. 9 L. 59/1976 power of broadcasting of recordings.

C. Grammo’s repertoire is the at any time whole of audio or/and audiovisual carriers, produced or/and exploited by its members and rightholders, including the repertoire that represents as a result of reciprocal agreements. The list of members, rightholders and reciprocal agreements can be found here.

D. For the claims of art. 18 (3) and 49 (1) l. 2121/1993, it is presumed that Grammo, provided by art. 7 (1b) l. 4481/2017, represents the whole of the rightholders.

Scope

Grammo, according to its statute, has been empowered by its members, among others, to:

• Prepare contracts with users for the terms of exploitation of its members’ works, as well as the relevant fee, to collect the fee and distribute among its members the collected amounts
• To proceed to any necessary actions for the legal protection of its members or their licensees and seek the prohibition of actions that infringe right in regard to the assigned powers
• To proceed in cooperation with public authorities to the necessary inspections in venues selling, renting or lending copies or of public performance of the protected works in order to verify that these actions do not infringe its members’ rights
• To represent in Greece bilaterally, foreign organizations or associations of administration or protection or administration and protection of foreign phonogram or videogram producers and to exercise in Greece on behalf of their members the same rights to those of its members
• To exercise, following a relevant mandate and authorization, the same powers that exercises for its members on behalf of other administrating organizations that have been established according to the provisions of Law 2121/93 or to establish together with other administrating organizations collecting bodies for the collection and distribution of these rights

Distribution

As a non-profit company, Grammo collects rights from the music use for the whole of the Greek and foreign repertoire, that distributes annually and at a minimum possible cost to the rightholders, members or not, and to Societies or companies of administration and/or protection of producers of other countries (Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Russia, Serbia, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom, USA, etc) with which Grammo has signed reciprocal agreements.

For the calculation of the distributed amounts to the rightholders the following are taken into account:

1. Market share
2. Frequency of registered repertoire in the PLAY-LISTS submitted by users
3. The collected amounts by a user (business, radio or television station, internet service) for the PLAY-LIST submitted.