Silent night - but GEMA-free please!

Music with restrictions - Christmas is getting quieter

The smell of mulled wine, the crackling of the fireplaces, children's laughter and the sound of "O du fröhliche" somewhere - this is how many people imagine the Christmas market in Nördlingen. But when it comes to music, there is a problem that has been giving the festival of joy a very special flavor for some time now. Not all Christmas carols are allowed to be played. And this is not due to taste or religion - but to GEMA.

Since 2023, the atmosphere on the stage at the Alte Schranne has been a little more subdued. Where choirs and brass bands used to perform their repertoire of classics, there are now restrictions. And the reason is tangible - and expensive.

From 20 euros to over 1000: when fees explode

Everything used to be easier - and cheaper. As the Augsburger Allgemeine reports, the town of Nördlingen paid GEMA 20.56 euros a day until 2022 to be allowed to play music in the "sound reinforcement room" around the stage. That sounded reasonable: you only paid for what could actually be heard.

But then everything changed, as Nördlingen's event manager Daniel Wizinger explains. GEMA suddenly insisted that the entire Christmas market be considered an event area - regardless of whether anyone at the other end of the square could hear the music at all. The result: more than 1,100 euros in GEMA fees per day - almost 10,000 euros for the entire market. That was the end of the line.

Music groups must stay outside - or be quiet

To avoid the high costs, the city decided to only allow GEMA-free music. This hit many groups hard. The children's choir, for example, was only able to perform three of eleven rehearsed songs. Other bands canceled completely.

There is now a new framework agreement - a "reasonable compromise", as GEMA calls it. But the Ries has a different opinion: although the costs are falling, 700 euros per day is still far higher than what the groups themselves receive - 100 euros and a meal voucher. Event manager Daniel Wizinger puts it in a nutshell: "We pay more to GEMA than to the youth groups."

Bureaucracy instead of contemplation

Particularly bitter: the burden of proof lies with the city. It must prove that the songs played are actually GEMA-free. Communication with GEMA? Only via an online portal. And additional claims in the five-figure range are still outstanding for past years. For larger events such as the Stadtmauerfest, GEMA fees amounting to 500,000 euros would have been due - this could only have been avoided by playing GEMA-free music.

The city council followed the administration's proposal: only license-free music will be played in 2025. As unfortunate as this is, the financial framework leaves little room for maneuver.

Is that still a fair copyright?

If the protection of copyrights gets so out of hand that children's choirs have to cancel Christmas carols and brass bands, something is going wrong. GEMA fees must not become a luxury that only big cities can afford. Culture thrives on participation - not on pricing. If you regulate too much, you stifle the music. We should also keep that in mind.

SOURCES: Augsburger Allgemeine/Rieser Nachrichten