How to read your GEMA royalty statement
By Marc Aaron Jacobs · Updated
GEMA does not have one statement format, it has several, and which one you download decides what you can learn from it. The compact statement shows what each work earned but carries no performance count. The TV/Film report carries Anzahl Ausstrahlungen, the number of broadcasts, plus the channel and the real broadcast dates.
In every GEMA report, Werkfassungstitel is the work, Werkfassungsnummer its number, and Betrag gebucht the amount in euros. Files use semicolons between columns and commas for decimals.
Where to download it
Sign in to the GEMA Online Portal, open My royalties, then My downloads, and request the detailed statement as CSV. Download it within 10 days of requesting it.
The compact statement has no performance counts. If you want to check airings, request the detailed report.
The columns that matter
| Column | What it means |
|---|---|
| Werkfassungstitel | The work (title of the work version). |
| Werkfassungsnummer | GEMA's work number, for example 23346488-001. |
| Filmtitel/Serientitel/Werbespottitel | The film, series or commercial. |
| Titel der Sendung | The program (TV/Film report). |
| Sender/Mediathek | The channel or streaming library (TV/Film report). |
| Anzahl Ausstrahlungen | Number of broadcasts (TV/Film report). |
| Nutzungsdatum von | When the use happened. |
| Ausschüttungstermin | When GEMA paid, on the compact statement. |
| Verkaufsland | Country of use. |
| Betrag gebucht | The amount booked to you, in euros. |
Foreign income
Income collected abroad comes in its own report, with a file name starting "A_". It names the foreign society that collected it and the date of use. Its Menge/Anzahl column is units, not broadcasts.
GEMA runs well behind: about four quarters between a use and its payment, so a missing line is often a line that has not arrived yet.
Read it in one minute
Drop the file into the free statement reader and it is recognized as GEMA automatically. It runs in your browser, nothing is uploaded, and no account is needed.
Common questions
Does a GEMA statement show how many times my music was broadcast?
Only some report types. The compact statement has no count; the TV/Film report carries Anzahl Ausstrahlungen, the number of broadcasts.
What is Betrag gebucht?
The amount booked to you on that line, in euros.
How long does GEMA take to pay?
Roughly four quarters from use to distribution.
Related
- How to read your PRS for Music royalty statement: Tunecode, Number of Perfs, and the date that is not when it aired.
- How to read your ASCAP royalty statement: domestic and international exports, column by column.
- How to read a royalty statement: what the blank channel column means, and why one line is not one payment.
Who makes this
ONTRK is built by Marc Aaron Jacobs, a composer who runs the libraries Tonal Chaos and Tonal Chaos Trailers, and who built DropCue. ONTRK started as the thing he wrote to read his own ASCAP statements. Questions go to hello@ontrk.app and reach him directly.
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