Christmas markets: protest over dispute about music fees

Fees - Christmas markets: protest over dispute about music fees

Crunching roasted almonds and riding the carousel without "Jingle Bells" or "Last Christmas": anyone strolling through Christmas markets on Monday might have noticed an unusual silence. Because in protest against high fees for music, Christmas markets in Lower Saxony also remained quieter than usual. There were no live performances by choirs and loudspeakers were turned off. Christmas market operators throughout Germany had called for a "Day of Silence". In Lower Saxony, the cities of Hanover and Goslar took part.

The background to this is a dispute over money. Christmas market operators are complaining about what they see as excessive music bills from the Gesellschaft für musikalische Aufführungs- und mechanische Vervielfältigungsrechte (Gema). Gema rejects the accusations.

"We are completely dispensing with music today," said a spokesperson for the city's event management in Goslar. Loudspeakers were not used there. The same applies in the state capital Hanover. Neither live music nor music from a tape recorder was to be played there.

Visitors to the Christmas market in Hanover noticed the lack of music. "It's unusually quiet like this. You're used to being blasted with Christmas music and it makes it a bit cozy," said a 44-year-old woman from Kiel. Another passer-by from Leipzig also thought something was missing without the carols. "I'd rather have music," said the 60-year-old. However, she thought it was good that the silent protest was drawing attention to the issue.

Fees have risen fivefold

Christmas market operators across Germany wanted to make a statement with the silent protest. They are complaining about an increase in the cost of music usage rights - including Hanover, for example. While the city council said it paid a fee of 9500 euros for the sound for the 2019 Christmas market, Gema recently demanded around 45,000 euros for the 2022 Christmas market.

"The fees are now calculated according to the total event area, regardless of the actual area covered by the sound system, for example in front of the stage," said Anja Ritschel, Head of Hanover's Department of Economic and Environmental Affairs. "Overnight, the fees have increased fivefold." Stage programs with live music could hardly be financed in this way, she said.

The city of Braunschweig has already announced that it will forego choir performances this year due to the higher fees. According to the city, Gema demanded around 18,000 euros more.

Tariff according to event area

The collecting society Gema, which represents the copyrights of over 90,000 rights holders such as composers, lyricists and music publishers in Germany and distributes income to them, is surprised by the uproar. This is because, according to the company, the costs for the overall sound at Christmas markets are calculated according to a tariff that has been in force since 2011 - namely based on the size of the event area.

"Measurements must be taken from wall to wall, from the first to the last stand", according to a Gema statement published on Thursday. Broken down, this means that the larger the area covered by sound, the higher the license costs.

According to Gema, the higher fees are not only due to the fact that some Christmas markets have recently become larger. In some cases, operators have also registered too small an area with Gema. Until 2022, Gema said it had not checked the total area of markets, but had relied on the correct registration of Christmas market operators. Then it was remeasured.

Association of cities demands tariff adjustment

The Association of Cities and Towns of Lower Saxony no longer believes that a solution is on the horizon for this year. "Of course, we have an interest in finding a solution next year that takes the cost pressure out of the market events," said Managing Director Jan Arning. The association is calling for the Gema tariff to be adapted more precisely to the circumstances of a Christmas market.

After all, a children's choir or an orchestra does not automatically provide sound for the entire Christmas market. "You can see this best in Hanover: If someone sings at the Marktkirche, you can't hear it on the banks of the Leine," said Arning. Therefore, the entire area cannot be used for the calculation. "You have to make sure that you find a clever solution that takes both sides into account."

Markets such as the one in Bremen, where there is no overall sound system and no performances, are not affected by the dispute. The music at the individual stalls is also not involved in the dispute, as the showmen conclude their own contracts with Gema for the music played there.

Nevertheless, the dispute over the fees is causing displeasure among the showmen: "Simply increasing an amount or calculating it differently is something we don't understand," said Gregory Laubinger, press spokesman for the regional association of market and showmen's businesses. "The fairground profession lives and dies with music." Especially at Christmas time, music and choir performances are important for the atmosphere. "You take away a piece of people's quality of life."

Press releases from Gema Announcement from the City of Hanover from 1.12.