Belgian collecting societies owe more than €600 million in unpaid royalties
Belgian collecting societies owe more than €600 million in unpaid royalties
A major scandal broke out in Belgium as it’s revealed that the Belgian collecting societies (including Sabam, PlayRight and Reprobel) collectively sit on more than €600 million in unpaid royalties according to the Federal Public Service (FPS) Economy’s oversight service.
In the report, the total debt to rightsholders – aka unpaid royalties – across the sector is €636,787,187 for 2023. Sabam alone accounts for €284,844,995 of that total (44.7%).
Collecting societies sit between users of protected works (broadcasters, venues, platforms, businesses, organisers, and other licence holders) and rightsholders (authors, composers, publishers, performers, and producers, depending on the mandate). They collect licence fees, then distribute them after matching usage data to works and beneficiaries. That distribution chain creates balance-sheet items that accumulate between collection and payout.
The FPS report breaks the €636.8 million in unpaid royalties into accounting categories. The oversight service states that these categories do not all equal “late payments,” because some amounts (read: only a small percentage) remain blocked by non-payment, disputes, missing identifiers, or incomplete distribution data. The report lists the following components for the unpaid royalties debacle:
- €98.6m unpaid royalties are linked to rights “awaiting collection” (the user has not paid yet, or funds sit in a dispute).
- €408.7m unpaid royalties are linked to collected rights that still need allocation and distribution steps.
- €128.5m unpaid royalties where distribution is set, but payment has not yet been executed.
- Smaller financial income linked to managing collected rights.
The report notes that some rights stay reserved when the society lacks the required invoicing basis, or when the rightsholder has not mandated a society for certain statutory schemes, until the claim is made or the amount is reclassified under the legal framework. But that is like we said just a very small percentage and does not explain the half a billion euros in unpaid royalties linked to administrative reasons.
The situation is more than problematic for the rightholders
The issue with unpaid royalties has two distinct dimensions: money that is ready to pay but remains in process, and money that cannot be paid because payment, data, or legal clarity is missing.
The oversight report states that 67.23% of the sector’s 2023 “debt to rightsholders” (or €428.1m) is categorised as “payable,” but it remains unpaid because the distribution and payment process has not finished.
Belgian rules require collecting societies to distribute and pay within the legal deadlines. When a society misses those deadlines, which is clearly the case here, it must provide “objective reasons” in its annual report. Rightsholders can request an explanation, pursue court action, or file a complaint under the supervisory system described by FPS Economy. The reasons given though are almost entirely bureaucratic in nature.
The oversight report links growth in category-1 (“payable”) debts to weaker performance in closing the distribution cycle. It also reports that category-1 debt rose by €40.5m versus the prior year resulting in more and more unpaid royalties.
At the same time, the FPS report stresses that “debt to rightsholders” combines different items: unpaid invoices from users, money awaiting allocation, amounts awaiting invoicing by the rightsholder, statutory-licence reserves, and financial income linked to royalty management. That mix allows public debate to compress different situations into a single “backlog” label, even when the underlying causes differ.” Even with prudent policies, large held balances force extra scrutiny on controls, reporting, and member oversight.
Similar problems in other countries with unpaid royalties
Many collecting societies and related royalty administrators report large “held,” “in-process,” or “undistributed/unclaimed” balances. The reasons given are data-matching, allocation, dispute, or payee-identification issues.
- France (SACEM). SACEM’s 2023 financial statements (in thousands of euros) show “droits en attente de mise en répartition” closing at 702,904 (€702.904m) at year-end 2023.
- United Kingdom (PRS for Music). PRS’ 2024 financial statements list “Amounts owed to members and affiliated societies” of £433,066,000 under creditors due within one year.
- Netherlands (Buma/Stemra). Buma’s 2023 annual report describes a “process stock” for money that cannot be paid out after the first attempt, and states it has three years to identify the rightful owner; if that fails, it adds the funds to a general rights distribution (with stated exceptions such as double claims).
- United States (SoundExchange). SoundExchange’s audited financials describe “allocated but undistributed” royalties held pending further attempts to pay, retained for no less than three years under applicable regulations.
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