Online advertising campaigns
One or more commercials placed on third-party websites qualifies as an online advertising campaign.
You need to obtain the production rights (Tariff VN) for each commercial, as well as a licence for making available (Tariff VN-A).
How to acquire the relevant music rights:
- Existing music: synchronisation rights must be obtained from the authors or their representatives, as well as from the label if the music was published on vinyl, CD, or on streaming platforms. This must be done before the film is produced.
- Commissioned music: if you are commissioning music from a composer, the rights of use must be regulated by a contract. If the composer belongs to a collective management organisation, SUISA manages the authors’ rights.
- Production music: beware of purportedly free music from websites. Certain providers claim that all rights are included, but that is not always true. SUISA manages the rights for uses in Switzerland and Liechtenstein in particular.
Production music specificities: no further action required as regards synchronisation rights. Favour our production music contract partners to avoid paying twice for rights.
Making-available rights:
Moreover, for advertising campaigns aired on the internet, you must obtain the making-available rights in addition to the production rights. These rights are based on the Swiss media budget for the airing of the campaign.
Contact:
For questions, please contact our team at: advertising@suisa.ch or +41 21 614 28 / 30
How to proceed:
Select the type of commercial below. Fill in the online form to apply for the right licence. You can save the form and finish filling it in later.
After checking your application, SUISA issues you an invoice. The licence is valid as soon as payment is received.
From the payment proceeds, SUISA distributes the corresponding royalties to the entitled composers, lyricists, and publishers.
Go to licence application
Tariff VN-A distinguishes between single or serial spots.
This could be of interest to you:
FAQ: Frequently asked questions
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Yes. The video production must first be licensed under tariff VN. As part of this process, you are issued a SUISA number. Then when the video is made available on the internet, the terms and conditions for online advertising campaigns are applicable. When registering to make the video available, you will be asked for the SUISA number. For further information.
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Image films are designed to cast a positive light on a company while commercials are designed to promote sales.
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Productions must always be registered before the audiovisual recording is produced.
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WebTV is a service offering continuous programmes that are not time-delayed. The user cannot influence the programme playback.
With Video on Demand (VoD), the viewer can choose when to watch a programme: the viewer can start, pause and stop the playback of a programme at any time. Video on Demand also includes videos embedded in websites.
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Videos and websites presenting the same content in several languages on the same domain qualify as a single video or web presence.
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In practice, the uploading person will be sent a warning with a request to delete the video or have it deleted. In certain cases, labels may demand damages for the unauthorised online use. In the case of well-known songs, it may not even be possible to obtain permission to upload. With certain providers, the videos are simply deleted. It depends on the individual case, and on the individual provider and rightholder.
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SUISA can licence all the rights (mechanical rights, worldwide rights for making available , synchronisation rights, neighbouring rights) in what is known as mood music. SUISA maintains corresponding agreements with various publishers of mood music. For further information, please click here.
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SUISA licenses the mechanical rights (production) and the right to make audiovisual productions available. But the production process involves other rights. These are synchronisation rights, generally held by the publisher, on the one hand, and recording rights, held by the label, on the other. To obtain these rights, one normally has to pay the corresponding remuneration.
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These are two distinct forms of use. The mechanical rights are federally regulated and are subject to a tariff. Making available is not federally regulated and is subject to its own set of rules. Both uses are public uses within the meaning of the Copyright Act.
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Package deals are possible if the customer only uses a single offer, e.g. if the customer only ever uses music from the same mood music catalogue, or the same music title for all videos. This must be considered on a case-by-case basis.