Livestreams from churches and religious communities

Live streaming is (as a rule) the direct transmission of music or events disseminated live via the internet.

In principle, the remuneration is charged as a percentage of revenues. If there are no revenues, remuneration will be based on the total costs, or a minimum fee will be applied. 

For more information and the licensing terms and conditions for livestreams: Livestreams of events

As a private individual, you do not need a licence from SUISA to place non-commercial livestreams on YouTube and/or Facebook/Instagram because SUISA has direct agreements with both platforms (YouTube and Facebook/Instagram). In this context, non-commercial means that no money is charged for the livestream and that it is not produced by or for a company. Charity actions whose proceeds go entirely to the needy, as well as religious services and association events qualify as non-commercial provided no money is charged.

On social media: whenever money is charged for the livestream, or if it is streamed by or for a company.

On your own website: as a rule, whenever you use music protected by copyright.
Exception: a performing artist (e.g. a band) which only ever plays its own compositions (“own use”).

Usually, such messages tell you who the objecting rightholders are.

In this case, it is advisable to contact the person or organisation concerned: that is the best way of finding out why the notice appeared.

YouTube treats archived livestreams exactly the same way as any other uploaded videos: rightholders who can claim content in the videos are able to display advertising.

The advertising revenues are then shared between YouTube and the rightholders.

This is admissible; you can only avoid it by using music which you have composed and produced yourself in the video.

That depends: if you do not play music from a recording (and only stream concerts, for example), you can assume that the stream will not be blocked. However, SUISA is only responsible for copyrights and not for recording rights which are represented by the labels. Therefore, if you play music from recordings, you need to contact the labels to avoid blocking.

If you livestream music, you need a licence for the copyrights in accordance with the Licensing terms and conditions for livestreams.

Important:
If you are planning to stream commercially available recordings (e.g.C Ds, MP3s, or music from streaming platforms), depending on the platform and rightholders, the livestream may be blocked.

Tip: Read more on this subject in the SUISAblog article "Information on live streams for SUISA members"

Registration forms are found on our website here: Livestreams of events

1. From your organ/live/concert
   a) on social media: the rights are generally regulated by contracts with the platforms. You do not need a licence from SUISA.
   b) on your own website: you must obtain a licence from SUISA in accordance with the livestream licensing terms and conditions 
    
2. From recordings
   a) on social media: you should expect the stream to be blocked (see FAQ 6)
   b) on your own website: in addition to the authors’ rights, you need licences from the labels.

Yes, you must obtain a licence in accordance with the livestream licensing terms and conditions.

Important:
DJ sets usually contain music recordings in respect of which the record companies or labels hold the recording rights.

Many labels expressly prohibit DJ livestreams on social media, and often automatically block them.

To livestream on your own website, you additionally need to license the recording rights directly from the labels. Without a licence, you will be infringing those copyrights and risk prosecution.

Tip:
According to SUISA, Mixcloud is currently the only platform that has concluded agreements with most major labels for DJ livestreams. To be on the safe side of the law, we advise you to only livestream your DJ sets there.