Under the EU’s DSM copyright directive, a songwriter or performer can revoke an exclusive deal when the label or publisher holding the rights is not using them.
DSM means Digital Single Market. Directive (EU) 2019/790 is better known for its upload-filter fight, but Articles 18 to 23 set contract rules for authors and performers that every member state had to adopt by 7 June 2021.
Two rules matter most to an independent catalogue: a yearly statement you no longer have to request, and an exit from an exclusive deal gone quiet.
The yearly statement comes first
Article 19 entitles authors and performers to information “at least once a year” from anyone they licensed or transferred rights to, including “all revenues generated and remuneration due”. It has covered agreements since 7 June 2022.
- If your direct counterpart lacks the data, you can ask its sub-licensees, and the counterpart must name them.
- Article 23 makes any contract clause that blocks this “unenforceable”.
- Collecting societies are carved out, because a 2014 directive already governs their reporting.
Germany’s section 32d makes the first statement due a year after use begins, and section 79(2a) extends it to performers. Minor contributions, or deals where reporting effort outweighs the revenue, can be exempt.
In Italy, according to Taylor Wessing’s comparative review of national laws, a missing statement creates a presumption that pay was inadequate, and the media regulator can fine up to 1 percent of turnover.
The exit from a shelved deal
Article 22 lets an author or performer revoke an exclusive licence or transfer, in whole or in part, where there is “a lack of exploitation”. You must first notify the rights holder and set a deadline. National law sets the clock.
Germany: two years, then a grace period
Section 41 bars revocation for two years from the grant, or from delivery if later. Then you announce the recall and set a reasonable grace period for the holder to use the rights.
- You can withdraw the whole licence or only its exclusivity.
- You must compensate the holder if and as far as fairness requires.
- A contract can weaken the right only through a collective or joint remuneration agreement.
Spain: five years, then at least a year’s notice
Article 48 bis of the Spanish Copyright Act, in force since 4 November 2021, allows revocation by default five years after the grant, with notice of no less than a year. The right cannot be waived.
It excludes collective works and works of collaboration, which can include a co-written song. Separately, SGAE’s statutes let members withdraw rights one category at a time.
Article 47 adds a second clock: if the agreed pay proves manifestly disproportionate to the assignee’s later revenue, an author has 10 years from the assignment to ask a judge for a fair rate.
Why most artists never use it
The Netherlands had similar rules from 2015. Taylor Wessing summarises a 2020 evaluation by the Institute for Information Law and Leiden University: the fair-pay right was “barely exercised” and the bestseller clause rarely invoked, with fear of losing contracts or being blacklisted a major reason.
Article 21 helps. Representative organisations of authors and performers can start dispute resolution at a creator’s request, so no artist has to file alone.
What to do with your catalogue
- Diary the clocks. For each exclusive deal, log the grant date, the two-year or five-year mark, and whether the work has co-writers.
- Keep every statement. Revocation and adjustment claims turn on proving use and revenue, and a year of zero activity is evidence.
- Label owners, read it the other way. If you sign EU artists, you are the counterparty. Build the yearly report into your royalty cycle now.
- Check exclusivity first. Article 22 covers exclusive grants only. A non-exclusive distribution deal you can leave on notice never needs it.
Statements that log streams and revenue per release, like those in InterSpace Distribution’s artist royalty dashboard, are the paper trail these articles run on.
Brazil reaches a similar goal by capping assignments of future songs at five years. The directive’s own review is due no sooner than 7 June 2026, so treat national details as current, not permanent.
