Membership

When you join Koda, you transfer the sole right of management of the rights to public performance and recording of your music/lyrics to Koda. This means that we collect payment from those who use your music and distribute those funds to you when your music is used. It also means that you cannot prevent others from playing or recording your works once they have been published as long as those users pay for it. You still hold all copyright to the work, which means that you decide whether others should be allowed to process your music/lyrics, add new lyrics to your music or the like.

The membership declaration is a legally binding agreement between Koda and you as a member. The agreement is also called a ‘management agreement’ (forvaltningsaftale), and when you sign it, you transfer the right of managing important aspects of the copyright to your music / lyrics to Koda. Therefore, you cannot enter into special agreements with other parties about the use of some of your works. Nor can you enter into special agreements to allow others to use your music without paying Koda (for public performances) and/or NCB (for recording).

Joining Koda costs DKK 650 for composers / lyricists. For music publishers, the price of joining is DKK 3,500. In both cases, this is a lump sum that must be paid upon joining. This means that you pay no annual fee to be a member of Koda.

BECOME A KODA MEMBER HERE

Becoming a member of Koda is only relevant for you when your lyrics are put to music, and when there is a real chance that this music and your lyrics will be performed in public. We only pay for texts related to music (lyrics). It is perfectly possible for music works to be registered with Koda and receive distributions  without lyrics (instrumental works). Conversely, you should note that NCB can in fact manage the rights to monologues and similar texts if they are to be recorded. Read more about that subject here.

As a Koda member, you are either a full member (with the right to vote) or an associate member (meaning that you cannot vote). You have the right to vote if you meet the following criteria.

As an author (lyricist, composer or heir) you have the right to vote when your distributions received from Koda amount to

• at least DKK 4,000 on average per year for at least three consecutive years, or
• at least DKK 30,000 within a single year.

As a publisher member (music publisher), you have the right to vote when your distributions received from Koda amount to

• at least DKK 10,000 on average per year for at least three consecutive years, or
• at least DKK 100,000 within a single calendar year.

Once you have obtained the right to vote, you keep that right regardless of the scale of your future Koda distributions.

When you join Koda, you also become a member of the Nordic Copyright Bureau (NCB).

Koda and NCB each manage their own sets of rights. Koda collects payments for so-called public performances, which include music played at concerts, on radio and TV, in restaurants, at music venues, etc. NCB manages the rights to record and copy music on CD, DVD, film, video etc. Koda manages your rights to public performance of your musical works, but has entrusted the management of rights to recording and reproduction (the mechanical rights) to NCB.

My Koda is the gateway to exchanging information between you and us. Based on the information you provide to us, we can distribute payment to you for any public performances of your music. You must register your works with Koda (submit notification) and report your concerts via My Koda.

On My Koda, you can view all details about your distributions from Koda and from NCB and update your contact details.

My Koda gives you access to:

• Works (Register work/Work list/Search works)
• NCB web services (Access to your distribution receipts from NCB, etc.)
• Profile (your contact details registered with us )
• Help (a guide on how to use the various functions)

WATCH VIDEO GUIDES FOR MY KODA

We have created a series of video tutorials to help you register works, report concerts, search your account and so on. They offer quick guidance on what to do. 

It is possible to share your membership between two collecting societies. For example, one society may manage your performance rights for its own territory while the other society manages the rest of the world. You can learn more about the advantages and disadvantages associated with splitting up the management of your rights by contacting [email protected]

When you receive your distributions, the costs of administrating the Koda set-up have already been deducted. Koda has the lowest administrative cost rates of all collecting societies in the world. Out of Koda’s total revenues (payments from customers + interest), we typically spend 10 per cent on administration. Koda’s annual report is published every spring and is available for download here.

According to copyright law, your musical works / texts are protected from the moment you created them. Having your works registered with Koda does not entail any special protection or additional copyright.

This means that you do not need to become a member of Koda / NCB before your work is played publicly or is about to be recorded. We manage your rights, we do not protect them.

Can I manage some of my rights myself?

Yes. It is possible to manage your rights yourself within certain categories.

Read more about complete self-management of specific categories.

You can withdraw your membership of Koda at 6 months’ notice to the end of a calendar year.

Of course, if your music is used during this six-month period, you will receive distributions from Koda as before. You can continue to monitor how your works have been used, and complain if you think anything is wrong. 

Please feel free to contact us at [email protected] with any questions you may have.