Registering Your Music with SACEM : Complete Guide 2026 (Steps, Cost and What It Does Not Protect)
You want to register your music with SACEM to protect your rights? This guide explains exactly how to join, how to declare your works, how much it costs — and above all what SACEM does not do that many artists do not realise until it is too late.
1) SACEM: its exact role in 2026
The SACEM (Society of Authors, Composers and Music Publishers) is the collective rights management society for musical copyright in France. Founded in 1851, it represents more than 200,000 members and collects royalties in more than 160 countries through its agreements with partner societies.
Its role is simple: when your music is used publicly — on radio, in streaming, in a shop, at a concert, in a film — SACEM collects the royalties and pays them back to you. It is the intermediary between broadcasters and creators.
Radio and TV
Each broadcast of your music on a radio station or TV channel generates royalties collected by SACEM.
Streaming
Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, YouTube Music — each stream generates royalties collected by SACEM.
Public venues and live
Shop, restaurant, concert, festival, wedding — any public performance of your music generates royalties.
2) What SACEM does NOT protect — the truth no one says
This is the most important point in this guide — and the one most often misunderstood. Many artists believe that depositing their music with SACEM protects them against plagiarism. That's false.
SACEM does not create individual prior-art proof.
- It does not prove that you are the original author of a work
- It cannot demonstrate that your track existed before a specific date
- In the event of a plagiarism dispute, SACEM cannot defend you individually
- It handles royalty collection — not authorship protection
| What you believe | The reality |
|---|---|
| "SACEM proves I created this track" | False — It registers your declaration, not the creation |
| "SACEM protects me against plagiarism" | False — It does not carry out individual monitoring |
| "If I have SACEM, I don't need any other protection" | False — Prior-art proof + SACEM = complete protection |
| "SACEM collects my streaming royalties automatically" | Partial — Only if the work is declared and the ISRC registered |
| "SACEM collects all my music royalties" | Partial — Copyright only, not neighbouring rights (SPRÉ) |
Before registering with SACEM: protect your music with TuneLockr
TuneLockr creates a blockchain timestamped prior evidence for each track — the individual protection that SACEM cannot give you.
3) Conditions for joining SACEM and registering your music
Not everyone can register their music with SACEM directly. Here are the membership conditions.
Who can join SACEM?
✅ Membership conditions
- Be a lyricist, composer or music publisher
- Have at least one work intended to be publicly performed
- The work must be original (within the meaning of copyright law)
- Be an adult or a minor represented by a legal guardian
- Accept SACEM's articles of association and general rules
❌ What is not required
- Have a label or publisher
- Have already had radio or streaming plays
- Be of French nationality
- Have a minimum number of tracks
- Be a music professional
Independent artist: you can absolutely join SACEM without a label or publisher. Direct membership as an independent singer-songwriter is entirely possible and increasingly common.
4) How to register your music with SACEM: the full steps
Protect your music BEFORE anything else (an often forgotten step)
Before starting the SACEM process, obtain dated proof of prior existence for each track. Once your music has been declared to SACEM and potentially shared, it is too late to create credible proof of prior existence.
Create your account on sacem.fr
Go to sacem.fr and create your personal space. Online registration is available for songwriters who wish to join directly.
Complete your membership application
Provide your personal details, your status (author, composer, or both), and information about your works. An identity document is required.
Pay the membership fees
The membership fee is around €50 for songwriters. This one-off payment gives you the right to collect royalties.
Declare your works
Once you are a member, declare each track with full details: exact title, co-authors and rights split, musical genre, and, for songs, the full lyrics. Each work must be declared separately.
Provide the ISRC for each recording
The ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) is the unique identifier for each recording. It allows SACEM to identify your tracks on streaming platforms and calculate your royalties correctly. Your distributor assigns it free of charge.
Track your royalty statements
SACEM pays you royalties several times a year depending on the types of use. Check your personal account regularly to make sure your tracks are being correctly identified and that royalties are calculated properly.
5) How much does filing with SACEM cost?
| Fees | Indicative amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| Membership fee | ~50€ | One-off on registration |
| Work declaration | Free | For each new track |
| SACEM commission on royalties | ~20-25% depending on the royalties | Deducted from each payment |
| Annual contribution | Varies according to status | Yearly |
Important: SACEM tariffs change regularly. Check the exact amounts on sacem.fr before registering. The commission deducted from royalties (20-25%) represents the society's administrative fees.
6) How to declare a work to SACEM: the required information
Once you are a member, each track must be declared separately. Here is the information required for each work declaration.
Advice on the split: the SACEM rights split must be decided and signed by all co-authors before the declaration. Once registered, it is difficult to change. Always put the split in writing between collaborators before declaring it to SACEM.
7) Which rights does SACEM collect for you?
SACEM collects several types of rights — but not all music rights. Here is what it covers and what it does not cover.
✅ What SACEM collects
- Radio and TV broadcast rights — each time your music is played
- Streaming rights — Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, YouTube Music…
- Public venue rights — shops, restaurants, hotels, gyms
- Concert and festival rights — when your music is performed live
- Synchronisation rights — use in a film, advert, video game
- Download rights — digital sales on iTunes, Bandcamp…
❌ What SACEM does NOT collect
- Performers' neighbouring rights (SPRÉ)
- Producers' neighbouring rights (SCPP/SPPF)
- Direct distribution income (your distributor handles it)
- YouTube Content ID (managed by your distributor)
- Merchandise and live management income
8) SACEM, SPRÉ, SCPP: who collects what?
An independent artist who composes, performs and produces their music must register with several societies to collect all of their rights.
| Society | Who? | Rights collected | How to sign up |
|---|---|---|---|
| SACEM | Songwriters-composers | Author's rights (radio, streaming, live, sync…) | sacem.fr — membership ~€50 |
| SPRÉ | Performing artists | Neighbouring rights on radio and streaming broadcasts | Automatic if ISRC valid + declaring distributor |
| SCPP | Phonogram producers (major labels) | Producers' neighbouring rights on broadcasts | For labels and professional producers |
| SPPF | Independent producers | Producers' neighbouring rights on broadcasts | sppf.com — for independent labels |
For a fully independent artist: register with SACEM (author's rights) + make sure your distributor declares your ISRCs for neighbouring rights SPRÉ. Together, these two steps ensure that you receive all the royalties generated by your broadcasts.
9) What to do BEFORE submitting to SACEM
Most guides on SACEM registration go straight to the membership steps. They miss the most important step — the one that really protects you.
The problem: when you register a work with SACEM, you state a date of creation — but SACEM does not verify or certify that date. If someone later disputes the authorship of your work after your SACEM registration, you will need to prove by other means that you are the original author.
The logical order of protection
🔐 Prior art proof (TuneLockr) — before sharing anything
Before sending your music to anyone — collaborator, label, platform — obtain dated, timestamped prior art proof. This is your individual protection against plagiarism.
🎵 SACEM — to collect your broadcasting royalties
Once your music is protected, join SACEM and register your works. This will allow you to collect your royalties each time they are publicly performed.
📦 Distribution with ISRC — to activate neighbouring rights
Distribute your music through a distributor that assigns a valid ISRC. This identifier is required for your neighbouring rights (SPRÉ) to be collected properly.
🔐 Protect your music BEFORE SACEM
TuneLockr creates blockchain timestamped prior art proof in 2 minutes — the individual protection SACEM cannot give you. Do it before any sharing, before any submission.
10) Alternatives to SACEM for protecting your music
SACEM manages your broadcast rights — but for the individual protection of your works before any sharing, here are the complementary alternatives.
TuneLockr — Blockchain proof of prior creation
Timestamp your audio files in 2 minutes via the blockchain. Dated, tamper-proof proof of prior creation — the fastest and most modern solution.
- Result in 2 minutes
- Tamper-proof blockchain timestamp
- Accessible from anywhere
- Affordable price
Soleau Envelope (INPI)
Official filing with the National Institute of Industrial Property. Available online at inpi.fr. Processing time of a few weeks.
- Official filing with the State
- Recognised by French courts
- ~€15 per filing
- Digital version available
Notary or bailiff
Filing with a ministerial officer. Maximum evidential value but high cost (€200+) and appointment lead time. Recommended for works with high commercial stakes.
- Maximum evidential value
- Authentic act
- High cost
- Impractical for each track
Registered letter to yourself
Old and unreliable method. Send your music to yourself by registered post and do not open the envelope. Evidential value is disputed by case law — to be avoided.
- Evidential value disputed by the courts
- Easily forged
- Not recommended
11) FAQ — Registering your music with SACEM
To register your music with SACEM: 1) Join at sacem.fr (~€50 administration fee). 2) Declare each work with title, co-authors, rights split and lyrics. 3) Provide the ISRC for each recording. First of all, obtain proof of prior creation via TuneLockr — SACEM does not protect you individually against plagiarism.
No. SACEM does not create individual proof of prior creation and cannot prove that you are the original author of a track. It manages the collection of broadcasting rights. For individual protection against plagiarism, use TuneLockrthe Soleau envelope or a notary — in addition to SACEM.
Membership of SACEM costs around €50 in administrative fees for songwriters. Registering works is then free. SACEM takes a commission of around 20-25% on the rights collected to cover its management costs. Check the current rates on sacem.fr.
No. Copyright arises automatically as soon as an original work is created in France, without SACEM membership. Membership is only necessary to collect public performance royalties collectively. Without SACEM, you have rights but cannot have them collected automatically from radio stations, platforms and public venues.
Yes, absolutely. Any songwriter can join SACEM directly without a label or publisher. You only need at least one work intended to be publicly performed. Membership as an independent artist is very common and fully handled by SACEM.
SACEM manages the rights of songwriters (composition rights). SPRÉ manages the neighbouring rights of performing artists for radio and streaming broadcasts. An artist who composes AND performs their own songs must register with SACEM AND ensure that their ISRCs are correctly declared for SPRÉ, generally via their distributor.
