On 8 September 2020, the European Court of Justice ruled in the case of Recorded Artists Actors Performers (RAAP) v Phonographic Performance Ireland (PPI). This prompted the Dutch government to implement an amendment to the law that came into effect on 1 January 2021. Based on the Neighbouring Rights Act, only repertoire whose original master owner is based in a country that has signed the Treaty of Rome is protected for all forms of publication. The United States has not signed the Treaty of Rome. In the case of webcasting or simulcasting, repertoire from all countries that have signed the WPPT, including the USA, is represented by Sena. The distinction between protection based on the Treaty of Rome, or the WPPT, will no longer exist as a result of the law change with effect from 1 January 2021. Sena was therefore forced to increase the rates as of that date. We will hold discussions with the representative organisations of music users in the short term in order to reach agreements on rate adjustments.
There is a significant amount of repertoire used whose original master owner is an American citizen. All rightsholders of this repertoire, as well as repertoire from other countries that have signed the WPPT, are eligible to receive a distribution of licence fee income from music year 2021 onwards.
The RAAP-PPI ruling states that the principle of material reciprocity, which is set out in Article 15.3 of the WPPT and is the basis on which primarily US rightsholders have been excluded from collection and distribution, can only be regulated at EU level. Several Member States, including the Dutch government, have now urged the European Commission to take action. In this event, both the rate adjustments and the changes in the distribution policy will be reversed with effect from that date. Update 17 October 2024: RAAP surcharge remains in force. The lobby to get the European Commission to reinstate material reciprocity for member states within the European Union is still ongoing. The Ministry of Justice and Security, along with VNO-NCW, MKB-Nederland, public and commercial broadcasters, and Sena, are urging action from the European Commission. This process involves collaboration with various sister organisations in Europe as well as IMPALA, the industry organisation for independent record companies. No progress could be made due to the European Parliament elections in June this year. The responsibility for taking action now lies with Henna Virkkunen, who is set to assume the role of European Commissioner later this year. Please be aware that this may take some time. Therefore, the RAAP surcharge will remain in effect through 2025. In addition, the agreement with VNO-NCW and MKB-Nederland, which applies a 26.6% surcharge to rates, has been extended for one year.