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MySabam
Become a member
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MySabam
Become a member
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For creators. By creators.

Sabam manages copyrights on behalf of authors, composers, and publishers. In this way, we ensure that creators are compensated when their work is used, both in Belgium and around the world.

About us
Who are we?

Sabam is a private organisation structured as a cooperative (cv). We are therefore not a government agency or ministry.

We have been bringing creators together since 1922. Today, we represent more than 50,000 authors from all disciplines - from composers and lyricists to screenwriters, directors, choreographers, writers, illustrators, journalists, photographers, and visual artists.

This broad mix is what makes Sabam unique: a multidisciplinary association where different creative worlds come together and reinforce one another.

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Our Role
Sabam ensures that your work is recognized and compensated.

We register our members’ works so that we can collect royalties whenever your work is publicly performed or broadcast.

We then ensure that those royalties are distributed correctly.

To make this possible, you’ll need to follow a few steps:

1. Connect

You are not required to join Sabam to protect your work. That protection is automatically granted to you under intellectual property law.

By joining Sabam, however, you do grant us the right to manage your rights. Specifically, we collect royalties on your behalf for the use of your work.

Legally, this principle is known as a fiduciary transfer.

2. Registering your works

Your works will be included in our database and will become part of the Sabam repertoire. This repertoire also includes works registered with foreign sister organizations.

Accurate registration is essential. This allows us to precisely identify your work each time it is used and ensure you receive the correct compensation.

3. Collecting royalties

How we collect royalties depends on the information available regarding the use of your work:

  • Individual Collection
    When we know exactly which works are being used and who the rights holders are. In this case, the amount is known in advance.
  • Collective collection
    When works are not identified in advance. We collect royalties on a lump-sum basis from users such as media outlets, cafes, stores, or events, and then distribute them according to established rules.
4. Distributing copyrights

We distribute what we collect. This is done based on:

  • the distribution keys you specify when registering your work
  • the rules set forth in the General Regulations, approved by the members during the General Meeting
  • timeframes that vary by type of use

Our mission:

Connecting creation to value.

Our vision

This vision outlines Sabam’s goals for the medium term:

  • To understand, communicate effectively, and clearly explain the value generated by the various uses of our members’ creative work, both now and in the future.
  • To proactively contribute to the global realization of that value for the benefit of all stakeholders, while ensuring that our members receive and share a fair share of that value in an efficient, timely, transparent, and sustainable manner.
  • Embracing an open culture of collaboration in which the personal development of our staff and Sabam’s success go hand in hand.
SABAM
Our Values
A passion for culture
Transparency
Connection
Engagement
Transparency