02. 07. 2012

ANEM URGES SOKOJ TO INTRODUCE DISCOUNTS ON BROADCASTERS’ FEES

Belgrade, July 2, 2012 - In today's press statement, Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) wishes to inform all the broadcasters and the general public that pro forma invoices containing astonishingly high fee claims for musical works broadcasting were delivered to radio and TV stations in Serbia later last week by the Serbian Music Authors' Organization - SOKOJ. The fees were calculated by using the new fee tariff that was published in RS Official Gazette at the very end of December 2011, without applying a single discount among a series of discounts that had been the topic of negotiations between ANEM and SOKOJ representatives over the last months. Pro forma invoices that are currently delivered to the broadcasters in Serbia are covering the months of January and February 2012.

In the situation where ANEM has had several months long negotiations process with SOKOJ on approving additional discounts on fees from the new tariff, such an act by the SOKOJ shall be considered to be an intolerable exertion of pressure on broadcasters in Serbia.

ANEM would like to point out that the very fact that discounts would be envisaged has never been brought into question during the negotiations process with SOKOJ, and also that the negotiations practically reached the final phase in which talks were held only to discuss available options for different bases of discounts' approval and about the concrete, permissible percentage of agreed discount that can be approved based on the available and previously agreed basis for discount calculation.

After a thoroughly constructive proposal that was forwarded to SOKOJ by ANEM on June 6, 2012, containing possible solutions' models for two more contentious issues, and specifically, possible debt repayment options for the period starting from the beginning of 2012, along with the discounts' calculation methods for regular delivery of lists of broadcast works by the moment of the announced launching of the SOKOJ's online application for direct online filling in of the lists of broadcast phonograms, SOKOJ kept postponing reaching of any concrete agreement for almost one month, by providing excuses about unavoidable business trips and annual vacations of their dedicated personnel, while sending the pro forma invoices containing full amounts of fees without any discounts to the broadcasters, leaving out even the discounts that had been proposed by SOKOJ itself, which were practically agreed upon during the negotiations with SOKOJ representatives.

ANEM would thus like to point out that it cannot support the calculation of fees that are currently being delivered to the broadcasters in Serbia, or to invite the broadcasters to accept and pay the delivered fees' calculations.

ANEM would like to once again appeal to SOKOJ to immediately produce new fees' calculations taking into account discounts in compliance with the agreements reached during the said negotiation process, and especially in compliance with the latest ANEM's proposal from June 6, 2012.

ANEM President, Sasa Mirkovic