Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen: This is how the markets react to increased Gema costs – Bavaria

“All I Want For Christmas” may be more torture to some ears than the sweet sound of bells, but there is hardly a Christkindl or Christmas market where such seasonal pop songs cannot be heard. In contrast to old, copyright-free tunes such as “Silent Night” or “Sweet the Bells Never Ring”, operators or organizers have to pay money when modern music is played publicly or live, namely to the Society for Musical Performance and Mechanical Reproduction Rights (GEMA). They in turn give this income to the authors of the songs. Anyone who has to pay for such costs is in for an unpleasant treat these days: In Gema’s invoices for 2022, the costs have skyrocketed – due to corrected calculations regarding the area of ​​the events. Some markets in the region are now announcing consequences.

Bad Tölz

The Christmas market in Bad Tölz is painfully feeling the blatant cost increases for Gema. According to its own information, the city’s tourism section will have to spend 17,000 euros in fees for Christmas music from 2024 onwards. The reason: Gema calculates the tariff based on the entire event area, but in Bad Tölz they have only reported the area around the stage, as tourism director Susanne Frey-Allgaier explains. Until 2019, the costs for this area amounted to 2,500 euros in Gema fees. The collecting society has now measured carefully and in January presented the Tölzers with a bill of 17,000 euros for the market last year. “We lodged an objection and managed to get 50 percent of the sum refunded,” reports Frey-Allgaier. The ongoing Christmas market is also billed on this basis.

From 2024 onwards, the flat daily rate to Gema will be 800 euros net – minus a 20 percent discount for Bad Tölz’s membership in the German spa association. Frey-Allgaier cannot understand using the entire event area of ​​400,000 square meters as a basis for calculation anyway. The increase in costs for a Christmas market that lasts 25 to 30 days is so difficult to cope with financially. “We already have to pay 10,000 to 12,000 euros in fees, if we add another 17,000 euros in GEMA fees, that would be too much,” says the tourism director. “I understand that Gema is due for an increase. But not to this extent.”

She doesn’t think much of the recommendation to use royalty-free music on the market: “That’s difficult because a new adaptation of a piece of music, even if it’s for polyphonics, quickly becomes royalty-free.” And increased stand fees are also unthinkable for Frey-Allgaier. “In the end, the stand operators pass the costs on to the end customer and the mulled wine eventually costs eight euros,” she argues. The city therefore hopes that a solution will be achieved in the ongoing negotiations between Gema and the German Association of Cities. After all, Bad Tölz is not the only city affected. Whether, how often and what kind of Christmas music will accompany the smell of mulled wine and chestnuts at the Tölz Christmas market in the future is completely uncertain for the tourism director.

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Geretsried

According to its spokesman Thomas Loibl, the city of Geretsried is currently having Gema calculate in advance “the approximate amounts we will receive”. The city rejects a blanket ban on music. In any case, music will be heard at the Christmas market, which opened on Friday and runs until Sunday, 1st Advent. The market with traders, clubs, artists and country teams plus a visit from St. Nicholas takes place on Karl-Lederer-Platz. “An extensive musical supporting program with alphorns, the Gartenberger Bunkerblasmusik, Quattro Musica and the Geretsried Music School ensures the right atmosphere,” says the announcement. (www.geretsried.de/de/news/christkindlmarkt-4024)

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Penzberg

This year’s Christmas market will be unusually quiet for visitors. The usual stage on the Penzberg town square, where the city and miners’ band, among others, have performed in recent years, has been canceled. “Due to a circular from Gema, we have decided to generally avoid music,” says Eleonore Hofmann from the city’s economic development agency. She organizes the Penzberg Christmas market together with Monika Schmid.

Both comment on the fees paid so far and expected cost increases only vaguely and evasively. “The costs for Gema cannot be answered in general terms,” says Hofmann. “It depends on who is playing what for whom.” However, the expected sum is unlikely to be small. Finally, co-organizer Schmid speaks of the Penzberg Christmas market as one of the largest in the region. That’s why they didn’t want to take any risks. Around 90 percent of the stalls are run by clubs. So far the costs have just been covered, says Schmid. “They cannot bear additional GEMA costs.”

On top of that, there has been a budget freeze in Penzberg since last summer. This is also how Schmid explains why the entire stage program was completely omitted. Next year, however, they want to deal more intensively with the GEMA fee issue. Maybe there will be another solution. “This year the Christmas market is running without music,” says Schmid. But that doesn’t mean it will be completely quiet. According to Schmid, the town and miner’s band made a cameo appearance – with old, license-free Christmas carols.

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Wolfratshausen

In Wolfratshausen there is little concern about rising Gema fees. Because at the Christmas market in the old town they rely on live music, predominantly traditional music. He only registered Claudia Sommer’s concert, says the city’s cultural manager, Andreas Kutter. The singer will perform on Saturday, December 2nd, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Marienplatz, which has a manageable area. The costs are of course lower than if the entire market street was covered with sound. “We just stated where it was playing,” says Kutter. “You won’t be able to hear them at Schwankl-Eck.” Kutter has no permission for the performances of the town band (Friday 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.), as well as the choir of the Adventist Church (Saturday 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.) and the alphorn players (Sunday 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.). Registration completed. According to market manager David Wehner, there is no music that provides constant sound from loudspeakers in the stalls at the Wolfratshausen Christmas market.

Things are different at the Ice Age, which opened at the same time as the Christmas market and invites you to ice skate on the Alte Floßlände until January 7th. As usual, music will be played from the speakers on the ice surface, says Andreas Kutter. He has submitted the relevant application to Gema, processing is still ongoing and an invoice has not yet arrived. However, the event manager has no concerns that this could be many times higher than in previous years. “We actually have the same area as always,” says Kutter. The city always had to pay a few hundred euros to Gema for the Ice Age, and the fees would not be four figures this time either.