Connecting Performers' Societies Worldwide

Services

AN INTERNATIONAL NETWORK OF CMOs

SCAPR represents 60 CMOs in 45 countries. Membership offers CMOs access to a wealth of collaboration and expertise, fostering exchanges at every level—from data and remuneration sharing to best practices and know-how.

Through dedicated working groups, tailored support, and mentorship programs, SCAPR empowers its members to thrive collectively.

Information Systems (IPD and VRDB)


Accurate payments to performers are highly dependent on effectivity and accuracy of information exchanged between CMOs.


To facilitate CMOs operations and strengthen international exchanges, SCAPR has developed 2 Information Systems to properly identify performers and recordings they are attached to.


These solutions make performers remuneration management faster, efficient, accurate, and more transparent—helping CMOs focus on what matters most: supporting performers.

The International Performer Database (IPD) ​

A unique and reliable information system identifying individual performers in sound recordings and audio-visual works and, where applicable, the CMOs representing them. Currently, over 1.1 million performers are registered on IPD.

How does it help CMOs?

  • Accurate Performer Identification: Assigns each performer a unique and authoritative identifier, the International Performer Number (IPN), ensuring precise identification.
  • Centralized, Verified Data: Provides access to standardized and reliable information about performers and their attached mandates, all in one place.
  • Facilitates Accurate Payments: Ensures smooth and accurate royalty exchanges between CMOs with up-to-date and trustworthy performer data.
  • Seamless Integration: IPD can be synchronized with users’ local systems, simplifying the upload and download of information.

The Virtual Recordings Database (VRDB)

An international and centralized service that enables CMOs to accurately document the repertoire they represent and share their local usage lists (or “playlists”) with other CMOs (collective management organisations).

How does it help CMOs?

  • Boosts Efficiency: Automates, centralizes, and standardizes processes and data, reducing manual workload.
  • Maximizes Royalties: Matches repertoire with playlists to pinpoint where a recording was played and ensures the correct CMO receives the corresponding remuneration.
  • Accelerates Payments: Speeds up data management and payment flows, ensuring CMOs are quickly compensated for the repertoire they represent.
  • Enhances Transparency: Improves data accuracy and quality, guaranteeing fair and accurate payments.
  • Cuts Costs: Optimizes processes to reduce administrative expenses for rights holders.

WORKING GROUPS

Joining SCAPR gives you access to dynamic working groups designed to drive international cooperation even further, empowering members to exchange, learn from each other, and share best practices.

Each working group has its own area of focus, but they collaborate closely to take a multidisciplinary approach, leveraging each other’s expertise to deliver well-rounded and impactful solutions.

SCAPR has 4 official working groups. Each of them are convened by 2 representatives of the SCAPR CMOs’ community elected every year.

Business Operations Working Group (BWG)

The goal of the Business and Operations Working Group (“BWG”) is to increase the cross-border flow of payment between countries by improving the implementation of representation agreements, with a special focus on the operational aspects of data and remuneration exchange under these agreements.

 

Recognizing the diversity among CMOs, each with unique distribution rules, systems, and processes, the BWG works to harmonize practices, procedures and formats files across the SCAPR community.

 

Over the years, the BWG has played a key role in developing standards and tools that make cross-border exchanges smoother, more efficient, and more reliable, supporting CMOs in their mission to better serve performers worldwide.

 

Convenor: Olga Madera Lastra (AIE, Spain)
Deputy Convenor: Greta Ferrario (SPEDIDAM, France)

Legal Working Group (LWG)

The Legal Working Group (LWG) tackles all legal matters related to CMO activities, offering valuable in-depth analyses, recommendations and templates. It plays a key role in supporting the SCAPR Secretariat, Board, and other Working Groups by clarifying the legal dimensions of key topics.
To ensure focused expertise, the LWG is organized into specialized subgroups. These bring together professionals from SCAPR members with specific legal knowledge, providing the community with targeted insights and practical solutions.

The LWG is instrumental in empowering CMOs to navigate complex legal landscapes to the benefit of exchanges between CMOs and, ultimately, performers.

Convenor: Camilla Waite (PPL, UK)
Deputy Convenor: Milan Ter Weijden (SENA, Netherlands)

Cooperation & Development Working Group (CDWG)

The Cooperation and Development Working Group (CDWG) designs and coordinates cooperation activities, aiming to support CMOs in the implementation, development and enforcement of performers’ rights.

 

Recognizing the unique challenges and needs of CMOs across different regions, the CDWG relies on the expertise of SCAPR members and strong partnerships to deliver customized support. This ensures that performers around the world benefit from efficient and reliable collective management of their rights.

 

Any performers’ CMO, whether a member of SCAPR or not, that seeks to advance the collective management of performers’ rights is welcome to request support of the CDWG.

 

Convenor: Gregor Stibernik (AIPA, Slovenia)

Deputy Convenor: Laurence Oxenbury (PPL, UK)

Technical working group (TWG)

The Technical Working Group (TWG) is a collaborative forum where technicians and operational staff from SCAPR members address in-house Information Systems and Tools, discuss technical enhancements, the implementation of SCAPR solutions and align practices to improve the quality and efficiency of data exchanges between CMOs through SCAPR tools.

 

The TWG plays a crucial role in supporting the Databases Committee, the Board, and SCAPR members by offering expert feedback, recommendations, and guidance on proposed technical developments.

Organized into specialized subgroups, the TWG addresses specific topics and provides targeted support, ensuring comprehensive and effective input to enhance operations across the SCAPR network.

 

Convenor: Sander Teekens (SENA, Netherlands)
Deputy Convenor: Konstantin Vogel (SWISSPERFORM, Switzerland)

In addition to its four main permanent working groups, SCAPR actively establishes ad-hoc working groups to address specific, pressing issues as they arise. These groups reflect SCAPR’s commitment to staying aware, flexible, and responsive to the evolving challenges within the industry.

By focusing on contemporary concerns, these groups ensure that SCAPR remains at the forefront of addressing the needs of performers and collective management organizations (CMOs).


Here are some examples of such initiatives:

  • AV-Forum: The AV FORUM is SCAPR’s sub-working group specialized in the management of Audiovisual issues and its activity is focused on three different areas:
    • Sharing and developing knowledge on the operation of the different AV CMOs, establishing best practices and criteria of common understanding.
    • Analysing and solving specific AV management problems, in both technical and business fields.
    • The follow-up, promotion and monitoring of the use of the SCAPR Information Systems among the Audiovisual member CMOs, ensuring streamlined processes and improved collaboration.      

         The entire community of SCAPR AV CMOs is invited to participate in the AV FORUM, regardless of their status or their own degree of development as a               CMO.                                                                                 

           Convenor: Francisco Gimenez Merchante (AISGE, Spain)

           Deputy Convenor: Diederik Mos (NORMA, Netherlands)

  • Actors’ Summit: This group is dedicated to addressing key challenges related to the collective management of actors’ rights. Since its inaugural meeting in March 2023, the Actors’ Summit has remained a highly active forum, tackling these issues head-on. When appropriate, it also formulates and sends recommendations to the SCAPR Board for further consideration.

    Convenor: Christophe Van Vaerenbergh (Playright, Belgium)

ACCESS TO LEGAL AND STANDARD DOCUMENTATION

SCAPR promotes the use of standard documentation within its community, to facilitate cooperation and exchanges between CMOs.  To that purpose, our community has developed and offered to our members legal and standard documentation for their use, e.g. a representation agreement template, checklists and recommendations on specific topics, standard distribution statement, formats files, etc…

SUPPORT TO DAILY OPERATIONS OF CMOs

Thanks to its extensive network of experts and a strong global community, SCAPR offers comprehensive support to its members in managing their daily operations. This includes tailored training programmes, operational assistance for starting and streamlining activities, sharing of best practices, and strategic guidance for engaging with key stakeholders. SCAPR also fosters a spirit of collaboration and mutual assistance among members, promoting the exchange of knowledge and resources to enhance the overall efficiency and effectiveness of Collective Management Organisations worldwide.

SERVICES TO NON MEMBERS

SCAPR also provides services to performers’ CMOs who are not yet part of our community.

Tailor-made support to CMOs:

SCAPR provides tailored support to CMOs in establishing and enhancing their operations for the collective management of performers’ rights. Our assistance is customized to meet the unique needs of each CMO.

Feel free to reach out to us to discover how we can assist you!

Additional Tools:

SCAPR has developed a set of applications designed for CMOs and cultural industry stakeholders to enhance the identification of performers throughout the value chain.

IPN Search App

This service is open to authorized CMOs and other stakeholders from the cultural industry. It allows them to search and retrieve International Performer Numbers (IPNs) preexisting in IPD. By integrating IPNs into their databases, they ensure performers are accurately and unambiguously referenced, paving the way for better data management and ultimately ensuring performers receive the remuneration they deserve.

IPN Creation App

This tool allows authorized performers’ CMOs to create IPNs for the performers they represent, in turn ensuring clear identification, streamlining data flows, and guaranteeing performers receive the remuneration they deserve.

Interested?