The Ministry of Economy is preparing a bill on how collective management organisations work. Here is how money for music reaches rights holders today and what the ministry wants to change.
On 7 October 2026, Ukraine's Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture announced that it is preparing a bill on the collective management of copyright and related rights. So far this is only preparation. There is no draft text yet, and no specific mechanisms or final rules.
Who pays when your music plays
Music plays on radio and TV, in cafés, shopping centres and at festivals. Every time it is used in public, the rights holder is owed a payment. A café cannot sign a deal with every songwriter and performer, and a rights holder cannot keep track of every venue.
That is the job of collective management organisations (CMOs). They collect money for the use of music and distribute it among rights holders. The money moves like this:
1. A venue, radio station or TV channel pays according to a tariff.
2. The CMO collects the money.
3. The CMO distributes it among rights holders.
It sounds simple. The questions come up along the way: how tariffs are calculated, who oversees the CMOs, and when and how much songwriters and performers actually receive.
What the ministry wants to improve
CMOs in Ukraine currently operate under a 2018 law on the effective management of rights holders' economic rights in copyright and related rights. The ministry lists five areas for change:
- transparency of CMOs;
- effective state supervision;
- justified tariffs;
- dispute resolution;
- timely distribution of payments.
According to the ministry, songwriters, performers and other rights holders should receive what they are owed on time and transparently, and music users should understand how tariffs are set.
Learning from the EU
On 30 September, a seminar in Kyiv looked at aligning Ukrainian regulation with EU law. Representatives of the supervisory bodies of the Netherlands (CvTA) and France (CCOGDA) explained how their countries calculate tariffs, collect and pay out royalties, and oversee the process.
What comes next
The changes will affect everyone who writes, performs or releases music. SPILNA is following the bill and will explain what it means for musicians and labels once details appear.
Source: Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.