The Committee for Organisation and Communication (O+C) held an extended strategy meeting for the first time. The stronger involvement of the committee in the strategy development process is to be continued in future.
Strategy: Strengthening the core business
Discussions took place on how SUISA’s three-pillar model (domestic licensing, international online business, income from services rendered) should be further developed in the future. As revenues in certain areas of the traditional monopoly business are forecast to decline, the question arose as to how this pillar could be strengthened and new sources of income tapped into at the same time.
Another topic was how to balance equal treatment of members and economic efficiency. Both principles will be reviewed regularly in future to ensure that strategic decisions are made in the interests of the members.
Revision of the General Terms and Conditionsfor Rights Administration
The Board of Directors approved a revision of the General Terms and Conditions for Rights Administration (GTC), which will enter into force on 1 January 2026. The most important changes:
- Graphic online rights: In order to enable authors and publishers to exercise their rights directly themselves in future, the corresponding provisions in the GTC will be deleted.
- Perception abroad: The existing practice of reassigning rights to members is now expressly anchored in the GTC.
- Beats in work registrations: There is no obligation to submit a licensing agreement any longer.
Major projects on the horizon
The SUISA office building in Zurich Wollishofen was built in 1968 and now, 60 years later, needs to be completely renovated. A study with property experts shows that there is little demand for office space in this location, but that SUISA also occupies too much office space due to modern working conditions with increased home office hours. The property belongs to SUISA and could yield a higher return and thus help to cover costs if the building is not only renovated but also converted into rental flats.
SUISA will therefore completely renovate its building at Bellariastrasse 82 in Zurich in 2027 and convert it into rental flats. A project competition with five overall providers is currently underway. This SUISAnova project is complemented by a second project, SUISAway; this is about searching new office premises for SUISA, relocating to and furnishing our offices at the new address. Both projects require extraordinary investments and expenditure.
The Committee for Finance and Controlling (F+C) dealt with the requirements for the 2026 budget and provided the Executive Committee with guidelines for the preparation of this budget. This in the knowledge that these major projects will have an extraordinary impact on cost development. The cost/income ratio in the 2026 budget to be drawn up cannot therefore be measured against the regular cost/income development of previous years.
International co-operation
An important topic at the Board meeting was the double taxation issue with SACEM in France. Due to a new interpretation of tax law, the French authorities are currently withholding 25% of copyright royalties until the question of whether collective management organisations are recognised as “beneficial owners” in France has been clarified. In order to avoid disadvantages for members, the distributions will be suspended for the time being, while affected members can apply for advances.
