HDS ZAMP (Croatian Composers' Society)

HDS ZAMP is the collective management service of the Croatian Composers' Society (Hrvatsko drustvo skladatelja), founded in 1945. It is the only professional collective management organization for musical creators in Croatia, administering and protecting authors' rights for over 15,000 directly represented members and more than 150,000 foreign rights holders through partner societies. In 2025, HDS celebrated its 80th anniversary with record business results across all categories of music usage.

How HDS ZAMP Works

HDS ZAMP collects royalties from several categories of music usage. Public communication accounts for 77.2% of total revenue, including live music events, concerts, background music in venues, and broadcasting. Online revenues from streaming, video-on-demand, and user-generated content platforms reached a record 15% of total revenue in 2025. Revenues from domestic authors abroad account for 5.7%, while mechanical rights from physical sales and related uses maintain approximately 1%.

In 2025, ZAMP collected EUR 32.7 million, an increase of nearly EUR 4 million (13%) from 2024. The organization recorded and processed 46,915 music events in Croatia during the year, averaging 128.5 events per day. This included 11,477 pop music concerts (up 19.25% from 2024) and 2,931 classical music concerts (up 5.58%).

ZAMP added 648 new members in 2025, a record number. Members registered 13,988 new musical works during the year. The organization distributes royalties based on logged usage data from radio and television broadcasts, live performance setlists, streaming reports, and public performance licenses.

HDS ZAMP is a CISAC member and operates reciprocal agreements with copyright societies worldwide. Foreign rights holders whose music is performed in Croatia receive royalties through these partnerships, and Croatian authors receive international royalties when their works are performed abroad.

Membership is open to songwriters, composers, lyricists, and music publishers. Members can register works and manage their rights through ZAMP's online portal.

Real-World Example

A Croatian songwriter registers a pop song with HDS ZAMP. The song receives regular airplay on Croatian radio stations and is performed at 20 concerts during the summer festival season. ZAMP logs the radio plays through its monitoring system and processes the concert setlists submitted by event organizers.

The songwriter receives a distribution based on the frequency of radio airplay and the number of live performances. If the same song is also streamed on Spotify in Croatia, ZAMP collects royalties from the streaming platform through its licensing agreements. The 15% online revenue share in 2025 means streaming income is a growing portion of the distribution pool.

If the songwriter's music is performed in neighboring countries like Slovenia or Serbia, ZAMP's reciprocal agreements with those societies ensure royalties flow back to the Croatian author. The 5.7% international revenue share reflects this cross-border collection.

Why It Matters for Independent Artists

If you are a songwriter, composer, or publisher based in Croatia, HDS ZAMP membership is the only way to collect performance royalties for the public use of your musical works. Without registration, you earn nothing from radio airplay, television broadcasts, live performances, or streaming of your compositions.

Register every composition with ZAMP as soon as it is commercially released. Include accurate metadata: title, writers, publishers, and ownership splits. ZAMP processes tens of thousands of music events annually, so accurate registrations directly impact how quickly and completely you get paid.

Croatia's live music scene is growing rapidly. With 46,915 music events recorded in 2025 (up 11.66% from 2024), live performance royalties are a significant income source. Submit setlists for your own concerts and ensure event organizers report performances to ZAMP.

If your music is performed internationally, ZAMP's CISAC membership and bilateral agreements ensure those royalties flow back to you. However, you must register your works with ZAMP first. Unregistered works earn zero royalties regardless of how often they are performed.

Related Resources

• Performing Rights Organizations (PRO) - What a PRO is and how it functions
• Performance Royalties - How performance royalties are generated and collected
• Mechanical Royalties - How mechanical royalties differ from performance royalties
• Collective Management Organization (CMO) - How CMOs operate globally
• HDS ZAMP Official Website - Visit HDS ZAMP for membership and licensing information
• Use our Streaming Royalty Calculator to estimate your digital earnings