LATGA (Lithuanian Copyright Association)

LATGA (Association LATGA, formerly LATGA-A) is a non-profit, non-state collective management organization founded on May 29, 1990 in Vilnius, Lithuania. It administers copyright for approximately 6,000 Lithuanian creators across five artistic fields: music, literature, audiovisual works, drama, and visual arts. LATGA collects and distributes royalties for public performance, broadcasting, reproduction, and digital use of copyrighted works, representing members in 169 countries through cooperation agreements with 155 foreign collecting societies.

How LATGA Works

LATGA was established just months after Lithuania restored its independence from the Soviet Union, on the initiative of various creative unions. The organization was originally called LATGA-A (The Agency of Lithuanian Copyright Protection Association) and later renamed to Association LATGA. It joined CISAC in 1992.

LATGA operates as a multi-repertoire collecting society, meaning it manages rights across multiple artistic disciplines rather than focusing solely on music. Its core activities include:

• Licensing: LATGA grants non-exclusive licenses to businesses, broadcasters, and platforms that use copyrighted works. This includes blanket licenses for radio stations, television broadcasters, streaming services, restaurants, retail stores, and live venues.
• Royalty collection and distribution: Collected fees are distributed to members and foreign rights holders based on usage reports, airplay logs, and digital data. LATGA reports annual collections of approximately EUR 11.85 million across all repertoires.
• International representation: Through bilateral agreements with 155 collecting societies in 70 countries, LATGA collects royalties for Lithuanian works played abroad and distributes foreign royalties to local members. This network covers 169 countries total.
• Cultural funding: LATGA allocates approximately EUR 350,000 annually for creative and cultural projects, supporting artistic development and copyright education.
• Legal advocacy: LATGA defends authors' rights in court and other authorities without needing separate authorization from each member.

The organization is governed by a General Meeting of Members, a Council elected every four years, a Director, and an Audit Commission. The Council is composed of representatives from six creator unions that originally incorporated LATGA. Membership is open to natural persons (authors or their heirs), associations of copyright holders, legal persons such as music publishers, and producers of audiovisual works.

LATGA offers a mobile app for members to track their royalties, see remuneration charged for works used in Lithuania and abroad, view payout amounts and dates, and identify which organizations used their creations. The app currently supports authors of music and lyrics, visual works, and dramatic works.

Real-World Example

A Lithuanian composer registers 25 songs with LATGA. A Vilnius radio station plays 10 of those songs in a given quarter, Spotify reports 150,000 streams of 8 songs, and a Kaunas concert venue holds a blanket license covering background music. LATGA collects royalties from all three sources.

The composer receives a distribution based on the radio airplay logs and streaming usage data. If the same songs are played on radio in Germany, LATGA's partner society GEMA collects those royalties and remits them to LATGA, which then distributes them to the composer in the next international distribution cycle.

With annual collections of approximately EUR 11.85 million, a Lithuanian songwriter with regular airplay across licensed radio stations and streaming platforms might earn anywhere from EUR 500 to EUR 5,000 annually in performance royalties, depending on the frequency and type of use. The minimum payment threshold and distribution schedule vary by repertoire and collection source.

Why It Matters for Independent Artists

If you are a Lithuanian songwriter, composer, author, or publisher, LATGA membership is the practical way to collect royalties for your works across all major usage types. Without it, you would need to individually license every radio station, venue, and streaming platform that plays your music.

Membership is open to any rights holder with economic rights in copyrighted works. You assign your rights to LATGA through a membership agreement, and LATGA handles licensing, collection, and distribution. The organization also provides free legal advice to members and offers grant competitions through its cultural fund.

For non-Lithuanian artists, your home PRO collects from LATGA through reciprocal agreements when your music is played in Lithuania. Lithuania has a growing music scene with active radio, television, and live event industries. Ensuring your works are properly registered with ISWC and IPI codes through your local PRO means LATGA can identify and pay you for that usage.

LATGA's multi-repertoire structure also means that creators working across disciplines (for example, a composer who also writes literature or produces audiovisual works) can manage all their rights through a single organization rather than joining multiple societies.

Territory Covered

LATGA administers copyright for authors within the territory of Lithuania. Through cooperation agreements with 155 foreign collecting societies across 70 countries, LATGA represents Lithuanian authors in 169 countries total. Foreign authors whose works are performed in Lithuania receive royalties through these same bilateral agreements, with LATGA remitting collected fees to the relevant foreign societies for distribution.

How to Join and Membership Fees

LATGA membership is open to natural persons (authors or their heirs), associations of copyright holders, legal persons such as music publishers, and producers of audiovisual works. The joining process involves three steps:

1. Submit an online application through LATGA's e-portal and wait for notification of next steps.
2. Pay a one-time joining fee of EUR 10 by bank transfer to LATGA's SEB Bank account, indicating "joining fee" in the payment details.
3. Sign the membership agreement sent by a LATGA specialist.

There are no annual membership fees. If a member who joined as a music composer later starts creating works in another field (such as drama or visual arts), they do not need to sign a new contract or pay another fee. They only need to fill out an addendum to their existing membership agreement specifying the new economic rights they want LATGA to manage.

LATGA also maintains a public list of "authors or heirs wanted" where creators who have royalties waiting but have not completed membership procedures can claim their payments.

Overhead Rate

Based on IFRRO reporting data, LATGA's administration charge was approximately EUR 2.21 million against total collections of EUR 13.47 million across all repertoires, yielding an administrative cost ratio of approximately 16.4%. LATGA also allocates approximately EUR 350,000 annually from collected revenue for creative and cultural projects through its cultural fund. The organization provides annual performance and financial reports reviewed by an independent auditor and the Ministry of Culture of Lithuania.

Royalty Distribution Schedule

LATGA distributes royalties on different schedules depending on the rights type and collection source:

• Music performance and broadcasting royalties: Distributed periodically based on usage reports from radio stations, television broadcasters, and streaming platforms. Distributions follow the organization's royalty distribution rules published on its website.
• Audiovisual rebroadcasting royalties: Paid once a year for the previous year's use, collected from cable operators.
• Private reproduction (blank media) compensation: Paid annually for the previous year, collected from sellers of blank media and recording devices.
• Reprography and public lending right (PLR): Distributed annually based on library lending data and reprographic usage reports.

Members can track their royalties, view payout amounts and dates, and identify which organizations used their works through LATGA's mobile app, which supports authors of music and lyrics, visual works, and dramatic works.

Reciprocal Agreements

LATGA joined CISAC in 1992 and is also a member of IFRRO (International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations). The organization has bilateral cooperation agreements with 155 foreign collecting societies across 70 countries, covering 169 countries total. These agreements ensure that Lithuanian works performed abroad generate royalties that flow back to LATGA members, and that foreign works performed in Lithuania generate royalties remitted to the appropriate foreign societies.

Major partner societies include GEMA (Germany), SACEM (France), PRS for Music (UK), BUMA/STEMRA (Netherlands), STIM (Sweden), and many others across Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Africa.

Notable Members

LATGA's past presidents and Council members include prominent Lithuanian creators across multiple artistic fields:

• Gintaras Sodeika - Composer and former LATGA president (2000-2006). Composed music for nearly all theatre productions by director Oskaras Koršunovas. Awarded the Gold Stage Cross and the St Christopher Prize.
• Mindaugas Urbaitis - Professor of composition at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. One of the most consistent minimalist composers in Lithuania. Former LATGA Council president.
• Teisutis Makačinas - Composer and pedagogue, former LATGA president (2012). One of the disco pioneers in the USSR. Head of the Music Theory and Composition Department at the Juozas Tallat-Kelpša Music Technical School from 1973 to 2001.
• Raminta Naujanytė-Bjelle - Composer, songwriter, and performer. Former LATGA Council president. Doctoral student at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre.
• Bronius Leonavičius - Graphic artist and former LATGA president.

Comparison Table

Videos

Similar PROs

• STIM - Sweden's collective management organization for musical works
• TONO - Norway's collective management organization for musical and dramatic works
• KODA - Denmark's collective management organization for musical works
• BUMA/STEMRA - Netherlands' collective management organization for musical works

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 work alongside performance royalties
• Blanket License - The licensing model used by LATGA
• CISAC - The international confederation coordinating global royalty collection
• LATGA Official Website - Visit LATGA for membership and licensing information
• Use our Streaming Royalty Calculator to estimate your digital earnings