Russian Authors' Society (RAO)

RAO (Russian Authors' Society, or Rossiyskoye Avtorskoye Obshchestvo) is a non-governmental, not-for-profit collective management organization based in Moscow that administers the rights of authors and other rightholders in Russia. It holds over 28,000 contracts with Russian rightholders and 128 reciprocal representation agreements with 85 foreign sister societies across 76 countries, representing the interests of almost all Russian authors and over 2 million foreign rightholders within Russian territory. It is best suited for Russian composers, authors, and publishers who need to collect royalties when their works are performed, broadcast, or distributed in Russia.

How RAO Works

RAO manages authors' rights on a collective basis in cases where individual licensing is impractical. It operates on the basis of rights transfer agreements with rightholders and holds state accreditation from the Russian Ministry of Culture, which it first received in 2008 for a five-year term and had renewed in 2013 for a further ten years. The Ministry of Culture exercises governmental control over RAO's activities, requiring annual reports on its operations.

RAO issues licenses and signs royalty payment contracts with a range of users, including theatres, concert halls, shops, restaurants, television and radio companies, and other entities that use musical works. The collected fees are distributed to affiliated authors and publishers based on usage data. RAO is the largest Russian collective management organization by the amount of royalties collected, and its levies have been steadily growing.

RAO has been a member of CISAC (International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers) since 1993. This membership connects RAO to the global network of authors' societies, enabling reciprocal collection of royalties for Russian authors abroad and for foreign authors in Russia. The 128 reciprocal representation agreements cover 76 countries, meaning a Russian composer whose work is performed in Germany, France, Japan, or dozens of other territories can receive royalties through RAO's agreements with the local societies.

RAO maintains a list of works excluded from its management in accordance with Russian federal law on counteracting extremist activities. This means certain works by authors designated as extremists under Russian law are not licensed or monetized through RAO, a restriction unique to the Russian legal environment.

Internal control is performed by an Auditing Committee composed of rightholders, with an independent audit conducted annually. CISAC also provides surveillance according to RAO's membership criteria in the international organization.

Real-World Example

A Russian composer affiliates with RAO and registers 50 songs. A Moscow theatre performs one of those songs in a production. A Russian radio station plays 10 of those songs in regular rotation. A streaming service like Yandex Music makes 20 of those songs available to Russian users.

RAO collects license fees from the theatre, the radio station, and the streaming service. The composer receives a distribution based on the usage data reported by each source. If the same songs are performed on radio in France, RAO's reciprocal agreement with SACEM means SACEM collects those royalties and remits them to RAO, which distributes them to the composer.

Conversely, if a French composer's works are performed in Russia, RAO collects royalties from Russian licensees and remits them to SACEM for distribution to the French composer. This reciprocal system covers 76 countries and over 2 million foreign rightholders.

Why It Matters for Independent Artists

If you are a Russian composer, author, or publisher, RAO membership is the primary mechanism for collecting royalties when your works are performed, broadcast, or distributed in Russia. Without it, you would need to individually license every theatre, radio station, restaurant, and streaming platform that uses your music, which is not feasible.

Register your works with RAO as soon as they are commercially available. Submit correct metadata, including title, authorship splits, and publisher information, so RAO can match your works to usage data from licensees. RAO's licensing covers theatres, concert halls, broadcast media, and digital platforms operating in Russia.

If your music is performed internationally, RAO's 128 reciprocal agreements with 85 foreign societies mean those royalties can flow back to you. However, the effectiveness of this system depends on the foreign society's ability to track and report usage accurately. For Russian artists with significant international airplay, it may be worth verifying that RAO's reporting from key foreign societies is current.

Be aware that RAO operates under Russian federal law, which includes restrictions on works by authors designated as extremists. If you are an artist who has been publicly critical of the Russian government, verify whether your works are affected by these restrictions before relying on RAO for royalty collection.

For non-Russian artists whose works are performed in Russia, your home society's reciprocal agreement with RAO should mean your royalties are collected locally. Check with your own PRO or CMO to confirm they have an active agreement with RAO and that reporting is up to date.

Related Resources

• Performing Rights Organizations (PRO) - What a PRO is and how it functions
• Performance Royalties - How performance royalties are generated and collected
• Collective Management Organization (CMO) - How CMOs operate globally
• Copyright - The legal foundation for authors' rights
• RAO Official Website - Visit RAO for membership and licensing information
• Use our Streaming Royalty Calculator to estimate your digital earnings