Collective management organisation (CMO) meaning

In practice, a collective management organisation (CMO) licences copyright and related rights on behalf of many right holders, typically by granting blanket licences for a single fee to users (such as broadcasters, venues and online services) and then collecting and distributing royalties. Right holders usually join as members and mandate the CMO to licence specified rights in their repertoire. The CMO charges licence fees, deducts agreed administrative costs, and pays the balance under published distribution rules. The term is used and defined in legislation implementing the EU Collective Rights Management Directive: in the UK by the Collective Management of Copyright (EU Directive) Regulations 2016, and in Ireland by the European Union (Collective Rights Management) Regulations 2016. These regimes set governance, transparency, member-control, complaints and dispute-resolution requirements, and regulate multi-territorial licensing of online rights in musical works. Usage and core features are broadly consistent across England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland. CMOs are commonly not-for-profit licensing bodies, owned and controlled by their members (right holders). They often operate reciprocal agreements with foreign societies, enabling wider repertoire access. Independent management entities (IMEs) also licence on a collective basis but are not member-owned and are regulated differently. Synonyms include collecting society and licensing...