Netflix awards RD$9 million to Dominican composers for content broadcast in the Dominican Republic

Santo Domingo.- The General Society of Dominican Authors, Composers, and Music Publishers, known as “Sgacedom,” is focusing on enhancing its institutional structure while securing significant agreements to benefit its members in line with the provisions of Law 65-00 and international treaties applicable in the country. Valerio de León, the president of Sgacedom and a composer, shared that recent achievements include a partnership agreement with the streaming content platform Netflix.

Under his leadership, Sgacedom has undergone substantial internal reorganization, introducing new statutes to improve the entity’s functioning. The modifications were deemed necessary to eliminate unrelated members and ensure that those who can make decisions within Sgacedom are the authors generating more than 0.25 of the income allocated for artists’ work exploitation payments. This strategic shift has reinvigorated members, leading to increased creative output and collaborative work with artists for recording.

De León highlighted that digital platforms such as Netflix, Amazon, Spotify, YouTube, and HBO Max are obligated to pay copyright fees for public communication. Sgacedom has partnered with Latinoautor, a company formed by American author societies, to negotiate agreements for the Dominican Republic. In the case of Netflix, the platform chose to directly negotiate with Sgacedom. They reached an agreement where Netflix pays quarterly fees along with compensation for territorial use since 2011. Of the money received, 50% goes to foreign entities and 60% to Dominican authors.

The agreement with Netflix resulted in payouts totaling around 9 million pesos to Dominican authors whose music was featured in content streamed within the Dominican Republic. Sgacedom is committed to responsible practices, reaching out to authors to ensure they notify the organization about their works broadcast on Netflix within the country.