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Tell us what you do and where you live. We show which society to join, what it asks for, what it costs and where to apply.

Step 3 · your societies

Songwriter — living in Netherlands

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As a songwriter

Join this society in Netherlands

Writers generally join one authors' society for a given territory and right. That society collects your writer share from other countries through its agreements with sister societies, so you don't join a second one for the same rights.

Buma/Stemra

Buma (performing) / Stemra (mechanical) · Netherlands

Your home society
Who can join
Songwriters, Publishers
Joining fee
None: the registration fee was removed from 1 January 2025.
Yearly fee
First year free (from 2025). Then €63.55/year for creators, €127.10/year for publishers, deducted from earnings.
Processing time
Access to MijnBumaStemra 2-3 business days after registration is completed and the account is created.
Apply online
Yes: fill in your details and sign the contract digitally, then register your works.
Members from abroad
Open to creators from the Netherlands or abroad. You cannot be with another society for the same rights/territories; cancel that membership before applying.
Who is eligible
  • Composers, songwriters or producers who create music as individuals; you cannot join as a band or group.
  • Recommended (not strict) if your music is often played live, regularly on radio/TV, released by a label, or streamed over 200,000 times a year on paid services.
  • Publishers: valid Chamber of Commerce (KvK) registration with SBI code 5920 'music publishing', and a publishing name not already in their records.
What to have ready0 of 4 ready
Apply at Buma/Stemra ↗
Sources and notes

Membership runs per calendar year; if you join now it counts from 1 January of the current year, and it renews automatically.

Basic allowance: if you earn under €70 (creators) or €140 (publishers) in a year, they top it up; not paid in your first year.

Performers and labels go to Sena (free to join); creators who also perform should join both.

You can remove territories or opt out of categories (Events, RTV, Background, Mechanical, Online) with 3 months' notice; cancel at least 3 months before year end.

The apply link is an account-registration page (MijnBumaStemra login).

Sources — Buma/Stemra's own pages, read on 2026-10-06. Fees and rules change: the society's site is the reference.

How we chose these

Your home society comes first: it is the one you join for the rights listed. The joining details come from each society's own website, read on the date shown on its card. Countries we haven't checked yet show the society from our worldwide directory, with a link to its site.

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Why join?

Songwriters

Societies pay the writers registered with them. If you write songs and aren't a member of an authors' society, your writer share of radio, TV, live and streaming plays can't reach you. It sits unidentified until it is claimed, or is shared out to others.

Performers

When a recording you are on is broadcast or played in public, performers are owed a share (neighbouring rights). It is paid through performers' societies, and registering is how it finds you.

Producers and publishers

Master owners collect their share of the same plays through producers' societies. Publishers collect the publisher share of the songs through the authors' society. Both collect through a society membership.

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