Abstract
Using music or video in a cultural event is never neutral: even a simple playback may require authorizations and generate costs, including in the absence of profit. Producers’ rights operate on multiple levels and often concern content that is mistakenly believed to be freely usable. Errors at this stage can directly affect the implementation of the event. For this reason, understanding who grants authorization, when payment is required, and how long protection lasts becomes essential already during the planning phase.
Who owns the rights when using pre-recorded music or video?
When an event uses recorded music, the relevant party is the phonogram producer, namely the person or entity that takes the initiative and responsibility for the first fixation of the sounds (Article 78 of the Italian Copyright Law – Law No. 633/1941).
When films, documentaries, video installations, or other multimedia content are used, reference must instead be made to the cinematographic or audiovisual producer (Article 78-ter of the Italian Copyright Law), who owns the related rights in the audiovisual production.
This step is not merely formal but decisive: without identifying the producer, it is impossible to obtain a valid authorization.
In practice, identifying the producer is not always straightforward. The producer is not necessarily a record label or production company. It may also be a self-producing artist or a band that independently financed the recording. For this reason, verification must be conducted on a case-by-case basis.
The key point is that producers’ rights fall within the category of so-called neighboring rights (related rights), which protect not the musical or audiovisual work itself, but rather the phonogram or recording as the result of artistic and entrepreneurial activity.
This means that having access to a song or video does not equate to having the right to use it in an event, and using content without authorization directly exposes the user to liability.
When does the use of music or video in an event require authorization?
Once the rights holder has been identified, the next step is determining which uses actually require authorization.
For phonogram producers, Article 72 of the Italian Copyright Law grants a particularly broad exclusive right, including the authority to authorize:
- the direct or indirect, temporary or permanent, total or partial reproduction of the phonogram;
- the distribution of copies, which is exhausted only after the first authorized sale within the European Union;
- rental and lending rights, which are not exhausted by sale or other forms of distribution;
- making the phonogram available to the public in such a way that individuals may access it at a place and time of their choosing.
A substantially similar regime applies to audiovisual producers, who exercise exclusive rights over the reproduction, distribution, rental, lending, and making available to the public of their productions.
As a consequence, almost every significant use within a cultural event falls among the acts reserved to the producer.
Therefore, mere physical possession of a recording never equals legal authorization to use it.
Furthermore, phonogram producers retain the right to oppose uses that seriously prejudice their industrial interests. In such cases, however, the user — such as an event organizer, exhibition curator, or cultural institution — may activate a balancing mechanism by requesting intervention by the Italian Ministry of Culture, which may:
- carry out technical assessments;
- evaluate the circumstances;
- authorize provisional use even before a judicial decision is issued.
Once the scope of the reserved acts has been clarified, it is also necessary to consider when authorization is accompanied by an obligation to pay compensation.
When does use also trigger a payment obligation?
In cultural projects, this distinction is essential. The use of phonograms does not only involve authorization rights but may also generate independent payment obligations linked to the manner of use.
For phonograms, the answer is set out by law. Article 73 of the Italian Copyright Law grants phonogram producers — together with performers and performing artists — the right to compensation for the for-profit use of phonograms in cinematography, radio and television broadcasting, public dance events, commercial premises, and, more generally, any form of communication to the public.
In addition, Article 73-bis provides for equitable remuneration even where the use is non-profit. The only expressly excluded cases concern uses for educational purposes and institutional communications by the State or authorized public entities.
In practical terms, this means that any form of recorded music played during an event — from simple background music to screenings or installations — including free events, may generate financial obligations beyond the mere authorization itself.
There is also a second mechanism, often less apparent: private copying compensation.
In this case, the issue does not concern public uses but lawful copies made by individuals for exclusively personal, non-commercial use (for example, saving a song onto a smartphone). The compensation is not charged directly to the user but is instead applied upstream to recording devices and media.
Italian case law has also clarified that the levy may apply to media such as USB drives, unless there is proof of exclusively professional use (Court of Rome, July 8, 2022, No. 10972).
This is one of the most delicate aspects in practice. In cultural projects, using recorded music:
- requires authorizations;
- may generate compensation obligations for communication to the public;
- may involve indirect costs linked to the recording media used.
How long do rights in recorded content last?
The answer directly affects the planning of cultural events, because music and audiovisual content do not become freely usable within a short period of time.
From a temporal perspective, rights in recorded content last for many years and directly affect cultural planning:
- Recorded music (phonograms): rights generally last 50 years from the recording. However, if the phonogram is published or communicated to the public within that period, protection extends to 70 years from the first publication or communication to the public (Article 75 of the Italian Copyright Law);
- Audiovisual content (films, videos, documentaries): rights last 50 years from production or, if earlier, from the first publication or communication to the public (Article 78-ter of the Italian Copyright Law).
This means that even relatively old content may still be fully protected.
As a result, an important operational rule is often overlooked: cultural projects do not deal merely with “content,” but with recordings that remain protected for many years. For this reason, rights clearance cannot be postponed until the final stages but must already be addressed during the project design phase.
Reviewed by: Margherita Manca
Publication date: 26 May 2026
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