Funeral companies must pay royalties to play music at services in France
Funeral directors may charge families using music an extra fee or spread costs between all clients
Around a quarter of funerals in France use music
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Funeral costs in France are set to rise by a few euros each after an agreement was reached between the country's funeral directors’ federation and royalty-collection group over fees to play music at services.
Funeral companies will pay an annual fee to Sacem (Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique), a body responsible for collecting royalties in France, for the right to play music at funerals.
It will total between €700,000 - €800,000 per year according to French media outlet Le Figaro – split between the many directors in France.
It follows a court ruling last year that funerals were classed as ‘public events’ and therefore subject to royalty charges if they play copyrighted music.
Officials from Sacem were able to prove they turned up to funerals at random, therefore making them public and not private events.
Read more: Music royalties due at French funerals as public events, rules court
Around 25% of funerals in France use copyrighted music, said the group of funeral directors (Fédérations des pompes funèbres), with this figure used to come to the flat-fee agreement.
“Music plays an increasingly important role in funeral services. It allows emotions to be expressed and the tribute paid to the deceased to be personalised by reflecting his or her preferences,” it added.
In 2022, Sacem sent letters to tourist let owners claiming they had to pay a royalty fee charge, if they had a broadcasting device on their premises.
Read more: Holiday let owners in France take action over €200 music royalty bills
How much will funeral costs increase by?
Costs are set to rise by between €1 to €5. Some funeral directors may add a charge to those who want specific music played at funerals, increasing the price by around €5.
Others will spread the price equally across all funerals they hold – including ones where music is not played – leading to an additional €1 cost.
Funerals can cost more than €5,000 in some regions – and at least €4,000 across mainland France.
Read more: These are the average funeral costs per region in France
