The first distribution was related to remunerations due in respect of FY 2003-2004 and was paid in the summer of 2007. Payments for FY 2005 were determined in April 2008 and distributed during the spring.
For those sums collected in respect of 2003-2004 and 2005, provisional payment rules were adopted by the General Assembly of SOFIA on 26 April 2007, which aimed at achieving the quickest possible payment of rights to all authors and publishers involved.
To this end, SOFIA asked for the cooperation of publishers so that all authors not belonging to a society of authors could receive that part of the remuneration to which they were entitled in respect of PLR for the corresponding works. SOFIA and the other collective management societies such as ADAGP, SACD, SCAM, and SAIF also assisted in the distribution of sums once their members had authorised them to collect their share.
In this way, the remuneration per copy of a book amounted to €2.29, making slightly more than €1.14 for both the author and the publisher.
The distribution threshold of 15 copies per book (€34.40 of rights, publishers’ portion of €17.20) retains within the deferred payment system, 68% of titles that have therefore attracted fewer than 15 sales but which by themselves represent less that 12% of the total remuneration. These sums are retained by SOFIA and will remain assigned to their original rights holders. These rights will be paid to them once the total copies of the book equals or exceeds 15. This threshold of 15 copies is limited in its application to the initial allocations 2003-2004 and 2005; the Board of Management is however mandated by the General Assembly to proceed, if it thinks it appropriate, to the total or partial liquidation of un-distributed sums.
For the authors’ portion, out of the 11,241 authors who benefited from the initial payment, 351 received individually between €1000 and €10,781, 2010 others received between €150 and €999.
The portion due to foreign authors amounts to €674,279 held in account and will be distributed through the intermediary of the authors’ societies in accordance with the agreements that will be signed with SOFIA. Publishers who are in direct contact with foreign authors may also ask SOFIA to share out these remunerations once they are in direct contact with the author or his agent.
There a total of 1489 publishers who will benefit from the 2003-2004 payment.
Out of this number of publishers, only 16 will receive a publisher’s share that exceeds €100,000 (in fact between €108,692 and €507,260).
The titles that attract the highest amount of remuneration mainly involve children’s publishing and graphic novels.
During 2008, authors and publishers that are subscribers to SOFIA can, using their confidential access codes, have on-line access via SOFIA’s website to their Associate dossier; they can edit their personal data, update their bibliography and check their statements of rights.