SACEM signs landmark agreement with UAE’s first CMO

The agreement enables creators in the UAE to benefit from a structured system for collecting and distributing royalties locally and internationally for the first time. EMRA’s non-profit model ensures that management fees are regulated and reinvested into services for authors, composers, and publishers. The system is intended to strengthen the UAE’s cultural sector and support its ambition to become a regional hub for arts and entertainment.

“This partnership is the result of years of dialogue,” SACEM CEO Cécile Rap-Veber said. “It embodies SACEM’s mission to ensure that creators are fairly remunerated and to support the emergence of strong cultural infrastructures wherever creativity thrives. We are also committed to fostering the development and efficiency of collective management organisations around the world, as key pillars of a fair and sustainable creative economy. The UAE’s step forward is visionary, and we are honoured to contribute to this new chapter.”

EMRA chairman Adnan Al-Obthani said the collaboration aligns the UAE’s creative sector with global standards. “It reinforces our role as a collective management organisation committed to strengthening creators’ rights and positioning the UAE as a leading cultural hub in the region.”

SACEM represents over 224 000 authors, composers, and publishers and manages one of the largest Arabic-language repertoires worldwide. The organisation has long been active in the Gulf region and has partnered with the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) in the UAE to develop a framework for collecting both authors’ and neighbouring rights, a first in the region.

The society collects royalties from streaming platforms in nearly 200 territories, reflecting its growing role in digital rights management and global collective licensing. The agreement with EMRA is viewed as a significant milestone for the protection of creators’ rights in the UAE and the wider Middle East.