\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Leon](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/P103YT0X.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\tSimplification of processes, digitalization, stronger negotiation capacity with digital platforms, and a progressive reduction in commissions are some of the ingredients that, according to SIAE CEO Matteo Fedeli, have contributed and will increasingly contribute to the growth and modernization of the former monopolist, now the Italian market leader with a renewed vocation for innovation.<\/p>\n
\n\tWhat drove such significant growth in 2025, which had been maintained at this pace for several years?<\/p>\n
\n\tThere are three main factors. One is beyond our control: it\u2019s the market, which continues to grow for both recorded music and live events. With a market in recession, it would be much tougher. The other variables are internal. First, the issue of negotiation: our ability to negotiate with major players has certainly improved compared to the past. And then there\u2019s the profound transformation of SIAE\u2019s structure and functioning.<\/p>\n
\n\tSpeaking to financial newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore about SIAE\u2019s 2023-2025 business plan, you said, \u201cWe\u2019ve moved from a predominantly legal structure to a model in which data, technology, and analytical capabilities are central.\u201d Can you explain?<\/p>\n
\n\tSIAE should be seen as a digital infrastructure serving the author. We\u2019re moving from being a body that focuses solely on the formal\/legal aspects of the business to building a data-driven structure. To move in this direction, it\u2019s also essential to bring in new skills and attract \u201cfuture-proof\u201d people.<\/p>\n
\n\tWe see AI in two different ways: on one hand, we must protect our rights holders from those who want to exploit it in the most unfair way possible; on the other, if you as a company don\u2019t use tools like Claude (Cowork and Code) nowadays, you\u2019re certainly missing out.<\/p>\n
\n\tWhat are some new professional skills that the world of copyright protection is actively seeking out today?<\/p>\n
\n\tThe AI \u200b\u200bengineer is the person you need to implement artificial intelligence in the best possible way. Now we have an in-house software development kit. For the first time, we can give AI \u2014 not the developer \u2014 the guidance on how we want SIAE to behave, from the code of ethics to the user experience. If you use the right tools, properly configured, the barrier between the person with an idea and the object that is created is completely broken down. We are therefore looking for professionals who can lead us from a world without AI to an \u201cAI first\u201d world.<\/p>\n
\n\tThere is also the need to restructure knowledge, which in every company around the world is designed for humans. Sooner or later, Anthropic, OpenAI, and Microsoft will come up with good solutions that allow this to happen, but today the challenge is figuring out the steps to transform knowledge in the broadest sense: you can have it in network folders, on OneDrive, on SharePoint, or even in emails or on paper. The moment you activate these knowledge pillars and attach a good AI to them, your capabilities become supernatural compared to before.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe future of copyright protection depends on interaction with generative AI platforms. What are your proposals and what licensing models could be applied?<\/p>\n
\n\tWe\u2019re operating in a market that\u2019s just beginning to look for solutions. Take Udio, for example. It managed to secure more deals than Suno but remains a \u201cclosed\u201d platform: if I go in, distort a song and then upload it to Spotify pretending to be its author \u2014 it\u2019s hard for us and creators to accept that.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe real issue is a structural problem of the market. With the AI \u200b\u200bAct, the European legislation was one of the first interesting attempts at solving it. But the opt-out formula tends to fail because it\u2019s very impractical. Anyway, I\u2019m optimistic about this. Think about those first laws that introduced the concepts of the internet and digital rights: were they the perfect norms we still use today? No, but it\u2019s the first step.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe Court of Justice recently issued a ruling against Meta and in favor of the Italian state, highlighting a fundamental issue facing these big players: transparency. If we don\u2019t know the business model and how training works, any licensing solution will be flawed. The risk is that we\u2019ll end up with a flat tax, like this: I\u2019ll ask you for 2% of your revenue without even understanding how it works. Even if one of these players gave us \u20ac100 million ($116 million), who would we redistribute it to?<\/p>\n
\n\tMy hope is that someone will come along and build training algorithms that connect the training data to output generated. If you participated in the part of the training data that influenced output, then the latter should provide you with a micro-fraction of value that is truly connected to the value you put into that product.<\/p>\n
\n\tHow can streamlining processes \u2014 simplifying administration, digitizing services \u2014 reduce commissions and therefore increase earnings for the rights holders?<\/p>\n
\n\tOur goal isn\u2019t to generate a billion in revenue, but to redistribute as much as possible. And the fact that, as a percentage, distributions are growing faster than revenues is a wonderful result because it means that our efficiency has more than proportionally repaid those entitled to them.<\/p>\n
\n\tFrom 2013 to today, our average commission has decreased from 16% to 13.7%. We\u2019ve already reduced digital commissions from 10% to 8%, and a further cut to 7% is planned for next year. We\u2019ve also reduced TV commissions from 11.5% to 10.5%. Both of these figures are among the most competitive in the world. We\u2019ve increased the commission on live events to 5%, and reduced the audiovisual sector \u2014 Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, etc., worth \u20ac50-\u20ac60 million a year to us \u2014 from 10% to 8%. If you look at it in absolute terms, it doesn\u2019t change much: two percentage points. But if you look at it in relative terms, it means we\u2019ve reduced our costs by a fifth.<\/p>\n
\n\tCatalogs have returned to the center of music industry strategies for a few years now. What is the strength of the catalog from SIAE\u2019s perspective, with its nearly 30 million registered works?<\/p>\n
\n\tIt lies in the field of negotiation. Some catalog conglomerates in small countries lack the bargaining power to secure a good license. We\u2019re probably somewhere in the middle: SIAE is the sixth-largest collection society in the world, but compared to the large conglomerates, we\u2019re considered small.<\/p>\n
\n\tHowever, the catalog is large enough to secure excellent contractual conditions with major players like Google, Meta, Spotify and Netflix. All of this leads to a higher value per stream. In the global market, 50% of a SIAE author might be worth more than 50% of their co-author abroad.<\/p>\n
\n\tLooking at the present and future of musical creativity, what strategies are you implementing to attract new talent and build tomorrow\u2019s catalogs?<\/p>\n
\n\tWe need to be as frictionless as possible, providing the digital infrastructure that allows you to avoid worrying about copyright. Until about 10 years ago, to file a copyright application you had to send a registered letter or come to our offices. The SIAE+ app was created for this: the author should not have to deal with unnecessary complications. Last year, we had 225,000 applications filed via the app \u2014 without even touching a computer.<\/p>\n
\n\tHow do you envision the collection society of tomorrow?<\/p>\n
\n\tWe must remain at the service of our authors. How do we do this? By maximizing their catalog, fighting \u2014 if necessary \u2014 for greater transparency from platforms, increasingly focusing on digital infrastructure and maximizing efficiency. We are building the foundations for the next five years to become a company that brings more money to rights holders more quickly and at the lowest possible cost, especially through digitalization and artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n
![\"Billboard](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2HpFicp.png\")