A Guide to Key Pay Sources in Mexico: SACM, ANDI, EJE

Mexico is one of the three largest music markets in Latin America, according to IFPI’s 2020 Global Music Report - and Latin America is the world’s fastest-growing region for music consumption. Mexico has a massive consumer base and a rich musical copyright ecosystem that should be understood by any artist releasing or hoping to release music in that region.

The country's recorded music industry has exploded in the past couple of years, as digital service providers (DSPs) become more and more prevalent. According to the IFPI’s yearly Global Music Reports, Mexico’s yearly recorded music revenue has steadily increased throughout the late 2010s, with jumps as big as 23.6% in 2016 and 17.9% in 2019. This correlates to severely leading DSPs having shifted some of their marketing focus into the country. 

Back in 2013, Spotify chose Mexico as its first expansion into Latin America, and has since become so popular there that they claim to have been responsible for 60% of label revenue in Mexico during 2019. The company even called Mexico City “the world’s streaming mecca” in 2018 when the city drew more listeners than any other city in the world during that year. For artists with a fanbase in Mexico, this means that getting music on Spotify is an absolute necessity.

Deezer, too, has worked to expand in the country, partnering with TV Azteca in 2020 to deliver its services to the area which has resulted in 3 million new users and a 43% usage increase in the country, according to Deezer itself. It also created Regional Mexican-oriented playlists that have amassed thousands of followers in a short time. Apple Music is available in Mexico as well but hasn’t made the same impact as it has in other parts of the world. 

These paid subscriptions have driven the rise of streaming in Mexico, as evidenced by the fact that they were responsible for 75% of total streaming revenue in Mexico during 2019. In more rural areas, YouTube is the DSP of choice, due to its free, ad-supported nature, according to Chartmetric. Regardless of the listener’s choice in DSP, both paid and ad-supported services have become a valuable source of royalties for musicians in the area.

The exact rates for these royalties are set by the individual DSPs. For instance, Spotify gives its artists a share of a region’s total streaming revenue that’s calculated based on the percentage of the region’s total streams for which the artist is responsible, while Apple Music simply pays a flat $0.01 per-stream rate. DSPs send these royalties to Collective Management Organizations (CMOs), who then pay out the artists whom they represent. 

Because of this, it's important for any artist receiving streams in Mexico to have a basic understanding of the pay sources operating in the region. Here’s a brief look at them:

Sociedad de Autores y Compositores de México (SACM)

Launched: 1945

Membership Size: 31,372 members; 435,030 musical works represented

Official Site: https://www.sacm.org.mx/

Socials: @sacm_oficial on Instagram, @SCM_Oficial on Twitter

About: The most noteworthy CMO in Mexico, SACM has loosely existed since 1945 but its current form was instituted in 2007. SACM collects both performance and mechanical royalties, according to the IFPI. They are affiliated with CISAC, WIPO, and BIEM, aligning them with hundreds of international CMOs and allowing them to distribute licenses for the works internationally and collect any international royalties these works procure. They are the only CMO with this degree of international royalty collection in Mexico, which is among the reasons they cover over half of all Mexican artists.

Asociación Nacional De Intérpretes (ANDI)

Launched: 2004

Membership Size: N/A

Official Site: https://www.andi.org.mx/

Socials: @andi_mexico on Instagram, @ANDIMexico on Twitter

About: ANDI is a PRO that represents interpreters, a group that consists of singing actors and other hired singers who appear in audiovisual material. ANDI licenses the copyrights for the reproduction of this material and collects royalties for any use.

EJE Ejecutantes, S.G.C (EJE)

Launched: 1999

Membership Size: 1700 members and manages a catalog of about 900

thousand songs.

Official Site: https://www.ejecutantes.com/

Socials: @ejecutantesmx on Twitter

About: EJE is a relatively small PRO that covers the copyrights of performing musicians and singers, like mariachi bands and orchestras. 

Don’t Leave Your Royalties to Chance

While signing with a local collection society is a crucial step in securing your rights as a songwriter, you can’t stop there - as they only collect a portion of the royalties you earn when your songs are used.

PROs track and collect the performance royalties earned when your songs are publicly performed, broadcast, or streamed. However, they do not license and collect the mechanical royalties generated when your song is reproduced physically or digitally. 

If your local society is a CMO, they will collect both performance and mechanical royalties earned in your country, but their ability and bandwidth for global collection is limited. That means that revenue from royalty streams such as international streaming, radio, and live performance can be lost if you rely on them to handle it.

Follow the steps below to ensure you’re collecting all the music your music generates everywhere it is played worldwide:

• Use a digital distributor such as CD Baby or Distrokid. They’ll make your music available on digital streaming and download platforms all over the world, and will collect and pay your recording royalties.

• Affiliate with your local Performing Rights Organization (PRO) or Collective Management Organization (CMO). They will collect royalties in your local territory, and your affiliation ensures you are identified as a writer within the publishing industry, which makes it possible for global pay sources to allocate your royalties.

• Register your songs with a publishing administrator, such as Songtrust, who in turn registers your songs directly with global performance and mechanical societies all over the world.

• Register your songs with an organization that collects neighbouring rights or digital performance royalties generated by your recordings. If you’re in the U.S., SoundExchange is the primary organization that handles these royalties. In Mexico, Sociedad Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas, Videogramas y Multimedia (SOMEXFON) would be responsible for these royalties.