The German association of dioceses (Vdd) reached an agreement with Gema, a German copyright supervisory association, under which it will pay a lump-sum fee as copyright on any music played during shows, communal events or concerts: under this new agreement, the church institutions will no longer have to pay copyrights on every single musical performance. The agreement that has been renegotiated between VVD and GEMA will last five years. This will enable the Catholic institutions to plan their events in the long term and in full awareness of the costs. Such lump-sum fee will apply to lots of events: church music or gospel concerts will only have to pay a registration fee. Only pop music concerts are left out of the agreement and will be reported and paid for. In addition, the agreement was effectively terminated on January 1^st 2018. Therefore, the lump-sum fee applies to all the events that have already been held and reported. The invoices that have already been issued will be struck off by GEMA, and the invoices that have already been paid will be refunded. “We are glad that once again we have reached an agreement with GEMA on the use of music in ecclesiastic events”, father Hans Langendörfer, CEO at VDD, says. “I firmly believe that the new lump-sum agreement will benefit both music composers and our facilities”, Langendörfer pointed out.