GEMA is Germany's collecting society for music. It manages the rights of composers, lyricists and music publishers when their works are used in public.
GEMA stands for the German society for musical performing and mechanical reproduction rights. It represents music creators and publishers and grants licences when music is played in public, for example at events, in shops or at trade fairs. It distributes the income to the rights holders.
For videos the situation is more complex. Anyone who combines music with pictures needs additional rights that are not granted by GEMA alone. That is why many productions use licensed music from libraries whose licence explicitly covers the planned use.
For exhibitors there are two situations. The first is music on the stand (booth): if you play music at the show, as background, at a stand party or in a presentation, you are using it in public. That usually requires a licence. Many organisers point this out in the exhibitor manual and explain how to register. Check this well before the show.
The second is music in the trade fair video. A well-known song under a recap video is not allowed without the right licences and can lead platforms to block the video or mute it. The platforms' own music libraries are often cleared only for certain uses and not always for company accounts. The safe choice is tracks whose licence includes advertising, the website and every channel you plan to use. This text is an overview, not legal advice.
On show day we make sure music from your stand or the neighbouring one does not dominate the sound of our interviews. Background music in the original audio can raise licensing questions later, which is one reason we record interviews with clip-on microphones and, where needed, ask for the stand music to be turned down briefly.
At Pixer we clarify before editing which channels your video will run on and choose music whose licence covers that use. That way you can use the video on LinkedIn, the website and in ads without the soundtrack causing problems later.
Playing music in public usually requires a licence. How registration works at your show is normally explained in the exhibitor manual.
Only with the right licences, which are rarely easy to obtain for company videos. Licensed library music is the safe route.
Want a trade fair video with properly licensed music? Send us the fair, dates and your channels.
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