The Austrian Music Fund, founded in 2005, is an initiative for the support of professional Austrian music production in Austria and the dissemination and marketing of Austrian music at home and abroad. The Music Fund, which is funded with a budget of EUR 950 000 annually, is open to all music-creating authors, interpreters, music producers, music publishing houses and labels and is jointly financed by the Arts and Culture Division of the BMKOES and institutions of Austrian musical life (AKM / GFÖM, Austro-Mechana / SKE, IFPI Austria, OESTIG, WKÖ / trade association of the audiovisual and film industry FAMA, and the Austrian Events-Organisers’ Association).
The Austrian Film Institute (ÖFI) (previously Austrian Film Promotion Fund) was established with a separate legal personality, according to amendments made to the Film Promotion Act in 1998. It is responsible for structural changes to the Austrian film industry, support to film production, and stimulation and improving the quality of Austrian film culture. The institute operates like a fund as it receives its money directly from the federal level according to the legal provisions. The Austrian Film Institute supports films as cultural goods and Austrian filmmaking by allocating subsidies for Austrian films, e.g. for filmmakers and film producers, as well as international co-productions. The ÖFI also supports film distribution and cinemas. 15% of the annual budget (amounting to a total of EUR 20 million) is dedicated to the promotion of young film makers and producers. The Secretary of State for Art and Culture 2020 has announced a budget increase of 2 million EUR to provide a more stable framework for domestic film production during the COVID-19 pandemic. The second-largest support body for film is the Vienna Film Fund, which provides around EUR 11 million for the production of Austrian films every year.
The Austrian collecting societies contribute to artists’ income by collecting royalties from copyrights and related rights and distributing them to the artists. In addition to their main task of collecting and distributing royalties, the collecting societies also perform social and cultural functions for their beneficiaries. Part of the income is dedicated to the social and cultural purposes of the beneficiaries.
Overview of generated royalties
| Royalties Income in m. EUR | Distribution Sum in m. EUR | Beneficiaries | Social and Culture Subsidies (SKE) in EUR | |
| Music | ||||
| AKM (2019) | 121.86 | 106.66 | 25 984 | music 829,000 EUR social (AQUAS)* as of 2019 |
| austro mechana (2019) | 29.24 | 20.10 | 28 301 | culture 1.13 m. EUR |
| LSG (2019) | 30.3 | 25.3 | 23 949 | social: 348,000 EUR (nine times as much as 2017) culture: 1,154,000 EUR (two and a half times as much as 2017) |
| Literature | ||||
| Literar Mechana (2019) | 43.1 | 37.93 | 22 157 | SKE 1.7 m. EUR |
| Film | ||||
| VAM (2019) | 10.3 | 9.9 | 324 | SKE 1.9 m. EUR |
| VdFS (2018) | 10.7 | 1.2 | 2 823 | 1.2 m. EUR |
| Fine arts | ||||
| Bildrecht (2019) | 4.03 | 2.63 | 5 018 | 1.41 m. EUR |
| VGR (2019) | 13.5 | 13.5 | 66 | 2.7 m. EUR |
Sources:
Transparenzberichte, see hyperlinks.
Notes:
* The AQUAS (Altersquoten und andere soziale Leistungen GmbH) was founded in November 2018 and commenced operations at the beginning of 2019. Its task is to provide retirement benefits and support to beneficiaries of both companies who are in need through no fault of their own. Funding is provided by the storage media payments (social benefits) of Austro-Mechnica and the social security deductions of the AKM.
The Social Security Insurance Fund for Artists grants benefits for all artists. For artists in social need, additional support is given by the Arts and Culture Division of the BMKOES within the framework of the Arts Support Act (KünstlerInnenhilfe, approximately EUR 138 000 since 2014). Since 2015, these support payments are financed by a “support fund for artists” that has been established within the artists social insurance fund. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the aid fund for artists was endowed with 90 million euros.
There is a statutory fund in the literary field guaranteeing income supplements for writers and authors in social need (e.g. pensions, incapacity to work, care of dependants, support in special cases).
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